“It’s the loneliest feeling in the world to find yourself standing up when everybody else is sitting down. To have everybody look at you and say, ‘What’s the matter with him?’” So states the character of defense attorney Henry Drummond in the acclaimed cinema classic, “Inherit the Wind.”

Great works of drama, literature and film often herald the role of the maverick who bucks the tide.

History is also filled with sagas of those who resisted surging tides they considered harbingers of poor choice: “You’re making a mistake,” “wise up, “don’t be a fool, “just play ball.” All these cautionary mantras have been thrown at people who feel that “falling in line” compromises principles.

It is a familiar position for former New London City Councilor Jason Catala, who also holds the distinction of being the longest serving member of the current New London Board of Education.

“I was raised by a single parent, my mother, who not only introduced me to local politics, she also advised me always to stick to my beliefs,” Catala said. “I was always fascinated with politics, even at a very young age, so my mother would take me around to the various campaign headquarters. I got an early glimpse of how it all worked.”

Currently an academic coach with the New Haven Magnet Schools and having previously taught at Harbor School in New London, and with the Hartford Public Schools as well, Catala is a seasoned veteran of the education system, knowing it from the inside-out. He is a certified principal, and his current position as an academic coach keeps him in direct contact on a regular basis with teachers and other educators.

Having started as a school board member at the raw age of 22, Catala, now middle-aged, can factually state that he is sincerely invested in the academic welfare of students in the public school systems. He has the resume to prove it.

“Though I attended regional parochial schools, I was born and raised in New London and wanted to give back to the educational community here,” he said.

And as the longest serving member of the New London Board of Ed, Catala also feels his tenure and indisputable, ongoing experience in the field of education merits the sort of recognition and regard which he believes has earned him board presidency, or, at the very least, the vice-presidency.

“Considering that I once again received the highest tally of votes of anyone else elected to the board, it seems I’ve earned a position of leadership,” he added with a shake of his head that indicated his obvious sense of disappointment in not getting the role.

Catala feels not only that coalitions were formed in advance to predetermine who would be awarded the positions of president and vice-president, he also wonders how his outspoken grievance with the premature resignation of New London’s most recently hired superintendent of schools affected those decisions.

Regardless, Catala is not one to restrain his honest opinion. In going back to his time on the New London City Council during the early part of this millennium, he took issue publicly with a proposal to cut from the budget the positions of two social workers assigned to care for the city’s homeless population. He was among those in the minority who opposed that proposal.

He challenged it at a monthly council meeting during a blistering August heat wave.

“We’ll all go home tonight to the comfort of our air-conditioned houses, and in the winter we’ll enjoy the comfort of heated homes,” he said. “But the homeless in our own community will suffer those extreme elements. How can we cut anything from our budget that helps them?”

Catala’s impassioned plea fell on deaf ears as the majority of council members voted in favor of eliminating the positions of the social workers from the city’s budget; a seasonal homeless shelter was also closed a month earlier than in the previous year. In the ensuing spring a homeless man died in Bates Woods due from exposure to the elements.

Catala, who now also works part-time at New London’s Covenant Shelter, felt once again that people who command little influence suffer for it.

It would not be the last time he swam in opposition to the tide, nor would it deter him from what he proudly refers to as early childhood training.

“I was taught by my mother that your word is how you will be judged thereafter,” he said. “I’ll always stick by what I believe and by what I say. People can count on me for that.”

Catala’s longevity in itself appears to validate he is in this for the long run. In spite of his outspoken disappointment with the outcome of recent school board assignments, this onetime Republican now turned Democrat has not resigned in the wake of being “passed over” for positions he feels his dedicated service warranted.

Rather, he has pledged to continue serving and working with the rest of the newly elected New London board members.

“Our school age children will be better served if we focus on what’s best for them, and not with the comfort and well-being of administrators,” he said.

“Recently I made a point of helping save the job of a talented teacher whose position was at risk of being cut. They were going to make her into a paraprofessional instead. So I suggested they cut some of the payroll software funding and put that money instead toward keeping this woman’s valuable service.”

His motion passed, and her job was saved.

“It meant the world to her, and that in itself was so rewarding,” he said. “There’s a point where, as a board member, you get tired of seeing people with less influence being pushed around. And there’s a point where you have to challenge the hierarchy in determining what’s best in terms of what education is supposed to be about.”

As the character of Henry Drummond from “Inherit the Wind” so eloquently stated, “It’s the loneliest feeling in the world to find yourself standing up when everybody else is sitting down.”

Jason Catala clearly does not let that stop him.