Sarasota schools chief Asplen deserves a fair shake from new School Board members

Securing the overall stability of the Sarasota County school district must always take precedence over winning isolated turf wars within it.

That’s why the Sarasota County School Board should think twice about engaging in any effort to gradually undermine the authority of Superintendent Brennan Asplen and sow uncertainty about his future as the district’s leader.

It’s difficult to dismiss such nagging suspicions in the aftermath of Asplen’s curious annual performance evaluation by the current five-member School Board, which will soon be dramatically transformed when outgoing members Shirley Brown and Jane Goodwin are replaced by Robyn Marinelli and Tim Enos, who were elected in August.

Bridget Ziegler, Tim Enos and Robyn Marinelli sweep Sarasota School Board races

While Asplen received an overall positive evaluation, only three board members – Brown, Goodwin and Tom Edwards – judged him as “highly effective.” Board Member Karen Rose, however, gave Asplen a middling “effective” rating and another member, Bridget Ziegler, offered a damning "needs improvement" assessment.

The split vote of confidence surely paves the way for heightened speculation over Asplen’s long-term viability as Sarasota County superintendent, given that: a) Marinelli and Enos were elected as part of a candidates’ slate that included Ziegler, and b) the two newcomers are expected to work with Ziegler and Rose to create a conservative majority voting bloc on the School Board.

And Asplen's lukewarm endorsement was a pretty jarring one when you consider that:

?Asplen had consistently received robust “highly effective” ratings since becoming Sarasota County’s superintendent in 2020.

?Under Asplen's guidance, the Sarasota County school district has maintained its perennial “A” rating from the state – despite the wide-ranging disruption caused by the COVID pandemic.

?By all objective accounts, Asplen has stuck to the same low-ego, spotlight-eschewing template that he previously adhered to as a successful administrator in St. Johns County, which also ranks among Florida's top school systems.

On the surface, none of these facts suggest Asplen should be the target of distracting chatter about his future as a district superintendent.

That’s why while Rose and Ziegler – who do, after all, have some actual experience working with Asplen – are free to reach whatever judgments they wish regarding the superintendent’s level of leadership, it is incumbent on Marinelli and Enos to assure district stakeholders they haven’t already jumped to their own conclusions about Asplen before they even take office,

The main focus of the School Board should be to positively shape the futures of Sarasota County’s 50,000-plus students, not to be unduly preoccupied with determining the future of its leader. The board should leave no doubt about which priority it values during the weeks and months ahead.

– This editorial was written by Opinions Editor Roger Brown for the Herald-Tribune Editorial Board.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota's new School Board shouldn't undermine Asplen's authority