WESTBROOK – School committee members have finished advertising internally for candidates for the new Westbrook school superintendent, and Marc Gousse is on a very short list.

In fact, he’s the only name on the list, according to committee members this week.

School Committee Chairman Ed Symbol said he thought there would be a few others, but after the 10-day period for accepting applications expired last week, Gousse, who is interim school superintendent, was the only one.

There is no official rule, either in the city charter or state law, dictating how the district must select a superintendent. The process, Symbol said, is for the district to study the pool of local candidates and, if necessary, advertise outside of the district.

Superintendent Reza Namin resigned in March to take a position as superintendent of the Spencer-East Brookfield Regional School District in Spencer, Mass. Gousse has served as interim superintendent ever since Namin’s announement. At the time, Symbol said, some administrators and officials expressed doubts to him as to whether Gousse was the right choice.

But since then, Symbol said, “I think that they’ve changed their minds, and told me so.”

Fellow committee member Alex Stone said he has been impressed with Gousse’s brief tenure, noting Gousse’s tackling of the budget crisis that emerged in late March. The district, upon learning of massive losses in state and federal funding, wound up having to close a $3.7 million budget gap in less than three months.

“I think he’s taken us through certainly one of the most difficult budget seasons we’ve ever had,” Stone said.

Getting through that season, Stone said, meant making tough decisions about what to cut in the 2011-2012 school budget. Stone commended Gousse’s for continuing to work, even after the budget was hammered out, in getting the word out prior to the June 7 referendum on the budget. Stone said that tells him Gousse is not one to become complacent.

“After (the budget) was done, he didn’t rest,” Stone said. “He’s not content on standing still.”

Symbol also said Gousse has accomplished a lot in the three months he has served as interim superintendent.

“I think he did a good job at bringing us all back and getting us refocused on the big picture,” he said.

The committee, Symbol said, will meet with Gousse next week, in what will amount to a job interview for Gousse. Stone said he is interested in what Gousse sees in the future for the district.

Gousse declined to discuss his candidacy in detail this week, but said he is “very interested” in the job. He has served as principal of the high school for the last 10 years, and said he looks forward to the chance to serve as permanent superintendent.

“I’m just thrilled to have the opportunity,” he said. “I love this community. I live here, (and) my children have been educated here.”