Tonight the Selma City Board of Education will debate and vote on a proposed contract for Superintendent of Education Dr. Donald Jefferson. With any employment decision involving public funds, it’s a decision that should be made carefully, and after considering all information available to them.

Not only will their vote be about the compensation afforded the top education official in the city, but a true test of their fiduciary responsibility to the education system they oversee, the children it serves and the taxpayers and voters who fund the system’s budget and gave them their seats on the board.

Previously, the board approved Jefferson’s base salary of $118,500, which is 6.4 percent higher than that of many experienced superintendents who lead similar sized school districts. They’ve also approved $9,600 in annual travel expenses and asked for nothing in the way of documentation on how the money will be used.

Tonight the board has yet another opportunity to prove their commitment to the children of the Selma School System through careful consideration of Jefferson’s additional compensation demands.

The board is already obligated to pay for Jefferson’s health insurance ($9,024) and a retirement match ($14.824.35), but Jefferson is also asking that the citizens of Selma provide him a 5 percent annuity, long-and short-term disability coverage and a $250,000 term life insurance at a cost of $10,397.62. Totaled, these extra items, added with the $9,600 in annual travel allowance, come to an additional $43,845.97 in compensation.

Consider these factors: based on the system’s finances, the budget is perilously close to falling below the state-mandated reserves. The school district cannot afford more than about $15 per student for textbooks, which means students cannot take them home to study. Teachers, who earn far less than what Jefferson is asking for, must pay for many of their own classroom supplies.

Given these factors, why is there even consideration being given to paying Jefferson, who is certainly well educated and popular here in his hometown more than what his peers earn? Yes, he has worked with the state Department of Education to help lift other schools, but he is untested and has no record of leading a school system as its superintendant.

We hope and expect he has the best intentions for the students of the Selma School System, but the school board did little to determine if he was the best person for the job, especially when you consider the challenges our school system faces with graduation rates, drop out rates, the ability to meet federal standards and funding.

And although the board committed time, and thousands of dollars to pay a search firm to find candidates, none of them were ever interviewed.

The additional compensation included in the proposed contract comes to $11.27 per student currently enrolled in the system. That may not sound like much to those reading this, but in an economy that is the worst in a generation, every penny that can be spent toward the education of students is precious, and should be spent wisely.

Clearly, tonight’s vote is a test. It is similar to a pass or fail. Will the board “pass” by showing their commitment to education in Selma and to those who pay for the system or will they “fail” and give Jefferson what he claims he needs to survive in a city where the median family income is less than $29,000 a year?

Let’s hope for the children’s sake they don’t flunk yet another exam.