The Bainbridge Island School District is continuing its search for a permanent hire for the principal’s job at Bainbridge High School.

The original deadline for applications was Feb. 2, but it recently was changed to Feb. 9, according to school district spokeswoman Galen Crawford.

The deadline was extended following the holidays to allow more time for applicants to submit materials, she said.

The first round of interviews are scheduled for the first week in March.

“We are casting a net nationwide in our search for a principal,” Crawford said.

The school district would not say how many applications have been received for the job. The district began advertising the position in early November.

Once a new principal is hired, current interim principal Mary Alice O’Neill will step down after a year in the post. She replaced Jake Haley, the previous principal who left after accepting a job as a high school principal in California.

O’Neill served as an educator for more than 30 years in South Kitsap, California and Kuwait.

Prior to her interim role, she was a teacher focused on the alignment of curriculum with Common Core Standards for the Bainbridge Island School District.