A word cloud generated from respondents' answers to the question, What

Being nearly two months from hiring the Lawrence school district’s new superintendent, Lawrence school board members have listed the top characteristics they’re seeking in a candidate and are asking the public for feedback.

With that in mind, we decided to gather input from LJWorld.com readers — through this week’s Journal-World survey — on what qualities were most important in a superintendent.

Google Consumer Surveys generated a word cloud from the answers, with the size and color of each word indicating the frequency it was written in as an answer.

A word cloud generated from respondents' answers to the question, What

“Experience,” “honest” and “integrity” were the top three qualities listed. Together, they accounted for about 20 percent of the answers.

The quality most given was “experience.” It accounted for 7.5 percent of the answers. The next was “honest,” with 6.8 percent, then “integrity” with 5.9 percent. “Leadership,” “transparency,” “fiscal responsibility” and “intelligence” each accounted for about 1 percent of answers.

From there, the answers were mostly unique. There were more than 50 answers that had anywhere from 0.9 percent to 0.2 percent. Some of those were: competence, vision, compassion, common sense, forward thinking, innovative, progressive, wisdom, fortitude, open-mindedness and political savvy. The margin of error for these results was 0.1 to 1.8 percentage points.

We omitted some answers from the word cloud, including those that were only one letter or said, “I don’t know,” or a similar sentiment. The total number of answers was still about 1,000.

Before answering this question and the next, respondents were asked whether they were registered voters in Lawrence. They only moved on in the survey if they answered “yes.”

In an online survey from the school district, which will be collected through Wednesday, stakeholders are asked what the superintendent should be aware of when he or she comes to the district.

We asked readers what they thought were the district’s biggest challenges.

Google Consumer Surveys also created a word cloud from those results.

The answers “funding” and “budget” — and all other answers centered on the same issue — dominated the results. Together, they accounted for 29.7 percent of answers.

Gov. Sam Brownback was cited as the next-highest challenge, with 2.6 percent of answers. The Kansas Legislature brought in 1.7 percent.

The remaining answers accounted for less than 1 percent each. Some of those were: “inequality,” “growth,” “technology,” “liberals” and “teacher retention.” The margin of error for these results was 0.1 to 1.7 percentage points.

As with the previous question, we omitted some answers from the word cloud that didn’t apply.

The school board started the process of searching for a new superintendent in November, after now-Superintendent Rick Doll announced he would resign at the end of the school year.

Here’s the timeline for the superintendent search process, courtesy of Journal-World education reporter Rochelle Valverde:

• Jan. 25: School board meeting to review public input and determine interview questions and schedules.

• Feb. 16: Closing date for applications.

• Feb. 29: Special board meeting to review candidate applications, select semi-finalists and finalize interview schedule.

• March 3-4: Board conducts candidate screening interviews with semi-finalists and chooses finalists.

• March 7-8: Board conducts finalist interviews with an opportunity for representatives of student, parent, staff and community groups to meet finalists and provide feedback to the board.

• Week of March 7: Special board meeting for the hiring of a superintendent.