There should be no question in the minds of Lawrence school board members of the community’s concern over cuts in the school budget and the possibility of closing schools.

Board members face some tough decisions, and almost any decision they make is bound to make someone unhappy. That may be unavoidable, but board members and top district administrators may be able to ease some bad feelings by taking additional steps to make sure the public understands why some ideas were rejected and others were implemented.

It is a great credit to Lawrence that so many local residents have taken an active interest in the school district’s budget problems. Many copies of the district budget are floating around town, and some knowledgeable people have spent considerable time combing through that budget looking for ways to trim it without closing schools.

Their ideas deserve serious consideration. These people don’t have all the information that district administrators have, but their ideas reflect views and values that the board should consider. There may be sound reasons why some of their budget-cutting suggestions won’t work or won’t result in as great a saving as they thought. Even if that is the case, school officials shouldn’t just dismiss the ideas without giving as detailed an explanation as they can. The superintendent’s office can’t spend all of its time explaining why something won’t work, but it needs to make a reasonable effort to give members of the public the additional information they need to understand why a decision was made.

Lawrence school board members have said they want to designate budget reductions for the coming year by March. However, it will be hard for them to know how much they must cut until after the Legislature reviews April revenue estimates and finalizes the state budget. It’s good that board members don’t want to put off the tough decisions, but they also don’t want to take any hasty action that may not prove to be necessary.

In the end, patrons of the Lawrence district will have to trust their board members to make the best of what is almost certain to be a bad state funding situation. That’s what they have elected the board to do.

For their part, board members must respect their positions as elected representatives who are charged with making decisions that reflect the will of their constituents. Although it can be trying to be bombarded by so many voices, it’s the job of board members to listen to those voices and perhaps learn from them. Their final decisions may not please everyone, but they will be accepted far better if people feel their ideas have been heard and considered and if the district is completely transparent about why those ideas were accepted or rejected.