The Rochester School Board's forums featuring its superintendent candidates ended last Thursday on an up note. There had been many arguments for and against holding the forums, and Board Vice President Malik Evans - who is chairing the search committee - initially opposed public meetings. He later reversed his position.

It was the right decision.

If they accomplished nothing more, the forums should have helped dispel the sense that the board wasn't finding qualified candidates. Judging from their resumes and their presentations at the forums, all four of the finalists are experienced and seem capable of doing the job. They came across as talented, hard-working, and competitive professionals who are passionate about students.

Now the board begins its toughest job: selecting from among Jean-Claude Brizard, a senior executive with the New York City school system; Rochester principal and former City Councilmember Tim Mains; Carlinda Purcell, former superintendent of Montgomery, Alabama, and Fayetteville, North Carolina, school districts; and Ingrid Carney, deputy superintendent with the Boston school system.

Board Vice President Malik Evans says he wants a superintendent hired by the end of November, with a start date sometime before the end of this school year. While all of the candidates are strong, board members will be considering more than their qualifications.

"Now the question is, which one is the best fit," says board member Willa Powell.

Carlinda Purcell may present the toughest dilemma. Her school board bought out her contract after a heated controversy, and that controversy continues to pursue her. The conflict seems to have been an intensely personal one between Purcell and some Montgomery board members, and when she was asked about it at the forum, she hedged, saying that she had discussed it frankly with the Rochester board. Board members here say they investigated the conflict thoroughly and are comfortable with her explanation.

Purcell has some strong supporters on the Rochester School Board as well as in Montgomery. But her detractors in Alabama aren't letting up.

"We still get some hate mail about her," says Powell. "And that's really unfortunate, because this is the kind of stuff that is not about her job as a superintendent. It's more vitriolic than that. It says more about the people who do this than it does Purcell, but it's there."

Tim Mains has supporters both in the community and on the School Board. But he, like Purcell, could be a controversial pick to some in Rochester. During his 20 years on City Council, he was known as a tireless, detail-oriented worker, especially when it came to financial matters. But he had his skirmishes with other Council members.

And Mains, who is openly gay, could also have trouble building a relationship with conservatives in the African-American community.

That leaves Carney and Brizard.

The morning after the final forum last week, there was no clear majority for any of the candidates. If that continues, the board could end up selecting a compromise superintendent who is no one's first choice, but who is acceptable to a majority.

"The pressures about this decision are mounting," says board member Willa Powell, and they're coming from every direction. There's no question that someone will probably have to agree to go along with someone who may not be their first choice. It would be extraordinary to have everyone agree on one person right off the bat."

It's also possible that the board could choose someone who is the first choice of four board members, but is strongly opposed by two or three others. In that case, the new superintendent would start work with a difficult hurdle to overcome. Nonetheless, if anyone gets four votes, however, that person will be the next leader of the Rochester School District.

"By law, the majority rules," says School Board President Domingo Garcia. "That's the way it is. You can't change the rules now. So if we can get a consensus, that candidate will become the new superintendent."

There are, of course, a couple of other scenarios. One is that the board is deadlocked, with no candidate getting four votes. In that case, board members might ask Interim Superintendent Bill Cala to stay on while they resume the search. That might even mean that the next School Board, with two new members, will make the selection.

The final possibility: board members are deadlocked and rather than look for more finalists, they try to persuade Cala to accept the permanent position.

"But I don't think that will happen," says Garcia. "I really think we will be able to come to some kind of an agreement. I'm quite sure we'll be able to do that, and that's what we should be doing."

The board members will have a final interview with the candidates this week and then convene to vote.