What are the most important characteristics for the new superintendent of Hawaii’s public schools?

That’s not a rhetorical question. The Board of Education is actually asking what you think.

An online survey has been set up to gather your responses, and you have until Monday to offer your opinion.

Is it most important that the superintendent is a “transformational leader with a record of motivating employees to exceed expectations”?

Is it crucial that the head of public schools demonstrates “a deep commitment to helping all students maximize their potential”?

Is it essential that the DOE superintendent “make recommendations and decisions that are data-driven”?

There are 27 such descriptions, and respondents are asked to choose their top nine. Several of the choices sound similar, for example:

>> Possesses excellent people skills and can present a positive image of Hawaii education.

>> Is able to build consensus and commitment among individuals and groups both within and outside of the organization.

>> Demonstrates ability to advocate for and work effectively with state and federal political leaders and public officials.

Lots of words that might be summed up under the old favorite “Works well with others.”

Absent from the list, though, are some of the more common credentials by which the head of Hawaii schools is judged: Did that person graduate from public school? Did that person send their kids to public school? Was that person ever a teacher? Can that person give a speech at a school assembly that won’t bore the snot out of the children or make the teachers roll their eyes? Can that person handle herself during classroom visits with wiggly, excited children? Is that person good with irate parents? Can that person make nice with power brokers in the Legislature without being a total tool? Can that person sit through grueling meetings and still maintain a clear mind and a sense of perspective? Does that person have a past that is free of scandal and a current lifestyle and family structure that is unencumbered by ties to big money, big power or big trouble? Can that person get along with Team Ige and its very specific ideas of how the schools should be run?

The solicitation of public comment by the Board of Education runs the risk of feeling like so many de rigueur “public engagement” exercises of the modern era, where stakeholders are consulted as a courtesy, and responses are interpreted to support whatever the decision-makers have already decided.

It also seems odd that the questions would be about a person’s characteristics and not his or her qualifications or stakeholders’ priorities for the direction of Hawaii’s public schools. Characteristics are hard to quantify.

The last question on the survey is open-ended: If you have any additional characteristics or would like to provide comments, there is a space for you to do that. Taken at face value, it’s an opportunity for the community to have a say, which is nice since the community did not have a say in what happened to the current superintendent, which necessitated this search process in the first place.

Reach Lee Cataluna at ­529-4315 or lcataluna@­staradvertiser.com.