ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. \u2013 St. Johns County Schools Superintendent Dr. Brennan Asplen sent a letter to Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas defending himself against accusations made by Kamoutsas in a social-media post and subsequent letter.<\/p>\n
RELATED | Florida education commissioner slams St. Johns County superintendent, cites teacher allegations over funding comments<\/a><\/p>\n Last week, Kamoutsas sent a sharply worded letter to Asplen, citing teachers\u2019 allegations that Asplen urged staff to target named legislators with complaints about a scholarship program and to vote those lawmakers out \u2014 allegedly said at a meeting at Osceola Elementary this month.<\/p>\n \u201cI was taken back when my Executive Assistant and our Executive Director of Communications alerted me to your post on X prior to your letter arriving to me. As a result, the media outlets began calling me before T was even able to read and process your issues,\u201d Asplen wrote in a response dated April 25. <\/p>\n In his written response, obtained by News4JAX, Asplen denies ever encouraging staff to vote legislators out of office and asks for examples of \u201cdivisive\u201d or inaccurate statements. He framed his communications as fact-based transparency for stakeholders.<\/p>\n \u201cI am confident that your point was not to suggest that I hide or downplay critical and honest information,\u201d Asplen wrote. \u201cYou also allege that my comments are divisive. I would ask for clarity. How is it divisive to present facts? Do you have any specific example of an inaccurate representation that I have given?\u201d<\/p>\n READ | St. Johns County Superintendent Letter to the Florida Education Commissioner<\/a><\/p>\n Asplen has highlighted that millions of dollars in state money are going toward Family Empowerment Scholarships<\/a>, which are vouchers parents can use to send their kids to charter schools or for homeschooling.<\/p>\n