SEIDMAN SAYS: Now that Asplen is gone, the real work begins

After the November 29 Sarasota County Schools meeting at which dozens of parents and residents protested the school board’s plan to terminate Superintendent Brennan Asplen, I received a flood of emails encouraging me to advocate for Asplen’s retention.

“Dr. Asplen is a man of such character he may stay to fight the good fight,” wrote one. “A Don Quixote facing a real foe. He knows by now he’s got the full support of staff and community.”

Perhaps you recall that Don Quixote’s idealism and nobility were rendered useless by a post-chivalric world that viewed them as insane -- a not inaccurate metaphor. Much as I sympathized with the sentiment to keep Asplen on board, it was naïve, if not downright magical thinking.

In the wake of the meeting – at which only member Tom Edwards spoke in support of the superintendent and the typically taciturn Asplen let loose with a point by point self-defense that surely did not endear him further to the other board members – it was clear that ship had sailed.

Sure enough, shortly thereafter the terms of Asplen’s negotiated departure – about $170,000 in severance pay plus unspecified benefits – were revealed. All that remains are the formalities, which will take place at the board’s scheduled meeting Tuesday.

That doesn’t mean, however, that the impact of this unfortunate disruption is over; far from it. We’re left with a school system lacking an experienced or visionary leader; a new board that has already laid a foundation of distrust, suspicion and disharmony; and SCS staff, teachers and students who – as if they weren’t challenged enough by a three-year pandemic – feel alienated, disregarded and frightened about the future.

Make no mistake, it’s going to be a long, difficult slog to restore the glowing reputation to a school system that for years has been acknowledged as one of the best in the state. And nothing positive will come out of hitting this rock bottom unless we acknowledge the mistakes that have been made and absorb the lessons we must learn from them. Among them:

▶ Voters must be more diligent in researching candidates and issues in the lead up to an election in order to make more informed choices, rather than casting a vote along “party” lines in what is intended to be a nonpartisan race.

▶ School Board candidates have an obligation to be transparent and forthcoming about their intentions if elected, lest voters feel duped when their true aims are revealed. (Efforts continue to determine if board members Karen Rose, Bridget Ziegler and newcomers Timothy Enos and Robyn Marinelli, violated Florida’s “Sunshine” in government laws in reaching the decision to terminate Asplen.)

▶ Foremost, we must heed Asplen’s parting words: “You have to get politics out of this school district. You have to.”

That means from Tuesday’s meeting forward, there must be a commitment from everyone involved to foster a fresh start and a new approach, one dedicated, first and foremost, to building a harmonious school system that supports its staff, teachers and students; honors inclusivity, diversity and equity; and puts no agenda higher than insuring every student has the best possible opportunity to learn, grow and thrive.

Right now that aspiration may seem unattainable. It will be revelatory to see who accepts the challenge.

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Order one, of course, will be finding a new district leader. Given not only the current turmoil but the recent history of another superintendent who left under pressure, this will not be an easy task. Whether it will even be possible to draw qualified, much less exceptional, applicants for the job remains to be seen. (I mean, seriously, would you want the job?) How the board goes about the process will make an enormous difference in how well and how quickly the district recovers its equilibrium.

There must be an open and transparent process for recruiting and vetting prospective candidates, one that allows parents and community members to be involved, weigh in and influence the final decision.

There must be independent oversight over the selection process and board members must operate in the sunshine, eschew the interference of the state’s political and party leaders and refuse to allow their personal and political agendas to dictate their choices.

There must be a commitment by community members to stay involved, informed and active in district affairs as we move forward – and not only in the run up to an election.

If you believe in the public education system our country was founded upon, you must acknowledge it is under threat. If you want to save it, you must show up at board meetings, write to board members and, if it’s in your wheelhouse, volunteer in some capacity to support students and teachers. Even if you don’t have children or grandchildren in the system, it’s your tax dollars that are underwriting public education and your right to make sure they are wisely spent.

Finally, we must fight the increasing encroachment of our state’s political leaders on local educational decisions and directions.

As the comedy team of Laurel and Hardy might say, “This is a fine mess we’ve got ourselves in.” It’s no secret how we got here and clearer still that more of the same will only ensure our district’s demise. The true test of our commitment to our children and our resilience as a community will be how we get ourselves out of it.

Contact Carrie Seidman at carrie.seidman@gmail.com or 505-238-0392.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Lessons must be learned from Asplen's exit as Sarasota schools chief