Sanford-based district announces passing of community leader
Photos for Headline Surfer / Diane Bauer gets a hug from then-U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio during her 2010 re-election for the district 1 seat on the Seminole County School Board. Bauer died Tuesday night.SANFORD -- It was three years ago when Diane Bauer was running for re-election in her non-partisan district 1 seat on the Seminole County School Board that she got a hug from Marco Rubio on her way to yet another victory.
There are no more campaigns for Bauer who passed away Tuesday night from unspecified medical issues at Florida Hospital Altamonte. She was 65.
The school district issued a brief statement on Bauer's death.
"It is with deep regret and sadness that we must report Seminole County Public Schools (SCPS) Board Member Diane Bauer has passed away. Member Bauer was a resident of Florida since 1961 and a resident of Seminole County since 1973."
At left is a photo graphic that appeared on the Seminole County School District website in memory of the Diane Bauer, the longtome district 1 school board member who died Tuesday night at the age of 65.
"It is with deep regret and sadness that we must report Seminole County Public Schools (SCPS) Board Member Diane Bauer has passed away. Member Bauer was a resident of Florida since 1961 and a resident of Seminole County since 1973."
The statement continued, "She was first elected to the school board in 1998, where she served four years as vice chair and was elected as Chairwoman in 2007. Additionally, she was an active member of the Seminole County PTA since 1974. Bauer is survived by her husband, Frederick, her five children, and a grand-child.
The school district statement, added Bauer would be "remembered as an ardent champion of public education and an influential leader in the Seminole County community."
Information on memorial services and funeral arrangements will be forthcoming, the district said.
Diane Bauer is shown with her colleagues on the the Seminole County School Board website.
Bauer has been a resident of Florida since 1961 and a resident of Seminole County since 1973. All of her children have attended elementary, middle and high school in Seminole County and are graduates of Lake Howell High School.
Bauer had been an active member of Seminole County PTA since 1974. She and her family are members of Sts. Peter and Paul Church where she taught religious education classes for eight years.
First elected to the school board in 1998, Bauer served four years as vice chair and was elected as chair in 2007. The beginning of this school year marked her 37th year as a public school activist.
Prior to her service as a school board member, she served as president, vice president, and treasurer of the PTA in addition to being elected as chair of School Advisory Councils at elementary, middle and high schools. She is a World Class Schools Graduate Champion and a graduate of Leadership Seminole, Class of 2000.
Here is a snapshot of Diane Bauer's 2010 re-election campaign as shown on her Facebook page.
Bauer is past director for Florida Hospital Altamonte and has served as a member of the Seminole County Community Alliance. As a member of the Community Alliance, she chaired the Committee for A Safe Haven for Newborns to comply with Florida's Abandon Baby Law.
Her leadership on this committee resulted in Seminole County being the first in Florida to develop, print, and distribute posters indicating "Safe Baby Stations" where a newborn infant could be taken and left safely without fear of prosecution for the parent.
Nationally, she served as a member of an Education Advisory Council advising then-U.S. Congressman Tom Feene and she was a member of the Board of Directors for Healthy Start Coalition.
“Every child holds a key to our future and will meet, on our behalf, challenges not yet known to us," Bauer has said. "While we may not know what those challenges will be, we do know that education is the first step in meeting them. As we work together to meet the difficulties facing public education today, we make certain that we will continue to guide every child’s journey toward tomorrow.”
“Every child holds a key to our future and will meet, on our behalf, challenges not yet known to us," Diane Bauer has said. "While we may not know what those challenges will be, we do know that education is the first step in meeting them. As we work together to meet the difficulties facing public education today, we make certain that we will continue to guide every child’s journey toward tomorrow.”