Limestone County Schools Superintendent Dr. Tom Sisk and the Limestone County NAACP have seemingly reached an impasse.

For weeks, the NAACP implored Sisk to reinstate former Tanner High School Principal Louis Gordon after he was placed on administrative leave for reasons that are largely unknown. When the Limestone County School Board voted not to renew Gordon’s contract, the NAACP began to urge Sisk to step down.

If Sisk won’t step down willingly, the NAACP argues, the board should give the embattled school chief the boot.

On March 12, Sisk made the decision to announce Gordon had been placed on leave via a press conference. It was an unusual move, considering Sisk offered no specifics about what prompted the move. To date, no reason has been revealed concerning the action against Gordon.

Since Sisk’s press conference, the NAACP has held no fewer than five press conferences, and the tone of these events has grown testy. NAACP officials now allege Sisk is acting in a racist manner.

Although the reasons for Gordon’s dismissal may never be known, it doesn’t mean Sisk or any members of the board are racist.

What Sisk and the board fail to understand, however, is the heightened level of frustration in the Tanner community. To many residents, Tanner High School has always received short shrift because it has the highest minority population of any school in the system.

It’s hard not to understand their frustration when they see a new Sugar Creek Elementary School, a fancy new gymnasium for East Limestone and shinier bells and whistles at other schools.

Many members of the community and the NAACP believe tiny Tanner has been lost in the shuffle.

Also, there is some misinformation about Tanner being circulated.

There is a perception that no Advanced Placement courses have been offered at Tanner, which is not true. The school has offered an AP history class, and more classes are on the way.

At Thursday’s press conference, NAACP leaders alleged the “conditions” at Tanner are “continuing to deteriorate.”

The time has come for this impasse to end. It is also time for vague accusations and falsehoods to come to an end.

We believe Sisk and one member from the NAACP need to meet and find common ground. Common ground can typically be found if people work together.

We would recommend Sisk and Benard Simelton, president of the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, meet. The school board, other NAACP members or the media do not need to be present.

Nothing good will come from the continued public sniping between Sisk and the NAACP. It will only continue to sow the seeds of division.

The NAACP may erroneously believe it can pressure Sisk into resigning. We don’t see Sisk giving in, and it appears the school board has his back, for now.

We hope both sides can take a lesson from something that happened July 4 when four Tanner youngsters were seriously injured in a fireworks accident. The community came together, rallied around the afflicted and again showed its sense of strength and resilience.

The tremendous outpouring of love and support showed us — despite what some may say — not all is lost in Tanner. Love and common ground still live there.

We’d like to see more of that common ground found between the two sides. It’s amazing what can be accomplished through honest and open communication.