Bolgen Vargas likely to get New Hampshire job

Former Rochester Schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas is the sole remaining candidate in a superintendent search in Manchester, New Hampshire, and may be appointed as soon as this weekend, according to the district.

Vargas, whose tenure in Rochester officially ended in June, had previously been announced as one of two candidates for the job in Manchester, a district half the size of Rochester. On Tuesday, the other candidate, Vincent Cotter, said he was withdrawing from consideration for "a variety of personal reasons," according to the New Hampshire Union Leader. 

Vargas is scheduled to meet with Manchester students, faculty, business leaders and community members Friday, then with the school board Saturday. The board is expected to make its decision Saturday.

If Vargas is not selected, the board would go back to its search firm to renew the search; the current superintendent, however, is retiring Oct. 1, lending some urgency to the proceedings.

Art Beaudry, a school board member who is on the search committee, told the Union Leader that Vargas remains "an excellent candidate."

"This isn’t a situation where he becomes the candidate by default," Beaudry said.

► MORE: Vargas leaves mark on several areas

Vargas led the Rochester City School District from 2012 through the end of 2015, then ran out the last six months of his contract as an informal advisor, according to an agreement with the school board.

JMURPHY7@Gannett.com