FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Florence School District One held a public forum to ask for input on qualities the community wants in the district’s next superintendent.

The forum was led by Search Consultant for B.W.P. & Associates, Bill Symons.

He said the search team will put together a leadership profiled based on the list of characteristics the community shares, and will present it to the school board at its next meeting.

“We’re talking with teachers, parents, community citizens, and governmental leaders to try and seek what they think is important for this district,” said Symons.

Parents at Tuesday’s forum said they want the next superintendent to hold both teachers, and the school board, accountable for their actions.

“I don’t think they’re being held accountable with the discipline in the classrooms, and the school board itself,” said one person in the audience.

Members of the audience also said they want the district’s future superintendent to be inclusive.

“I think it’s important for the next superintendent to have an appreciation for cultural diversity,” said one woman in the audience. “Florence is a very diverse area, and I think right now, they [the district] do a really good job of making sure that there are diverse programming experiences.”

The parents said they want the new superintendent to take safety in schools seriously, and make it a top priority.

Darnell Carter’s 12-year-old daughter goes to a Florence School District One middle school.

“The biggest quality I’m looking for in a new superintendent, in Florence School District One, is for the safety of our kids and the teachers,” Carter said.

He said he wants both technology and safety to be a primary concern of the next superintendent.

“Even if we had to have one way in and one way out of the schools,” he suggested. “Guard shacks with metal detectors there, a fenced-in area that’s secured where you just can’t walk into the school anytime.”

Minna Ridenhour said four of her children attend Florence School District One schools, and also wants metal detectors in the district’s schools.

“That’s a no-brainer,” Ridenhour said about the metal detectors. “I am ready to feel safe, and for my children to feel safe, and not to think about what’s going to happen during the day.”

Ridenhour said not only does she want the future superintendent to take action on making safety a priority, but wants the person to be reliable as well.

“He or she needs to be willing to look at our schools, and look at what we’re missing, and do something to make it safer immediately,” she said.

A survey for public input is posted on the district’s website, and will stay open until Mar. 6.

The Florence School District One School Board will meet on Feb. 22.