Sarasota Republicans ripped one school board member for pushing woke ideology in the very schools he’s supposed to oversee

Tom Edwards thought he could have his cake and eat it too.

The two-term Sarasota County School Board member figured nobody would notice when he quietly took over as executive director of an LGBTQ activist organization.

But Sarasota Republicans ripped one school board member for pushing woke ideology in the very schools he’s supposed to oversee.

Edwards Gets Busted for Massive Conflict of Interest

The Republican Party of Sarasota County isn’t mincing words about Tom Edwards’ latest power grab.¹

Edwards just became executive director of Project Pride SRQ, a nonprofit that openly brags about “expanding awareness and understanding of the LGBTQ+ community” through partnerships with local governments and schools.²

Here’s where it gets really sketchy.

Edwards didn’t just take a ceremonial position with some feel-good organization.

According to the GOP, the press release about Edwards’ new job said he plans to create school and after-school programs to advance what they called “radical ideology rejected by the vast majority of Americans.”³

The organization’s own materials reveal Edwards wants to create after-school programs focusing on topics that “are no longer allowed to be fully explored – or are even prohibited – in area classrooms.”⁴

Let that sink in for a moment.

Edwards is literally creating programs to circumvent the very classroom restrictions that parents fought to put in place.

He’s using his position as a school board member to legitimize an end-run around parental rights.

GOP Calls Out Edwards’ Brazen Ethics Violation

Republican Party of Sarasota Chair Jack Brill didn’t pull any punches in his response to Edwards’ obvious conflict of interest.⁵

According to Brill’s statement, Edwards supports “radical LGBTQ beliefs” that are “completely out of touch with what the Sarasota County community of parents want.”

But it gets worse.

The GOP pointed out that Project Pride SRQ isn’t just about rainbow flags and feel-good messaging. The organization plans to establish a “peer-to-peer Support Squad of students to identify bullying and mobilize around victims.”

Translation: Edwards wants to create a network of student activists who will police their classmates’ speech and attitudes about LGBTQ issues.

The GOP made it clear where they stand on Edwards’ ethics violation, stating that Edwards “can do whatever that he wants in his private life” but arguing his new position creates an obvious conflict since it gives him leverage “to push programs in the public, taxpayer-funded schools.”

Their conclusion was direct: Edwards “cannot hold this position and look out for the well-being of all students” because he’s now “incentivized to prioritize a small minority.”

https://twitter.com/SRQRepublicans/status/1955290582378561752

Edwards Has History of Stirring Up Trouble

Anyone following Sarasota County school politics knows Edwards has been at the center of controversy before.

Edwards, who is openly gay, has faced consistent criticism since his 2020 election when he defeated incumbent Eric Robinson.⁶

Governor Ron DeSantis even listed Edwards as a top target during the last election cycle, though Edwards managed to hang onto his seat.

The writing was on the wall back in 2023 when Edwards stormed out of a school board meeting after members of the public called out his agenda with some harsh language.⁷

Edwards never hid what he was about.

The difference between him and other board members was stark – they talked about test scores and budgets while Edwards championed programs built around group identity instead of actual learning.

What’s Really Going On Here

Don’t think for a second this is just about one school board member gone rogue.

Edwards’ dual role fits a much larger pattern of activists infiltrating public education to reshape it from the inside.

Project Pride SRQ’s leadership couldn’t be more thrilled with their new hire.

Board President Justyn Hunter-Ceruti gushed that Edwards brings “leadership, experience, and deep ties to the community” to advance their “mission.”⁸

What exactly is that mission?

According to the organization’s website, they’re “dedicated to expanding awareness and understanding of the LGBTQ+ community by creating strategic partnerships with local organizations, businesses, and governments.”

Notice how they specifically mention partnerships with governments – like school districts where Edwards happens to wield enormous influence.

Vice President Harry Cicchetti was even more explicit about their goals, saying Edwards brings “a dedication to advancing equity, justice and inclusion not only for LGBTQ+ people but for all who face barriers.”⁹

That’s activist speak for implementing programs that prioritize group identity over individual merit and parental rights.

Time for Edwards to Pick a Side

Sarasota Republicans got this one right when they told Edwards he can’t have it both ways.

Their statement concluded that Edwards must “resign his School Board seat if he wants to be Executive Director of this organization,” arguing that dual positions represent “antithetical” ethical behavior that’s “harmful to public school students.”¹⁰

Edwards can’t serve two masters. He can’t simultaneously represent all the families in his district while drawing a paycheck from an organization dedicated to advancing a specific political agenda in the very schools he oversees.

This is exactly the kind of conflict of interest that erodes public trust in our educational institutions.

Parents send their children to school to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic – not to be indoctrinated by activist board members who moonlight as executives for advocacy organizations.

Edwards needs to make a choice. He can either serve the taxpayers who elected him to focus on education, or he can pursue his activist agenda in the private sector.

But he shouldn’t be allowed to do both on the public dime.

¹ Republican Party of Sarasota County, Statement on Tom Edwards, August 12, 2025.

² Project Pride SRQ, Organization Website, 2025.

³ Republican Party of Sarasota County, Statement on Tom Edwards, August 12, 2025.

⁴ Project Pride SRQ, Press Release on Tom Edwards Appointment, August 2025.

⁵ Jack Brill, Statement as Republican Party of Sarasota Chair, August 12, 2025.

⁶ Jacob Ogles, “Sarasota Republicans call for Tom Edwards to leave School Board,” Florida’s Voice, August 12, 2025.

⁷ Ibid.

⁸ Justyn Hunter-Ceruti, Statement as Project Pride SRQ Board President, August 2025.

⁹ Harry Cicchetti, Statement as Project Pride SRQ Vice President, August 2025.

¹⁰ Republican Party of Sarasota County, Statement on Tom Edwards, August 12, 2025.