Franklin residents were handed a raw deal recently when our City Council decided to conduct interviews of school board candidates behind closed doors.

As taxpayers we should have the right to know the candidates’ philosophies on education, their plans for our schools and their ideas about how to use our money to improve public education.

We should hear about their qualifications. We should be able to ask questions and get answers.

Luckily, The Tidewater News has a public forum for candidates to tell us about themselves: our newspaper.

School board appointments were scheduled to take place during the City Council’s Monday night meeting, but they have been delayed until the July 13 meeting.

Look for a Q&A featuring some of the school board candidates in an upcoming issue.

Though we can’t vote for our school board members, at least we will be able to understand who may represent us and how they plan to lead.

A better-informed public might arm themselves with that knowledge and take up the fight against the problems that exist here. Better still, they might just become involved in helping making our educational system the best it can be.