Ellyn Smith, Ashley Smith, and a "Miffed Elia" - Relationships are Important

In today's Tribune, we see this statement:

" ..Smith could not be reached Tuesday night. Her husband, Ashley Smith, attended the board meeting but would not comment. He said his wife was at a PTA Board meeting."

An astute public commenter wondered "where did this statement come from?" How did the name of the husband of a principal just get thrown into this article as if he was pertinent to the issue? I know several principals, and I am quite sure that if their spouse turned up at a school board meeting, their name wouldn't be printed just because they were there alone. The public commenter (moi), asked:

"Posted by ( RLH ) on 10/08/2008 at 06:37 am.

The article doesn't say what position the husband, Ashley Smith, has with the school system."

And then there is this:

"Posted by ( Longball ) on 10/08/2008 at 10:42 am.

I know Mr. Smith use to be an administrator as well years ago, but I am not sure what he is doing now.
And he wasn't a strong administrator himself, so there could be some issues here with the Misses.

And finally, the lone comment that got my attention:

"Posted by ( pokethefire ) on 10/08/2008 at 02:52 pm. ...Now we'll see if things change! Superintendent Elia seemed miffed that she had to deal with this or that the issue was into the public view. .....

All can be read here:
Parents Critical Of Alafia Elementary Principal

This led to a little research, which now makes it all make sense of why there may be a lot more to this story than meets the untrained eye.

If we go to this link, the plot thickens:

Knowyourcandidates: STATE HOUSE 62

ASHLEY SMITH, 59, is a retired public school teacher and administrator living in Valrico. Smith began his teaching career as a social studies instructor at Plant City High. He has served as principal at Buchanan and Eisenhower middle schools and held assistant principal positions for almost 10 years at Armwood High. Before retiring in 2001, he also was president of the Florida Association of School Administrators from 2000 to 2001. A North Carolina native, Smith earned a bachelor's degree in education and a master's in administration from the University of South Florida. He served more than three years in the Air Force. He has lived east Hillsborough for 30 years. He and his wife, Ellyn, the principal at Seffner Elementary, have two grown children. ASSETS: house, investments. LIABILITIES: mortgage, car loan. INCOME: school retirement. WEB SITE: none.