LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Jefferson County Board of Education voted 5-2 Thursday in favor of beginning contract negotiations with a superintendent finalist.

The board met at 5 p.m. to discuss the two finalists for the superintendent position.

JCPS board members Linda Duncan and Taylor Everett were the two who voted against entering the contract negotiations.

The board didn't share which candidate it's negotiating with at this time.

Earlier this month, the board announced Harold Brian Yearwood and Ben Shuldiner as the top two candidates to replace outgoing Superintendent Marty Pollio, who is leaving July 1 to become president of Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana .

At it's board meeting last week, chair Corrie Shull said it would meet May 22 to have final deliberations and selection of the next superintendent.

Shuldiner is currently superintendent of the Lansing School District in Michigan, where he is credited with improving attendance and increasing graduation rates. He is a graduate of Harvard University.

Yearwood served as superintendent of Columbia Public Schools in Missouri from 2021 until the end of 2024. District leaders there said he helped improve student performance, however, his departure in December raised questions. A copy of his separation agreement shows Yearwood received more than $667,000 in a contract buyout. He cited retirement, but neither he nor the district has commented further due to a confidentiality clause in the agreement.

"The district made the separation agreement public in November following a unanimous vote by the Board of Education," said Michelle Baumstark, chiefs communications officer for Columbia Public Schools. "It was a mutually agreed separation.

"Dr. Yearwood indicated he would be retiring from CPS and provided attorneys that language. Many retire from public education and go on to do other things following their retirement. The Missouri public education retirement system also allows you to go on to other states and continue to work in public education."

Yearwood was also scheduled to appear as one of three finalists for the superintendent position in the Christina School District in Wilmington, Delaware, but that district has chosen a new Superintendent. It named Dr. Deirdra Joyner as its Superintendent.