Public servants are hard to come by.

The private sector pays much more than government, for the most part. The public watches the public closer. The stress is greater.

Sometimes, public entities, such as school systems, cities and counties, have a hard time getting good, qualified people to apply for jobs because of the pay and the nature of being at the public’s beck and call.

Add to that list the issue of transparency when hiring a public employee. Many might want to apply for a position, but often those positions and those who apply become public via the media.

Members of the Selma City School Board politicked on transparency. A majority of the board, as candidates, went door-to-door and told prospective voters they were for open and honest government.

Those words, “open and honest” carry a lot of weight, some of which candidates don’t realize until they are sitting in that seat for which they campaigned so hard.

An example is the interviewing and hiring of a new chief financial officer for the Selma City School System.

The Selma Times-Journal is able today to bring to its readers a list of those the school board will interview and their qualifications. That’s because the school board and its interim superintendent Don Jefferson shouldered the burden of transparency, bit their lips and made the names and qualifications of these individuals public, as they should.

Applying for a public job is a risk when everyone knows you’re applying. But the public has a right to know. Those are tax dollars paying for those positions.

The school board and Jefferson did the right thing. It was not comfortable for them. But it was the right thing. They kept their promise to the public.