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GREENSBORO -- Two North Carolina school administrators - one a former attorney and the other a career educator - are the finalists for Guilford County Schools superintendent.

The Guilford County Board of Education announced late Monday that it had narrowed its search to Maurice "Mo" Green, deputy superintendent and chief operations officer with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, and Shirley Prince, superintendent of Scotland County Schools.

Green and Prince will visit on Wednesday to meet Guilford County Schools employees and the public. The board plans to hire one of them by the end of the week.

"I think we've got two good candidates," said board member Kris Cooke. "I don't think we can go bad with either of them."

Prince, a former high school teacher, has led the roughly 7,000-student district in the southern-central part of the state since 1999. She previously worked with New Hanover and Gaston County school systems and was named North Carolina Superintendent of the Year for 2007.

Mark Jewell , president of the Guilford County Association of Educators, said he has heard positive reviews of Prince. A representative with the North Carolina Association of Educators in Scotland County said Prince works well with teachers and support staff there, Jewell said.

Jewell added that having two finalists from North Carolina could be an advantage because both Green and Prince should understand the state's testing standards, education-related laws and funding sources.

"Obviously you would think that we would place a lot of value on someone who has classroom experience," Jewell said, referring to the opinions of Guilford teachers.

Green took a different track to the educational field, serving as general counsel for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education for five years before being hired as the district's chief operations officer in 2006. He was promoted to deputy superintendent in February and oversees academic services, human resources, finance, school safety and other areas in the state's second-largest district.

"I have conflicting emotions about this potential opportunity," said Green, according to a statement on the CMS Web site. "I am genuinely intrigued about the possibility of being superintendent of Guilford County Schools, as that position will provide either finalist a wonderful chance to work in a dynamic district that is committed to improving the academic achievement levels and lives of its students."

The Guilford County school board is on track to meet its deadline of hiring a new leader before the start of school in late August. The new leader would replace Terry Grier, who left in March after eight years in Guilford to oversee the San Diego Unified School District.

Sharon Ozment, chief finance officer, and Eric Becoats, chief of staff, have served as interim co-superintendents, receiving a monthly supplement of $2,500.

The board agreed to pay national search firm Ray and Associates $34,000 plus expenses to conduct the search, which netted 135 applicants from 33 states. Ray and Associates also recruited Superintendent Peter Gorman to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in 2006.

Contact Morgan Josey Glover at 373-7078 or morgan.josey@news-record.com