JACKSON, Ga. — Assistant Colquitt County School Superintendent Irma Townsend is a finalist for the job of superintendent of the Butts County School System.

Townsend, assistant superintendent of student services for Colquitt County Schools, and interim Butts County Superintendent Todd Simpson are the only two finalists, according to an online report by the Jackson Progress-Argus.

Townsend has been an assistant superintendent in Colquitt County since January 2017, and previously served the district as director of human resources. She also was the human resources director of the Enterprise City school board in Alabama for four years.

Simpson previously has served as assistant superintendent for the Butts County School System, the Jackson Progress-Argus reported. He was named interim superintendent with the departure of former superintendent Robert “Buddy” Costley, who had held the position since 2011.

Both candidates for the position have doctoral degrees in education — Simpson’s from Walden University and Townsend’s from Auburn University.

“For more than thirty years, I have had the great privilege of serving students, teachers, principals and communities in two states in the southeastern United States,” Townsend wrote in a letter to Butts County board members that accompanied her application. “As a former teacher, principal and guidance counselor, I can attest to the challenges and joys of working with students of all ages, races, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. Although our country’s educational system has seen dramatic changes throughout my career, my belief that a quality education is the gateway to achieving success has remained constant. … Community and stakeholder relationships are paramount to the success of a school district. Butts County’s rich heritage and strong community ties appeal to me. I understand the impact of having a high quality, visionary and collaborative leader at the helm of a school district.”

The Progress-Argus reported that the Butts County Board of Education received 43 completed applications, and they interviewed seven candidates in two rounds. The board was assisted in the search by the Georgia School Boards Association.

The board must wait at least 14 days before formally voting to hire one of the candidates. It would be able to do so at its next regular meeting, Oct. 1, the Jackson newspaper reported.