Rochester School Board members are in a dicey position. Nearing the end of their search for a new superintendent, they've narrowed the candidates down to two: Rochester principal Tim Mains, who is a former City Councilmember and mayoral candidate, and Carlinda Purcell, former superintendent of the Montgomery County, Alabama, school system.

In some people's eyes, there is a third candidate: the current interim superintendent, Bill Cala. In his short time heading the district, Cala has developed a strong following, but at the moment, he's not under consideration. The question: should he be?

Cala didn't apply for the permanent position. School Board members say they must complete the process they've started, and it's possible that they'll select Mains or Purcell in the next few days.

This newspaper isn't about to tell the School Board who to choose. We weren't involved in the process. But we do have some advice about that process as it stands now: Rethink it. There's no way board members can make a decision without adding Cala to the mix.

This is not an endorsement of Cala. He hasn't been on the job long enough for us to form an opinion. And we agree with something board member Willa Powell told us earlier this week: picking a candidate purely by public sentiment is risky. "We have a tendency to go through a honeymoon phase with our superintendents and crucify them later," she said.

Still, there is that public support. And the heads of the teachers union and the administrators union want Cala to be superintendent. The mayor wants him.

Cala may not be a better candidate than Mains or Purcell, but if board members don't include him when they're weighing the candidates, they create a major credibility problem for themselves. And Mains or Purcell will take office under a cloud of controversy.

Neither Mains nor Purcell will please everyone. Teachers-union President Adam Urbanski, in fact, told this newspaper on Tuesday that he's not happy with either one: Mains because he has no experience as superintendent, Purcell because of problems at her previous job.

Purcell is described as a strong, charismatic person. But she might also be a controversial pick: she was fired from her Montgomery job in 2006, after only two years. That record alone doesn't rule her out: she had strong support in Montgomery. And it's not unusual for capable, strong administrators to get into trouble with school boards who have their own ideas about how a district ought to be run. Rochester's school board needs to be absolutely sure, however, that the Montgomery board, not Purcell, was at fault in that controversy. The last thing this school district needs is a superintendent who comes in bringing a lot of baggage.

We've known Mains for many years. While he hasn't been a superintendent, he's an experienced educator who is passionate about children. Mains also has his critics, particularly at City Hall, where support for Cala is strong.

No candidate for superintendent will please everyone. No superintendent will please everyone. But School Board members must convince the public that they have conducted a thorough, thoughtful search. They can't do that if they're not even considering someone who is obviously qualified for the job.

And frankly, they'll look pretty silly. "Process" isn't the point. Selecting the best candidate is.

Cala has said that he isn't applying for the fulltime position. But he also seems to be leaving the door open - if the board finishes its search and isn't happy with its prospects.

The Democrat and Chronicle ran a story on Sunday saying that Cala has changed his mind and that he's now interested in the job. On Monday, City's Tim Macaluso asked Cala for clarification in an e-mail. "You've always stated that you were not pursuing this position on a fulltime basis," Tim wrote, "but you were open to talking to the board once they completed their process."

Cala's response was to copy that phrase and add underneath it: "Exactly no change from the above."

I assume that means he might consider the job if the board decides it doesn't want either Mains or Purcell. In that case, the board has no choice: it must consider Cala as well as Mains and Purcell. Right now.

Its responsibility is to select the best candidate of the three.