The Dallas County Board of Education has settled on a date for its next meeting.

The board plans to meet Wednesday to discuss and vote on who will be the system’s next superintendent.

Board President Carolyn Bates said board members have finally found a convenient date in a busy week that includes election day, both Keith teams playing in basketball playoffs and the Bridge Crossing Jubilee.

Bates said the board decided to go ahead and schedule the meeting as soon as possible rather than postponing until next week, as originally planned.

“We wanted the meeting to be as close to the original scheduled meeting as possible,” Bates said.

The meeting was scheduled to be Tuesday but postponed due to election day and other conflicts. She said the board does not anticipate prolonging the meeting any longer, and they look forward to naming the system’s next superintendent Wednesday.

“We have gotten around the voting, ball games and the jubilee. So, we are safe,” Bates said.

The board meeting will take place on March 2 at 6 p.m. at the Commissioners Chamber of the Dallas County Courthouse.

The final candidates include two already in the system. Hattie Shelton is Dallas County Schools Assistant Superintendent and Clarence Jackson is principal at Southside High School.

The other finalists are Dr. Vivian Relf, director of special education services for the Russell County Board of Education; Isaac Haynes, the former superintendent of the Canton, Mississippi Public School District; Walter Fenn, the assistant superintendent of Chilton County Schools; Sherene Carpenter, the coordinator of attendance at Birmingham City Schools; and Corey Jones, who works in administration for the Perry County School System.

Each candidate was interviewed by the board of education last Tuesday during an all day meeting.

Superintendent Don Willingham will retire this summer.