Time for governor to step up — or Ziegler to step down

We believe that Gov. DeSantis should remove Bridget Ziegler from the Sarasota School Board now. The School Board has called for her resignation, naming her continued participation on the Board a “distraction to the business of the school board.”

The board correctly determined that the controversy swirling around her interferes with its business. Her presence on the board only magnifies the divisiveness between and among school board members on highly sensitive issues. 

The constant references to her in the press can only disturb and confuse school-age children and undermine the faith of their parents in a school board that needs to be focused on policies that are inclusive and promote the value of public education for ALL students. This focus on controversy diminishes the Board’s ability to do its job.

As Bridget Ziegler refuses to step down and put our children first, only the Governor has the power to remove her from her position on the School Board. We as Sarasota residents cannot understand his continued refusal to remove her. She has lost the confidence of her own board and much of the community that elected her. 

The governor can appoint a replacement to her seat; and if she is removed before July 22, her replacement will have to stand for election this August which will allow the residents of Sarasota County to choose her successor. 

— The Executive Committee of the Longboat Key Democratic Club on behalf of the club (Lucie Lapovsky, president; Nancy Greenhouse, vice president; Ann Roth, secretary; Andy Maass, treasurer)