Manatee school board seeks lesson on unity

EAST COUNTY — River Club resident Norman Nelson settles into the second row of the meeting room at the School Support Center on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. 

Nelson, an education enthusiast who has attended Manatee County School Board meetings since the late 1990s, opts for the second row because he doesn’t enjoy the ringside view of what he sees as a divisive school board.

“We have five individuals with five agendas and they don’t come together,” Nelson said. “They fight over those agendas, and the students are left behind.”

School board member Karen Carpenter addressed the board’s divide in a statement she emailed to colleagues and constituents April 27. 

“It’s clear this board is dysfunctional and lacks the organization and leadership to get anything accomplished,” Carpenter wrote. “I am constantly receiving calls from (outraged) county commissioners, parents, teachers, retirees and business leaders. Our meetings haven’t been productive and show steady deterioration.”

Superintendent Rick Mills cited the school board’s division last week when discussing his decision to retire, effective July 31, in an interview with the East County Observer.

“There are deep rooted conflicts about the alignment of people to previous leadership, which causes a divide, and it’s not geographic,” Mills said. 

His retirement announcement came a week after board Chairman Robert Gause involved legal counsel in charges Mills was intimidating parents and teachers and placed the item on a meeting agenda.

"We weren't elected together as a pack. But we have to learn to work together and focus on educating students again." Karen Carpenter, School board member

In the wake of Mills’ departure, the school board is forced to address the turbulence Nelson, Carpenter and others have observed.

But already, it’s becoming clear that figuring out how to get along will be a tough lesson for board members.

Training days

School board members arranged to attend the Florida School Board Master Board Training program scheduled for later this week in Kissimmee.

But Vice Chairman Dave Miner declined to attend, saying in a statement that the training would not be beneficial because it involves a meeting that doesn’t comply with Florida Sunshine Law requirements of holding a meeting community members can “reasonably” access, he said.

Because training is designed for an entire school board, one member missing the team building and leadership-training session wouldn’t be beneficial to a group, said Andrea Messina, director of board development at the Florida School Boards Association.

Miner proposed the board meet once or twice a year in a “relaxed” but public setting as an alternative to training seminars.

Instead, board Chairman Robert Gause arranged for Management Consultant Barry Banther to lead a $1,500 leadership-training course for board members May 8.

Gause believes board members are working well together, but he sees room for improvement.

“It’s important for the board to continue building its leadership capacity,” Gause said in a press release. 

Carpenter said despite attending training courses over the years, the board is still divided. 

“We have to admit we have a problem first,” Carpenter said. 

Manatee County’s next superintendent?

While the school board struggles to work together, the district must find a replacement.

The board can form a committee of education officials to conduct a statewide or nationwide search immediately for a full-time replacement or hire an interim superintendent.

Florida Department of Education board member John Colon recommends the district reach outside of its backyard.

“I know this county might like to have someone who is homegrown, but that’s the problem that led the district down the wrong road,” Colon said. “You can’t expect someone who lives here to make tough decisions that affect friends and family.”