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On Friday, Austin Public Schools released a list of five candidates to fill the role of superintendent after David Krenz retires in June.

While we have no doubt that all five candidates are capable of leading a school district such as Austin, we are extremely pleased that two of these candidates are coming within the district.

APS Director of Human Resources Mark Raymond and Executive Director of Finance and Operations Lori Volz are among the five and are a testament to a district that not only has one but two quality candidates coming from within its own doors.

Both Raymond and Volz are long-time members of APS administration; it is our belief that they would continue the tradition of strong leadership should one of them be hired on.

This is a unique time for a school board. With three new faces, the board will be making one of its most important decisions and that certainly can’t be taken for granted. This board has become trusted to make difficult decisions all along so we feel good that not only are Austin’s two candidates strong, but the three coming from outside of the district are strong candidates as well.

But even if the district chooses to hire from outside, the fact remains that multiple superintendent candidates are district employees and is representative of not only the willingness to promote from within, but representative of strong leadership at all levels that make that possible.

While we won’t advocate from who gets hired, we will say that regardless of what happens, it’s a credit to the Austin Public Schools District they at least have that option.