DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - On Wednesday night, the Decatur community got a chance to meet the finalists for the District 61 Superintendent position - Dr. Malika Savoy Brooks and Michael Gaal.

"I think I'm the right person for the job because of my background, experiences, the passion, the focus on student achievement, the focus on data, the focus on teacher development," Dr. Malika Savoy-Brooks said.

Dr. Brooks started as a substitute teacher before working her way up to serve in administration and now as the chief academic supports officer in Philadelphia.

"I know how to hire, I know how to hire well and I know how to build teams. So I would be leaning very heavily on the strong instruction that exists within Decatur Public Schools. I've seen the numbers, there are pockets of very strong growth," Michael Gaal explained.

Gaal is a veteran Air Force commander who has gone on to work in some of the toughest districts in the country, from Detroit to Oakland to D.C.

In a virtual forum, both addressed the dire need to hire teachers and aids to keep them in the district.

"In the three districts that I've worked in, I've put together a system that I call recruit, train and sustain, which is kind of the larger framework that I believe HR needs to be built on," Gaal said.

"We need to figure out who in the paraprofessional pool, would be interested in becoming teachers," Dr. Brooks added.

Both candidates also took several tough questions about the need for transparency, a positive culture and a solution to violence in schools.

"Those students that are acting out - what does their daily programming look like and is there a context for those students to be in school, or am I in school because I have to be in school?" Dr. Brooks asked.

"I like to say usually those behaviors are a manifestation of issues that have arrived with the student. As adults and educators, we need to have structures and systems to allow a student to work through those," Gaal added.

Decatur residents can share their thoughts on the two candidates by clicking here.