BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) — The Bristol, Virginia City School Board is beginning the process of hiring a new superintendent. The search comes around a week after former superintendent, Keith Perrigan, announced he was taking a new job as Washington County, Virginia Schools’ leader.

According to a release on Monday, the Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA) was selected to assist the Bristol City School Board with the hiring process.

School board members met with VSBA representatives Monday to discuss the timeline and requirements of the hiring process.

The board set the timeline to have the next superintendent announced sometime in July.

“It is definitely a tight timeline as we were just discussing,” said School Board Vice Chair Breanne Forbes-Hubbard. “There’s no perfect time for this, but we’re going to be able to, I think, really capitalize on a good pool of candidates.”

The new superintendent will take over for a district in the midst of rapid change.

Construction is ongoing at the district’s new intermediate school for the district’s entire 2nd-5th grade student population on the Van Pelt Elementary School campus.

“I hope it will bring someone in that wants to be a part of the new things we’re doing here in Bristol,” Forbes-Hubbard said.

The existing Van Pelt building will house pre-K to 1st-grade students.

The district is also consolidating three aging elementary schools to fill the new Van Pelt complex.

Washington Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Highland View Elementary Schools will all close. School Board Chair Randy Alvis said that will likely make things easier for the new superintendent.

“You’re not having to deal with three buildings that have the aging, the asbestos in them,” Alvis said. “All your elementary is going to be on one campus, I think that would be very exciting for someone coming in.”

The release states school officials want the community to be involved in the search by giving their opinions on the characteristics and qualifications they’d like the next superintendent to have.

“Selecting our next superintendent is an important responsibility, and we strongly encourage public involvement in the selection process,” said Alvis. “We urge all community members to take an active role by completing the online survey to determine the qualifications required for our next superintendent. Your input is valuable, and we appreciate your participation in this important endeavor.”

A survey is available to the community online, and hard copies can be found at the school board’s main office and at each school’s main office. Questions are related to superintendent criteria, according to the release.

The board will host a public hearing on the qualifications for the new superintendent on May 1 at 6 p.m. at the district’s administrative office.

A full timeline on the search process for the next Bristol, Virginia City Schools superintendent can be found on the district’s website at BVPS.org.