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In a split vote, the Bellevue School Board decided today to invite Seattle’s interim schools chief Susan Enfield to participate in an accelerated interview process for their superintendent vacancy.

Enfield, who is a finalist for the superintendent opening in Highline School District and is thought to be weighing other options, would have to agree to the process. She did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

If Enfield agrees, the board will establish an interview timeline by Feb. 27, district spokeswoman Jacque Coe said.

Three board members – Chris Marks, Mike Murphy and Paul Mills, the board president – voted for the move while new member Steve McConnell voted no and member Christine Chew abstained.

The vote followed a discussion that focused in part on whether accelerating the interview process would make parents and community members feel their voices are not factoring into the process. Some people did express those feelings during four public input meetings over the past two weeks, but Coe said they were not necessarily representative of the community as a whole.

“How can you really say that the people that show up are indicative of the whole community?” she said.

In the end, Coe said, the majority of board members felt they had to act quickly or risk losing out on Enfield.

A finalist for the Bellevue top job three years ago, Enfield has served as interim superintendent of Seattle Public Schools since former Superintendent Maria-Goodloe-Johnson was fired in March. Before that, Enfield served as the district’s chief academic officer.

Enfield announced in December she would not seek the top job in Seattle. The next month, when Bellevue Superintendent Amalia Cudiero announced her resignation, Enfield contacted the Bellevue School Board to express interest in the position.