Karen Rose, Liz Barker are vying for a Sarasota School Board seat. Here's the clear choice.
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Make no mistake about it: Our community will always owe Sarasota County School Board Chair Karen Rose at least one debt of gratitude.
Last summer Rose refused to bow to local right-wing groups that were pressuring the School Board to hire Charles Van Zant – a polarizing, antagonistic and eccentric former Clay County superintendent – to lead Sarasota's school district
Instead, Rose willingly drew the anger of those influential, hard-right groups by supporting longtime Hillsborough County administrator Terry Connor, who was ultimately hired by the School Board.
One year later, Connor has won praise for his charismatic and effective leadership of the school district, which has more than 45,000 students. And, thanks to Rose, Sarasota County was spared the chaos that a Superintendent Van Zant would have surely generated.
So was that a brave and admirable act by Rose? Absolutely.
But that leads to another question: Why was it even necessary for the Sarasota County School Board to conduct a controversial search for a new superintendent last year?
And the answer gives a glimpse into why voters should not reelect Karen Rose to her District 2 School Board seat – and why they should instead choose her opponent, Liz Barker, on the Aug. 20 election ballot.
More: How the Herald-Tribune Editorial Board makes candidate endorsements
Pushed out a capable leader
The reason why the School Board spent Summer 2023 looking for a new superintendent is because during Winter 2022 – after providing no public warning and appearing to work in secretive, calculated concert with fellow conservative School Board members Bridget Ziegler, Robyn Marinelli and Tim Enos – Rose put forth a motion that effectively called for the firing of then-Superintendent Brennan Asplen.
And sure enough, Asplen was officially gone a few weeks later – despite a 28-month tenure that saw him:
Lead the Sarasota County school district to “A” ratings from the state in 2021 and 2022.
Navigate the district through the traumatic COVID pandemic – which deeply disrupted the education process for thousands of Sarasota County students – as well as the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian in September 2022.
Keep the district on a steady course despite controversies – some of which were inflamed by Board Member Ziegler and like-minded school parents – that ranged from an assault on LGBTQ rights in Florida's schools to a largely manufactured state of hysteria over critical race theory.
To this day, Rose’s role in spearheading the capable Asplen’s exit carries the scent of being as much about settling old scores as it was about seeking to reset the district’s educational path.
And, yes, while it is true that Sarasota County’s third grade reading scores have markedly improved over the past year, it's highly possible that encouraging spike is largely due to Asplen’s past strategies and Connor’s focused, disciplined approach in recalibrating those plans – and that it actually occurred despite the orchestrated move by Rose and her conservative School Board colleagues to force Asplen out in such humiliating fashion.
Rose hasn't healed divisions
There is, however, a bigger reason why Rose – who did not respond to the Editorial Board’s request for a candidate interview -- should not be reelected: time and time again, she has done too little to heal and change the divisive environment on the five-member School Board.
The board is still a playground for meaningless displays of political theater, ranging from Marinelli ripping up a proposed resolution distributed by colleague Tom Edwards to Ziegler – a onetime moralizing culture warrior now thoroughly discredited after a sex scandal that drew national attention – persuading the School Board to block district compliance with new federal regulations designed to prevent gender identity discrimination.
In addition, Rose should have done more - and done it sooner – to end the spectacle of board members being verbally flogged, meeting after meeting, by a seemingly endless gauntlet of raging speakers during public comment periods.
For example, Edwards – who is gay and serves as the sole progressive member on the board – has been targeted for horrific homophobic abuse during public comments. And Ziegler has spent recent months being hectored and badgered by speakers who keep demanding she resign from the School Board – and who keep ignoring the fact she’s unequivocally said that she won’t quit.
In short, the School Board is still plagued by a level of toxicity that is both distracting and demoralizing – and Rose must take some responsibility for its ongoing existence. On Aug. 20, voters should hold Rose accountable by choosing a new voice and a more-unifying presence to represent District 2 on the Sarasota County School Board.
Barker's refreshing approach
It is a role that Liz Barker is superbly equipped to take on – and impressively fulfill.
A former longtime school psychologist who has four children currently enrolled in Sarasota County’s public schools, Barker has vowed to spend her energy pursuing pragmatic priorities rather than political agendas.
“I think it’s important that we come together as a community and reject this notion of political extremism in our schools,” Barker said during an Editorial Board interview.
“My whole focus would be this: ‘Are we making decisions that are student-centered?’ But right now, the whole framework of decision making (on the School Board) is based on politics.”
Barker said it’s vital for the School Board to show teachers that they are still valued and empowered – she noted that in a survey of district educators conducted last year, more than 80% felt they weren’t adequately supported by the board – and to also pay more attention to the school system’s finances.
“What I’ve seen on the board is a lack of fiscal restraint,” Barker said.
“There’s a lot of eagerness to spend money, which as a taxpayer and a parent I don’t understand when you see what may be coming down the pike as far as future challenges to our budget. We’re already on a hiring freeze, we’re already pausing projects and we’re already cutting instructional positions in many of our schools.”
Added Barker: “That’s the kind of stuff I wish we were talking more about. We spend so much time talking about these politically divisive issues, and I would love to shift the focus away from that as a School Board member.”
That’s a refreshing perspective, and it’s overdue for it to be embraced by the Sarasota County School Board. On Aug. 20, voters can help usher in that new era by electing Liz Barker to the District 2 seat.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota voters have clear choice in Rose-Barker School Board race
