BOXFORD — The Masconomet School Committee will soon pick either Brenda Needham or John Doherty to lead the school system, but the superintendent finalists drew little interest from the public during an open house Tuesday.

Just a few parents joined School Committee members and department heads in the Masconomet library to meet the candidates and learn about their views on the school system.

Needham, who has led the schools in Windsor, Vt., for the last nine years, said she's ready for a change. Her school district is consolidating superintendents with three other districts, and she won't be the superintendent there.

"I've been very successful, I'm very proud of my work, but it's time to do something else," she said.

Doherty, the assistant superintendent in Reading for the last four years, just finished his doctorate from Seton Hall University in New Jersey. He said superintendents can't stop learning and have to have a long reach for ideas.

"You've got to learn from other people," he said. "I call it stealing. In education, we steal other ideas and we fit them into our culture."

The candidates were scheduled for interviews Tuesday night with the full Masconomet School Committee, which is expected to make a decision by May 28. The new superintendent's contract is scheduled for a June 10 vote.

Brenda Needham

Current position: Superintendent of Windsor, Vt., schools since 2000

Education: Certificate of advanced graduate study in educational administration, Castleton State College, 1991; master's in special education, University of Vermont, 1979; bachelor's in child development, University of Connecticut, 1972.

Accomplishments in current job: Launching full-time Spanish programs in kindergarten and elementary school, bringing police officers into school.

Unusual award: Vermont Superintendent of the Year, 2008.

John Doherty

Current position: Assistant superintendent for Reading schools since 2005

Education: Doctorate in education, Seton Hall University, 2009; master's in education, UMass Lowell, 1992; bachelor's in biology, UMass Lowell, 1983.

Accomplishments in current job: Implementing new curriculum for grades K-12, creating summer enrichment program, arranging and teaching classes for teachers.

Unusual award: Massachusetts Statehouse recognition for coaching Coolidge Middle School's Science Olympiad Team, the state champion for 10 years.