HATFIELD – The director of special education for the Frontier Regional and Union #38 school districts, along with a Pittsfield principal and a Vermont superintendent, are finalists to become the next superintendent for the Hatfield public schools.

The Hatfield School Committee Tuesday announced that it has narrowed a field of 31 applicants to three finalists to replace John Robert, who retires at the end of the school year.

The finalists, culled from a field of eight semifinalists, are Karen Ferradino, the director of special education at Frontier for the past 11 years, Martin McEvoy, principal of the Herberg Middle School in Pittsfield, and William Bazyk, superintendent of schools for the Battenkill Valley Supervisory Union in Arlington, Vermont.

Heather Cahill, chairwoman of the School Committee, said the COVID-19 pandemic is making logistics for the rest of the hiring process tricky, but an early April hiring date remains the goal for the job that begins July 1.