In 2013 the San Diego Unified School Board chose Cindy Marten as the new superintendent behind closed doors, hours after then-superintendent Bill Kowba told the board he would retire and before the general public knew the board needed a new superintendent. Community members criticized the move as a closed-door appointment that violated open meeting laws and denied them the chance to give input. Almost eight years later, the superintendent position is up for grabs once more as Marten is expected to be officially named U.S. deputy education secretary next month, pending Senate confirmation. Now a coalition of community groups is telling the school board it should not choose the next superintendent the same way it chose Marten.