Bellmore Board of Education candidates speak their minds

One longtime Board of Education trustee and one newcomer are running for the Bellmore School District Board of Education unopposed this year. They are Janet Goller and Maryanne Kelly. The following provides biographies of each.

Janet Goller

Janet Goller is one of the longest-sitting members on the Bellmore Board of Education. Goller has been a part of the Bellmore Board for 15 years and a member of the Central High School District board for 11. She is proud of what the board has accomplished over the past 15 years, but it is hard to pick out a favorite moment, she noted.

"It's a lot of years, so we've done a lot of things," Goller said. The list of accomplishments includes passing two bonds for capital and technological improvements, the implementation of full-day kindergarten and the switch to learning centers rather than K-6 schools.

Goller, a Mepham graduate, has lived in the Bellmore-Merrick community her entire life. Her three now adult children, Matthew, Melissa, and Megan, all attended Bellmore schools and Kennedy High School before heading on to college. In addition to raising her children, Goller has worked as an operations manager for Empire Foods, a Long Island company, for nearly 30 years. She also has a degree in early childhood education from Nassau Community College.

Having been on the board for so long, Goller has experienced many budget seasons firsthand. "The whole budget process gets increasingly difficult," she said. However, she said that throughout the years, the board has remained committed to upholding its high standards for educational programs,

"We've really worked hard to get [the budget] low without making a major impact on the kids," Goller said. Aside from working to keep the budget low, Goller said that she truly enjoys her time on the board. I enjoy "getting to see firsthand all the wonderful things that are going in the schools and seeing how our students are thriving," Goller said.

Goller also believes that it is important to remain visible to the community. She wants the Bellmore to community to feel comfortable to approach hers and all members of the board should there be a problem. "I'm very committed to being visible and involved," she said.

Maryanne Kelly

When a seat opened up on the Bellmore Board of Education, Maryanne Kelly jumped at the opportunity to take it. Kelly's three childen, Kathleen, 15, Matthew, 13, and Colm, 10, have all attended school in Bellmore; Kathleen is now a sophomore at Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale.

Kelly, who is now a stay-at-home mother, is a Hicksville native and graduated from Cornell University with a degree in education. She taught science in the New York City school system, but left teaching for a job as a pharmaceutical sales representative with Merck.

Kelly has been involved with the Bellmore schools' PTAs for eight years and was the executive vice president of Winthrop Avenue's PTA. Kelly was also a part of the PTA's weighs and means committee and was heavily involved with fundraising. She noted that experience gave her some background in budgeting; she was also in charge of keeping her own budget when she worked at Merck.

She is also involved with the Bellmore Preservation Society, the ad-hoc group that rallied the community against the construction of a White Castle on Sunrise Highway and St. Mark's Avenue. She also coaches Kathleen's LIJSL soccer team, the Bellmore Rockets.

Kelly is first and foremost concerned with getting the budget passed. "I do want to see the budget get passed; I think it's fair," she said.

She is also concerned with getting the Bellmore community the information that it needs to make informed decisions on the budget and issues to come. Kelly noted that this is key toward "making sure that parents are involved and have the right answers."

Kelly also remarked that Bellmore is one of the best school districts on Long Island and that she continues to be impressed as her children advance.

" We seem to be at the forefront and seem to jump on things earlier," Kelly said of Bellmore's educational system. "Our kids seem to be better prepared."

Comments about this story? DKrasula@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 234.