A field of four could be narrowed to a single candidate for the job of Central High School principal as early as Friday.

The four will interview today and Thursday for the position, open after the Cape Girardeau Board of Education's decision last month not to renew principal Randie Fidler's contract.

One internal candidate and three others survived a field of 15 from Missouri and the surrounding region for the position, said Mark Bowles, assistant superintendent.

Finalists are Mark Ruark, assistant principal at Central; Brenda McCowan, principal at nearby Advance, Mo., High School; Shelley Jokerst, principal at Bernie, Mo., High School; and Mike Cowan, principal at Valley Park High School in southwest St. Louis County.

Following interviews by a committee that includes top administrators and several high school faculty members, a recommendation will be submitted to the school board.

Bowles said he hopes for an early decision so the applicant may be involved in hiring high school staff, including a new assistant principal.

The school board earlier this month approved Central assistant principal Rich Payne's replacement of Orville Krauss as assistant director of the Career and Technology Center. Krauss will retire at the end of the school year.

The field of applicants was narrowed to four based on candidates' level of administrative experience, academic background, staff and community relations skills, and other criteria. Bowles said a high level of administrative experience will be needed to manage the daily operations at Central, a school with some 950 students and staff of 74.

As assistant principal at Central, Ruark is the only candidate with administrative experience in a district with a sizable enrollment. High school enrollments at Advance, Mo., Bernie., Mo., and Valley Park are 235, 243 and 261 students, respectively.

"There was a 100 percent consensus on who our top tier of candidates were and who we wanted to invite for interviews," Bowles said.

Both Ruark and McCowan have ties to Cape Girardeau schools.

Ruark taught social studies and coached a variety of sports at Central from 1985 until 1994, when he was named assistant principal. He also worked in North St. Francois County High School as a teacher and coach for two years. He has an additional year of experience teaching in Kentucky.

McCowan is completing her second year as principal at Advance High School. She formerly taught computer technology and business courses at Central junior and high schools for 10 years and has additional teaching experience at schools in Scott City, Mo., Perryville, Mo., and in Connecticut.

Jokerst is in her third year as principal of Bernie High School. She taught English courses at Perryville High School from 1984-98.

Cowan has been a secondary principal at Valley Park High School in St. Louis County since 1993. He taught language arts for eight years at Hickman High School in Columbia, Mo. He has an additional 10 years of experience, the last five with part-time administrative duties, at Clayton High School in Clayton, Mo..