It's time to end the School Board drama and let cooler heads prevail

It has been almost two weeks since that fateful motion was made for the Sarasota County School Board to discuss the termination of our school superintendent, Brennan Asplen. It has been almost a week since the near epic support for the superintendent was displayed in person at a special meeting.

Meanwhile, hundreds of email messages continue to flood into the Sarasota County School Board's email account.  There are four prevailing arguments in these emails for why we should not sever our relationship with Dr. Asplen:

► There is a belief that the move to remove Dr. Asplen is a political action that is being replicated by Moms for Liberty-supported school boards around the country.

► There is a demand for more transparency regarding why the School Board is trying to remove Dr. Asplen.

► There is buyer’s remorse among some residents who voted for the winning candidates in the August School Board elections. These residents are now saying, “If I had known you would fire Dr. Asplen, I would never have voted for you.”

► There is concern that one disgruntled School Board member can control the destiny of 46,000 students.

Now that some time has passed and high emotions have subsided, I suggest the School Board and community unite to find the middle ground I was seeking at the special meeting. It is still not too late to reverse the course of this misguided trajectory. And that's why I propose that the board, along with Dr. Asplen, seek professional mediation.

I worked for the past two years on a divided School Board that left our community hungry for less noise and more unity. As evidenced recently, this goal has also been an elusive one for the new five-member School Board. Dr. Asplen has not been given the chance to prove to the new board that he can be a unifying figure – and now, with all the hurt feelings, that would be extremely difficult to do without professional assistance.

I further propose that this work does not have to be accomplished through the traditional channels with the Florida School Boards Association. It is my understanding that some of my fellow board members do not hold this organization in high esteem. That's why I am committed to finding an acceptable, agreed-upon outside professional who is experienced in working with divided not-for-profit boards.

The five of us bring such unique perspectives, and I am sure that with the proper guidance we can make decisions together that will help the superintendent and our students soar.

But here is the help that we, the School Board members, need from the community:

► Cease making judgments and accusations; we must all understand that it is very difficult to quickly admit to a bad decision or an error in judgment, but that people can change their minds if given time and room to do so.

► Continue to post on social media, send letters to the editor and email the School Board with your suggestions – but not your allegations.

► Be willing to be flexible with your vision to ensure that the School Board and the community can come together on a new course for the benefit of our students.

► Encourage the board to cast the right vote to keep Dr. Asplen.

Let’s turn this adversity into an opportunity by demonstrating our support for tolerance and forgiveness. These are the virtues that we all want our students to acquire and value.

Lastly, we must help Dr. Asplen want to stay if that is his desire. Even if we can get to mediation, I fear that he will have the hardest job of us all.

I must say that if I put myself in Dr. Asplen's shoes, I would probably want to just move on. I would probably want to just call Sarasota a big mistake and watch the city recede in my rearview mirror as I head out of town.

Let Sarasota be known as the home of the Ringling Circus, not the home of a School Board circus.

Tom Edwards is a member of the Sarasota County School Board.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: We need less tension, more unity to end Sarasota County's school drama