By this time next week, the Hamilton County Board of Education may have settled on superintendent qualifications and a search firm to find one.
But the lack of focus in Thursday's meeting, in which members struggled to discuss the specifics of both issues after having delayed voting on a search firm for a month, is troubling.
"We're acting like children," board Chairman Steve Highlander said, appropriately.
The superintendent search, as several of the board's new members noted in their pre-election editorial board interviews with the Times Free Press, will be the most important item on their agenda this year. So it's important to get it right.
In their interviews, though, the then-candidates advocated better board communications, said they didn't like the dithering they often saw among members and believed the public expected them to move with some urgency.
"There is a perception of [the board] not dealing with issues in a timely manner," said Kathy Lennon, who went on to win the District 2 seat in August.
"There seems to be an inability to form great relationships," said Tiffanie Robinson, who took the District 4 seat.
"The track record doesn't show [the board has] got a handle on it," said Joe Wingate, who captured the District 7 seat.
Perhaps those needs require Highlander to schedule additional meetings. Perhaps they require members to do more homework. Perhaps they mean they all should look a little harder for common ground.
As important as it is to find a change agent to run the school district, it's also important not to draw out the search process. The longer the process takes, the easier it becomes to fall back on the interim leadership in place. And while that leadership is earnestly taking steps to try new approaches, the county needs a superintendent with a track record of success in such work. Meanwhile, the students in the system deserve a focused school board to make that happen.