A tentative agreement has been reached that will make a northern Ohio principal the next superintendent of Frontier Local Schools.

After two rounds of interviews and weeks of deliberations, the Frontier Board of Education has selected Bruce Kidder, longtime middle/high school principal for Holgate Local Schools, for the position.

There has not been an official vote on Kidder's contract and salary and other details are still being negotiated, said board member Jason Riggs Wednesday.

"We don't have anything set in stone right now, but there is a tentative agreement," he said. "If everything goes well, it should be on the next board agenda."

The board has a meeting scheduled for 8 p.m. July 30 at New Matamoras Elementary School.

There were originally 23 applicants for the position after the resignation of former Superintendent Troy Thacker. Three candidates were called back for second interviews: Kidder, New Matamoras Elementary Principal Bill Wotring and St. Marys (W.Va.) High School Principal David Gaul.

"All three have great abilities and are great men," said Riggs. "We were torn. It was a really tough decision."

All the candidates were strong contenders but Kidder really stood out to the board, said board member Jeff Lauer.

"He seems to have a really good sense of business, the right priorities, and knows what needs to be done," he said. "I think he'll do a good job getting things done."

Riggs said he was impressed with how involved Kidder seems to be in his community and the candidate's goal to retire from Frontier Local Schools.

"He promised longevity, and that's something I was really looking for," he said. "We need some continuity."

Kidder would be the fourth superintendent in the Frontier district in fewer than eight years. He wouldn't be eligible for retirement for nine years, Riggs said.

Kidder is coming from a small district in Henry County that has a kindergarten-through-12th-grade school with about 530 students.