Maybe no one caught the quiet irony within the charged atmosphere of the Feb. 25 Barnwell 45 school board meeting.

The meeting was crowded with about 90 people. They weren't all parents there for the students who qualified as National Merit scholarship finalists or the ones selected for the Hugh O'Brian Leadership awards.

Many in the crowd were there because of the controversy that emerged again over the transportation of sports teams by the regular bus drivers.

The bus transportation director, Marcus Fields, had previously requested of the board in a Feb. 2 special called meeting that only regular bus drivers drive the extracurricular trips for the athletic teams and academic clubs.

The school board denied this request in a 3-2 vote.

Others were at the meeting because of a gathering held Feb. 23 at Brown Chapel Missionary Baptist Church. The meeting was organized by Marcus Fields and attended by African-American community leaders and African-American employees from Barnwell 45. The meeting was advertised by e-mails and paper flyers.

Others in the school community were troubled by the exclusiveness of this meeting.

However, some of the problems discussed in the meeting are not exclusive.

Low academic performances. Discipline in schools. Higher graduation rates. Better futures for the county's children.

These aren't problems that discriminate. Black and white children in Barnwell County are facing these challenges equally. Meanwhile, their parents are seeking paths to these goals and dreams.

With commonly held problems and dreams, one would think it would be easier for groups to come together and fight a mutual foe or work toward a future that betters all of us.

What was the quiet irony from the meeting?

One set of students recognized at the meeting was the Barnwell High JROTC. The cadets are going to participate in the JROTC Leadership Symposium and Academic Bowl in Washington D.C. It's the second year the school has had a team there.

To play, the cadets were tested on math, science, English and leadership skills. Only 24 teams worldwide are invited to these competitions.

The Barnwell JROTC team included a female, an African-American male and two Caucasian males.

While elements of these current controversies developed, these four JROTC cadets worked quietly together and achieved a goal in a national arena.

Thank you, students, for behaving in a more mature fashion than some adults.

Now if only the adults would follow their example.