SPRINGDALE — Officials at Northwest Technical Institute will need to choose an interim president if they don’t hire one by the end of the month.

The positions of president and vice president of instruction need to be filled, said George Burch, president of the school. Burch said he notified the board of his intent to retire on Oct. 17. His last day as president at the school is Jan. 31.

The Board of Directors makes the decision on who to hire as president, Burch said. He predicts the board will make a decision on an interim president during the Jan. 23 board meeting.

Marsha Jones, board secretary, said she isn’t certain they will need an interim president. It’s possible, but it depends on the applicants and their availability.

“It’s a little bit open-ended right now,” she said.

Board members want to discuss attributes they want in a new president during a work session, Jones said. The past two presidents had doctorate’s degrees and experience in career technical education. The position does not require anything beyond a bachelor’s degree, she said.

Board members have not seen any applications because they wanted to discuss attributes first, Jones said.

When reached by phone Monday, John Scott, president of the Board of Directors, said he wasn’t available to speak until today.

Applications were submitted to the state’s Department of Finance and Administration Office of Personnel Management, said Marie Becker, personnel manager at the school. Officials have advertised both positions through a state website, as they are required to do. The application process for the president’s position is closed, but the vice president of instruction position is open for applications until Friday.

A Freedom of Information Act request was submitted Monday to the state department asking for all applications for both positions, but they were not received by 5 p.m.

A new vice president of instruction must be hired because Keith Peterson left the position Jan. 10, Burch said. The president is in charge of hiring the person for the position. The person holding the position supervises all instructors.

If enough people apply before Jan. 31, Burch said he might be involved in the hiring process, otherwise his successor will hire someone.

Jones said she would like to see the new president hire the new vice president of instruction. She said this would allow the new president to hire someone who will work hand-in-hand with his or her vision for the school.

Two open management positions won’t have much of an effect on the school, Burch said.

“It’s not going to change a lot, because the instructors are doing a lot of the teaching,” he said.

However, Jones said turnover is always a concern, because the institute is losing highly qualified individuals.

“These are two absolute key positions,” she said.