Directors of Central Oregon Community College soon will begin searching for a replacement for Shirley Metcalf, the college president. Here’s hoping things go more smoothly than they did four years ago.

The board’s first two choices to replace Jim Middleton when he retired in 2014 fell through. Tony Miksa, then in the administration of McHenry County College in Crystal Lake, Illinois, withdrew shortly after his father-in-law died unexpectedly. His withdrawal was unfortunate but understandable.

More troublesome was the rejection of the board’s first choice, Patrick Lanning, then an official at Chemeketa Community College’s Yamhill Valley Campus in McMinnville in early 2014. The board had announced it would vote on hiring Lanning in mid-March, only to learn during background checks that he was on paid administrative leave from Chemeketa. He had been accused of sexual harassment of a female faculty member. Understandably, the COCC board withdrew its offer.

The COCC board should keep that in mind as it proceeds in its search for Metcalf’s replacement and make a couple of commitments to the larger community as it does so. First, if nothing else the Lanning debacle makes very clear why background checks beyond simply checking with a prospective hire’s current employer are critical. Current employers are often reluctant to be forthcoming with unpleasant information about someone who’s looking elsewhere, in part because they fear legal action if a hire falls through as a result.

Just as important is continuing to make the process of finding a new president as open as possible. Community colleges in Oregon are financed by taxpayers, and those taxpayers and the schools’ students have a right to know how decisions about leadership are made.

Editor’s note: This editorial has been corrected.