The Bellevue School Board is back to the drawing board on picking a new superintendent. The board’s top candidate, Dr. Susan Enfield, will not be leading schools here, but in Burien for the Highline School District.

The board will meet next Tuesday to discuss how it will proceed in its superintendent search.

Bellevue’s superintendent search began after Amalia Cudeiro resigned in January, citing family issues. Her three-year contract would have expired this year.

The board received letters from seven possible candidates,

including Enfield, now the interim superintendent of the Seattle School District. Enfield was the No. 2 choice when Cudeiro was chosen.

While Enfield indicated she was interested in the Bellevue position, the district knew it was competing with Highline where Enfield was one of three finalists.

The district held multiple meetings over several weeks to talk to members of the community about what they want in Bellevue’s next leader. This week the board was expected to set dates to interview superintendent candidates – really, only Enfield – but they likely wouldn’t be until next week.

School district spokesperson Jacque Coe would not reveal the names of the other applicants, but the board had not checked references on them as of last week.

Coe said Bellevue faces the same challenges as all other school districts searching for superintendents.

“All districts want the an exceptional leader and the best candidate for the children, and all want to start the school year with a leader in place,” Coe said.

The board’s Tuesday meeting will be at 4:30 p.m. at Wilburton Instructional Service Center. More information is on the school district’s web site.