The Seattle School District must fire Whittier Elementary School Principal, Alex Coberly.

Coberly has been on paid administrative leave since Dec. 7 after being caught exposing himself to two female drivers while driving on Aurora Avenue. Coberly has worked in the school district since 1998 and has been at Whittier as principal for the past five years.

It, according to police reports and Coberly's own admission, appears not to be an isolated incident. He's admitted to exposing himself to women several times during the last few years, all while driving in his car and outside of school hours.

But the question begs to be answered: How can parents ever again trust this man with their children, even though, Coberly says, these incidents have never involved minors?

The fact that this indecent exposure happened when and where it did is of no comfort to any parent, I dare speculate.

Flashing, be it for sexual satisfaction or shock value, is a kind of sexual violence and often escalates.

Coberly obviously has an involuntary urge to do these things. So what is to stop him from someday exposing himself to the children he mentors or even the women whom he works with at the school?

The answer is simple: nothing.

Someone with inappropriate sexual urges, no matter what, should not work with children.

District officials say they will wait until "the conclusion of the case" before making a decision about Coberly's future with the district. But could there really be a question?

Let's look into the future. If Coberly is acquitted and given his job back, parents will likely fight the district until he's gone for good.

If he's found guilty and fired by the district, maybe it will be enough of a push for Coberly to seek serious help and address his problems. Maybe getting fired is just what he needs.

Rebekah Schilperoort