Slats Murphy, Senior SCW columnist

This past Tuesday night's School Board meeting provoked numerous thoughts and observations.  Today we offer some initial general impressions; this weekend, we will focus on the specific personalities involved.

THE NAIVETE OF PEOPLE.  A recurring theme among the 15 or so Seminole County residents who spoke during the public input portion of the meeting concerned their awakening to the realities of the American political system.

Several speakers reiterated and amplified the belief they had, prior to the rezoning controversy, that their elected officials were concerned with doing what was best for the public good. 

In watching their School Board at work, their attention focused mainly because of being directly affected by the board's actions, parents expressed shock and disbelief to find that elected officials act in the best interests of elected officials, sincerely seeming to believe this was "news" to them and others.

It goes back to one of my favorite truths:  we get the government we deserve.  Self-serving elected officials have been satisfying themselves for years at the expense of the same people who put them into office.

In some sort of strange way, Americans want to ignore the evidence and still believe the best about their elected leaders and officials, no matter how much evidence may be present to the contrary.  Sometimes we are too forgiving as a community, something the School Board is surely counting on to remain true between now and the 2006 elections.

THE SELF-CENTEREDNESS OF PEOPLE.  Another recurring theme of the high school rezoning controversy, and others sparked by the School Board, has been the willingness of most of us to neglect the plight of our neighbor until his plight becomes ours.

Many parents and residents who are now aware of and dismayed with the School Board's manner of governing have said that prior to being directly affected by the School Board's actions, they remained largely indifferent, with little awareness as to why they should care what the School Board was doing.

The same applies to our behavior in so many situations and circumstances.  Until we are directly affected, we do not care about the inequity with which our community neighbors are being treated by local officials.  Rezoning does not matter when it is other families that are being affected.  Courtesy busing is not our concern until it is being taken away from us rather than our neighbors the next street over.

Many parents and residents have become aware, through the high school rezoning, of the need to look beyond the end of their noses.  The question now becomes one of how long they will maintain such awareness, offering support to others who may need it, and how aggressively they may seek to impart their newfound understanding to others.

Hopefully, the long-term result of the rezoning controversy will be the genesis of a true semblance of community that has now been formed in embryonic stages across the county, from the western boundaries beyond Longwood to the eastern extension past Oviedo.

To be honest, though, human nature will present a formidable threat with its natural gravitation towards preoccupation with self and indifference to others.

DON'T MAKE PROMISES YOU CANNOT KEEP.  Along the same lines as building community, many speakers Tuesday evening pledged to work their hardest to unseat imcumbent Board members when their terms expire, or if they seek other offices.

The emotion and the intent were very sincere, heartfelt and meaningful when expressed, but it is a long, uphill road that leads to unseating incumbents, and the School Board members know this.

Parents and supportive residents now have an awareness of the School Board's mode of operation, leading to an awareness for the need to change the way things are, meaning, specifically, who sits on the Board.

To actually bring about the change, they must first maintain the coalition that has been forged among the various groups dissatisfied with the current Board's actions.  Beyond maintaining that coalition, they must "grow" it, bringing other people into the fold through a spreading awareness of School Board behavior.

As difficult as that will be, the next step will be even more arduous:  the grass-roots coalition must find credible candidates whom they can all agree to support.  This is where it will get tricky, because personal opinions and leanings then come into play.  Nothing can destroy a coalition more quickly than its members asserting personal beliefs and desires, which eventually become more important than the overall cause.

Many an "opposition" group has been destroyed by such circumstances, and the chances of success at avoiding this, in plain terms, are slight at best.

Having said that, however, leads to the following conclusion:  the grass-roots coalition that has sprung up across Seminole County in response to the School Board's behavior is unlike any other seen here in recent memory.  It is a sincere effort that has thus far enabled its participants to maintain the proper focus and priorities.

Something is happening in Seminole of a different nature than politics as usual:  the citizenry is becoming aware, and energized, and more aware, and more energized, in an ongoing seamless circle.

The speakers at this past Tuesday's School Board meeting were reflective of the special quality of this movement:  despite the emotion of the evening, each of them remained focused on the issue at hand, and each provided rationale and evidence that built on and enhanced that offered by the other speakers.

Rather than a repetitious rat-a-tat-tat of the same cries and laments, the speakers all offered something that made the entirety of their presentation much greater than simply the sum of its individual parts.

Having been able to do that, there is no reason to think they may not actually be able to make good on their promise to bring much-needed change to the School Board come the 2006 elections.

THIS WEEKEND:  We take a look at the individual players, with some surprising comments and observations about School Board members Sandy Robinson and DIane Bauer, Superintendent Bill Vogel, and others.  Be sure to check back.

(Editor's note:  The School Board meeting of this past Tuesday, April 26, will be replayed on SGTV this Thursday, April 28, at 7:00 PM, and also this Friday, April 29, at 1:30 PM.  SGTV is available to customers of BrightHouse Networks on Channel 9.  SGTV can also be viewed online through a streaming video feed.)

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