BENTONVILLE — Three men have been identified as finalists for the principal’s job at Bentonville High School.

The candidates will go through a series of interviews with three committees consisting of community members, students and school staff members on April 3, according to Galen Havner, district director of human resources. Those committees will have separate focuses, including curriculum, student activities and personnel.

“My hope is the principal will be chosen very quickly and be approved by the School Board in April,” Havner said.

The finalists include Craig Smith, an assistant principal at Woodland Junior High School in Fayetteville; Tracy Allen, principal at Sylvan Hills High School in Sherwood; and Doug Marvin, an assistant principal in the Sheldon Independent School District in Houston.

Seventeen people applied for the job, Havner said. There were some who applied from within the district, but withdrew their applications, he said.

The job was advertised nationally starting about six weeks ago, when Bentonville High Principal Kim Garrett accepted an assistant superintendent’s job in the Springdale School District.

Garrett has been principal at Bentonville High since March 2009. She will remain there until July when she starts her new job.

Bentonville High is the largest high school in the state with about 3,900 students.

Smith, 46, moved with his family to Northwest Arkansas last year and began at Woodland Junior High in the fall after serving as an administrator for 12 years in Jenks, Okla. He previously worked as a counselor and director of instrumental music.

The Bentonville High principal’s job is “a wonderful opportunity in a school district that sets high standards and continues to excel in all they do,” Smith said Tuesday.

The School District is pushing to build a second high school. Smith said he looks forward to being involved in such a transition if voters agree to the School Board’s proposal, which has not been finalized.

“I think we have a great opportunity before us,” he said. “I’m always going to look at what’s best for our kids. If we do that then we can’t go wrong.”

Allen and Marvin did not return phone messages seeking comment Tuesday.