SARASOTA — The second digital town hall hosted by the Sarasota County School District focused on security and safety following a number of incidents at district schools in the previous months.
Since October, an 18-year-old Riverview High School student was arrested after hitting another student in the face with a BB gun during an argument; a 17-year-old student, also at Riverview, was arrested after showing a gun to students on the bus to school and walking off — leading to six area schools being locked down that morning — and a Riverview student reported being sexually assaulted while parked in her car during a football game.
Social media has also played a pivotal role in many of the threats that have plagued Sarasota campuses in the last two months. In late October, a student at Sarasota High School posted a “pray for Sarasota High” message on her Snapchat, only for police to investigate and find there was no credible threat. Days later, a Riverview student was arrested after posting a Snapchat photo of a weapon he implied he wanted to bring to school the next day.
Superintendent Todd Bowden said one of the biggest challenges has been choosing what to communicate to the public and when to do so. For example, he urged parents not to attempt to go to a school that is on lockdown, as they will not be let inside the premises.
“We want to make sure that we are putting out accurate information and we want to do that in a timely manner,” Bowden said. “We try to take some time to understand the threat. Once we’ve identified the threat and assessed the threat, we can communicate the entire threat.”
Since most threats reported on social media turn out to be false, Bowden said one of the district’s next steps is taking away the incentive of reporting a false threat in the first place. The day after a threat is communicated, attendance goes down by 50 percent “regardless of the message,” Bowden said.
School Board Chairwoman Bridget Ziegler noted that parents have a place in the equation as well. “We all play a role, and that’s the parents that are having that conversation with their children to say what is responsible behavior,” Ziegler said. “Everyone playing a part is what ensures the safety of our students.”
But questions from the public, which came over email, Facebook and Twitter, veered into the political and administrative side, especially when one user asked why the district “was not moving in a proactive manner” to negotiate a contract with the Sarasota Classified/Teachers Association. Negotiations between the district and the union have been ongoing for about three months with no resolution.
“As someone said, it’s crunch time. I think we all feel the need to get this done,” Bowden said. “I’m confident in our bargaining team, I’m confident in the leadership at SC/TA and I will go so far as to say that I would be disappointed on a personal level if we’ve not reached an agreement before winter break.”
Another online commenter asked about teacher retention in the district, which has been a problem for many school districts across the country. In 2016, 173 teachers left the district for “personal reasons.”
“For us, the most important thing is having a high quality teacher in our classrooms for the success of our students,” Ziegler said. “It’s nationally trying to figure out ways to attract those quality teachers to Sarasota. Sarasota’s a wonderful place to live and a wonderful place to work. It’s not just the financial component of having competitive salaries, it’s also the environment in which they work.”
Last week, one of the three women who alleged that Bowden sexually harassed her while at Suncoast Technical College filed a discrimination complaint against the district, claiming that her negative treatment as assistant principal at Booker High School was in retaliation for her complaint against Bowden. One commenter asked how this issue, reported in the Herald-Tribune Wednesday, would be handled.
“We will investigate this complaint with the same rigor and same integrity we would investigate any such complaint,” said Scott Lempe, the district’s chief operations officer. “The superintendent has recused himself from the process and has asked me to take the lead.”
Lempe said the board will likely discuss the best procedure for the complaint at their Dec. 12 work session. He added that staff will recommend hiring an outside investigator for the complaint to be sure that “there is not even the perception about undue influence in the process.”
A major topic in the online session was the upcoming referendum on whether to extend a local optional property tax for schools March 20 for four years. The 1-mill tax provided the district with $56.5 million last year and has served as 13 percent of the district’s total revenue. During town hall breaks, those data points flashed on the screen as a reminder to the public of the impact.
Asked by moderator Vickie Oldham what the district would do if the referendum did not pass, Bowden acknowledged that he has considered the possibility.
“That really is a scenario that as a superintendent and financial officer, it keeps you up at night,” Bowden said. “We would have t change the way that we do business and we would have to eliminate the positions and we would have to impact the pay of those that work for the system.”
Ziegler noted her preference to see the election moved to the general election — an issue that had divided the board — after a question about how parents could show support for the tax.
“I’d like to personally see it moved to a general election, but right now it’s in March,” Ziegler said, “So it’s making sure that families know that they register to vote and are aware of the value that it brings to the district.”