BATON ROUGE — The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board selected five finalists for the board's new superintendent during their meeting Tuesday. 

From a pool of 17 applicants. the following five were chosen: Adam Smith, Andrea Zayas, Kevin George, Krish Mohip and Patrick Jenkins.

Smith has been serving in the position since Sito Narcisse's departure from the role in January. He received the Board's backing in January.

School Board President Carla Powell-Lewis says that the process of choosing the candidates will not be like previous years. Board members say they want candidates to interact with the public, possibly with panel discussions or community meet and greets.

"We're a democracy and so we thrive on the voice of the people. Whether it be a week or weekend, we are requiring and asking for our individuals that are finals to take a look at what our district is about," Powell-Lewis said.

The remaining candidates will be required to submit a five minute video about their vision for the district. 

Tuesday's meeting was the third in a series to provide the public with information about the school's proposed budget, including allocations for academic programs, infrastructure improvements, teacher pay raises and other key initiatives.

The board will hold its final budget meeting Thursday and is expected to vote on a superintendent in July.