As the Lawrence school board determines the process it will use in identifying and hiring the school district’s next superintendent, serious thought should be given to allowing the public to meet the finalists for the job this time around.

That didn’t happen during the last superintendent search in March 2016, when Kyle Hayden was hired as superintendent just five days after finalists were named. Hayden lasted just a little more than a year before he resigned and was subsequently named the district’s chief operations officer. After taking sharp criticism for how Hayden’s resignation and COO appointment were handled — a move that appeared to have been worked out well before it was ever publicly discussed — school board members pledged greater transparency in such hiring decisions going forward.

On Monday, school board members began the process of interviewing firms to help with the superintendent search.

McPherson & Jacobson LLC, who was paid $20,486 for the search that led to Hayden’s promotion from assistant superintendent to superintendent, is not among the firms being considered. That’s as it should be.

Instead, the three firms that made presentations included Ray and Associates Inc., of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; School Exec Connect, of Highland Park, Ill.; and Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, of Schaumburg, Ill. All made commitments to identifying superintendents who would last at least a year or the firm would conduct another search at no charge. The firms are expected to present a list of 10 to 12 candidates that the board will narrow to three to five finalists.

David Benson, of School Exec Connect, said the search could be kept completely confidential, done entirely in the open or a blend that would keep the search confidential until the finalists were selected. The finalists would then be made public and meet the public.

School board President Shannon Kimball said the board still must determine what process to use, but she indicated an openness to the blended process.

The blended process works well if there is enough time between when the finalists are identified and a new superintendent is named for the community to meet the candidates. The simple process of holding a reception for community members to meet and speak with the finalists can go a long way in building public trust in the board’s ultimate decision.

The short time frame between naming finalists and hiring Hayden last year didn’t allow for a public reception. Hopefully, the board learned from that mistake and won’t repeat it during the current superintendent search.