On January 2, the seven-member Rochester School Board will choose a new president. Two board members have publicly said they want the position: Van Henri White and Vice President Malik Evans. A third, Cynthia Elliott, is rumored to be interested, but she declined to comment when asked about it last week.

As of late last week, neither Evans nor White had the necessary four votes.

The position is both a difficult one and an important one, particularly now, when public criticism about the district's graduation rate and test scores is high. The president must keep a sometimes fractious board on course and represent the district to the public.

"People are really fed up with what they are seeing," newly elected board member Allen Williams said in an interview last week. "Unless we change, the elected School Board will have only one or two years before the district will be turned over to mayoral control."

The board needs to focus more on student achievement, Williams said, and less on individual agendas.

"This is a well-meaning board with some good people, but I think it's been hard for the public to get a sense of their vision," he said. "We have to be a lot more cohesive as a group."

Board member Melisza Campos, who said she hasn't decided who she'll support for president, said she is concerned about how the board communicates with the public, and how the board is shaping public opinion.

White, an attorney who has a radio program on WDKX, is publicly more dynamic than Evans. And his proposal to add African and African-American history to the curriculum received strong support. He has helped to make lowering truancy and increasing the district's graduation rate urgent issues.

While Evans isn't identified publicly with specific educational initiatives, he led the search for a new superintendent. That process drew criticism, but in the end produced a superintendent who seems to be a popular choice. Evans often plays a mediator role on the board, and some members say they worry that he will have trouble making tough or unpopular decisions. Evans insists that he can be a strong leader. But if board members want the president to be confrontational toward City Hall, he says, that's not how he sees the role.

And Evans says he shares some of Allen Williams' concerns about the board's future. The pressures have created frustration within the board, he says.

"There are so many societal problems that stop at the school district's doorsteps," Evans says. "I think it's hard for members, since we don't have a lot of control over some of these problems. But the public's expectations are still there."