To say the last week and a half has been difficult for the Prior Lake-Savage Area School District would be a massive understatement. But it’s time to start accepting the results of the Nov. 6 election and begin moving forward for the sake of the students the district exists to serve.

No matter what their opinions about the failed referendum, Chris Lind’s election to the School Board or Superintendent Tom Westerhaus’ decision to resign, community members need to recognize several facts:

* More voters came out to reject the referendum than to support it. The referendum failed 60 percent to 40 percent. However you interpret the voters’ motives, they have spoken. Let’s now start to talk about how the school district can continue to provide a great education for children. Let’s see people on both sides of the issue participate in committees and public discussions and come up with solutions for education funding – whether they see the issue as a state-funding deficit or a district-spending problem. Finger-pointing and side-taking are not going to help solve the problems the district faces.

* Voters elected Chris Lind to the School Board. Whether they agree or disagree with his election – or his termination as a school district employee – people should not call for his resignation. Lind ran for the board, as he had the right to do, and he was elected. If the community was so outraged by Lind’s run for School Board, there was very little public outcry prior to the election. Only two letters to the editor received by this newspaper in the entire election season referred specifically to Lind and questioned why anyone would vote for him.

* Lind is now an elected official. He needs to recognize that fact and begin to reach out to the community in an open, direct way. To date, he has not. He continues to give vague responses when asked whether he plans to sue the school district. Everyone – not just those who voted for him – deserves to know where he stands before he officially begins a leadership position in the district that fired him. His is an unusual position. He can continue to let his situation divide people, or he can step up and explain what happened that caused him to be fired (something the district leadership, by law, cannot do). A straightforward explanation of why he was fired and why he subsequently ran for School Board would go a long way toward helping the community understand where he’s coming from. To refuse to provide some meaningful clarification of his situation only amplifies the volume of the rumors spreading wildly around town.

* Westerhaus has been a great leader for this school district. From day one – even during his interview for the job, in which he brought a backpack full of items to illustrate his skills and strengths – he has led with creativity, a positive outlook and a passion for education. While we respect that he’s made a decision he firmly believes is right, many people think it’s the wrong one at the wrong time. It might be the right thing for Westerhaus, but it’s wrong for many other people in this district. His resignation comes at a time when the district needs his strong, creative leadership the most. Now, instead of moving forward with a familiar, steady hand, the School Board members (none of whom, it’s important to point out, have announced their resignation and refused to work with Lind, as Westerhaus has) and the district’s committees will have to start all over again. They’ll have to go through the long, drawn-out process of finding a superintendent, usually done through a national search that can take up to a year. And they will have to do it while simultaneously dealing with the aftermath of a failed referendum and a community divided by the election of a controversial candidate. No doubt, people will say Westerhaus cannot be replaced. But he will have to be. And it won’t be an easy task; the district is going to have to go through some dark hours before it sees a bright spot again.

This district can recover from the events of the last two weeks, just as it did when the community was divided about the name of the new high school. Make no mistake – it will be hard. It will take everyone who passionately engaged in this last election to make it happen, and it will take people to step up to the plate and lead the Prior Lake-Savage Area School District into the future.

Editorials are among several opinion and commentary pieces appearing regularly in this newspaper. Unless otherwise noted, editorials are written by the editor of the Prior Lake American.