The Seattle School Board has narrowed the list of superintendent candidates to two. We first reported three weeks ago that board president Gina Topp, who represents West Seattle and most of South Park, revealed they had 41 qualified candidates; eight were chosen for interviews through what a district news release describes as a “blind evaluation process” – reviewed without information on their names, locations, alma maters, and other affiliations. After those interviews, board members have settled on two finalists and plan to interview them one week from today. There’s been some criticism of the fact that the hiring process is proceeding without community members getting to meet the candidates; Topp is quoted in tonight’s news release as saying confidentiality was vital: “This approach allowed us to attract an outstanding pool of applicants, including sitting superintendents and other strong leaders who might not otherwise have applied.” The job is currently held by Fred Podesta, who was appointed after Dr. Brent Jones’s departure, but he did not express interest in holding the position long-term.