By JOSEPH B. NADEAU

WOONSOCKET — The search for a new superintendent is coming to a close.

Members of the superintendent search committee have completed interviews with five semifinalists for the local position, and have also held informal receptions for two of the five tabbed as finalists, according to School Committeewoman Eleanor Nadeau.
“They are both top candidates for the post, and actually all five of the people we interviewed were top-notch,” she said. “We were very lucky in that.”
Both of the candidates, Nadeau said, are currently assistant superintendents with doctorates and would be newcomers to Woonsocket.
Nadeau, who headed the search process with School Committee-woman Linda Majewski, declined to identify the two finalists while the search effort continues. Majewski could not be reached for comment.
 The subcommittee is now in the process of reviewing background information collected on the finalists through visits to the school districts where they currently work as well as through the standard background checks.
The receptions with invited school department, city and community representatives allowed the search committee to also meet with the two candidates in an informal setting, according to Nadeau.
Representatives of the Woonsocket Teachers Guild participated in the gatherings held last Tuesday and last Thursday. The candidates have also met with representatives of the state Department of Education, who, like the Guild, had earlier requested a role in the search process, according to Nadeau.
Nadeau said findings from the two groups would be included in the materials to be considered as the search committee weighs its recommendation for a new superintendent.
The School Committee is expected to consider action on the appointment of Schools Superintendent Maureen Macera’s replacement at its June 11 meeting, Nadeau said. The subcommittee’s action on a recommendation is expected to be complete by that date so a School Committee vote can be taken on the matter, she said.
Macera is retiring next month from nine years service with the local department — as both assistant superintendent and superintendent — to spend more time with her husband, former Johnston Mayor William Macera, and their family.
The final work will include a review of contract terms with the candidates, which will involve Richard Ackerman, the school department’s legal counsel, Nadeau said.
Nadeau said the school department will likely settle on a three-year pact with the new superintendent, in keeping with traditional practice for the post.
“I don’t think you can get someone to work as a superintendent unless you offer them that,” Nadeau said. The School Committee has also set a salary range for the job of between $130,000 and $150,000, in contrast with the $160,000-plus Macera currently earns.
The search committee was provided $10,000 to cover the costs of finding a new superintendent. Nadeau believes the process will end with some of those dollars available for return to the school department.
“We advertised and had a Web site, but we were very careful in how we did it and didn’t spend a lot of money,” she said. “We still had a good response and we had 18 applicants for the job.”
The committee looked for experience in urban districts while considering applications,  and has also weighed educational qualifications and background, according to Nadeau.
“We just wanted to get the best person we possible could get,” she said
School Committee Chairman Marc A. Dubois also declined to provide additional details on the finalists Tuesday. Macera did likewise.
“All five of the candidates they interviewed were good candidates and it was a very tough choice narrowing it down to the top two candidates,” Dubois said. He added that the school board is now awaiting the subcommittee recommendation before taking the final step in the process: appointing the new superintendent on June 11.
“Both candidates have excellent references, so we are just waiting to see who will be recommended,” he said.
Editor’s note: School Committee member Eleanor Nadeau is a distant relative by marriage to Call staff reporter Joseph B. Nadeau.