By: Scott Brinton and Laura Lane
Children often make presentations at Board of Education meetings. They might read poetry they've written, or tiptoe through a dance number, or sing the national anthem. Such mini-shows give teachers and administrators the chance to demonstrate to the board and general public how well students are progressing in school.
Many times, the adult audience is eager to get this first part of the board meeting over with so they can talk about what they believe to be really important stuff, like taxes.
But Norbert Billig, who served on the North Merrick and Central High School District boards of education for three decades, always delighted in students' presentations. You could see his eyes light up when young people performed or spoke before the board.
And when a student finished, Billig was quick to offer praise. And not just a simple comment like "good job." Rather, he offered heartfelt words that were specific to the boy's or girl's performance. He showed them that he cared.
Dr. Thomas Caramore, the Central District superintendent, said that Billig "was very interested in the district and in the individual students. He was the one board member you could count on to be at all the activities. And he was more interested in seeing that the district was doing the right thing. Norbert didn't have a need to push a particular program because it was his."
Billig will be sorely missed on the North Merrick and Central High School boards. He lost his re-election bid this year, after serving on the North Merrick board for 30 years and on the Central board for 26.
Sadly, Billig got swept up in the maelstrom of the Mepham High School hazing scandal. He sat on the Central board when the story broke, and many people in Bellmore-Merrick criticized the school district administration's and the Board of Education's handling of the case. When election time came last May, they voiced their displeasure by voting out some of the most widely respected school board trustees, including Billig.
What people didn't see - or didn't want to see - was that, even as the Mepham tempest grew into a hurricane, Billig showed his true character, speaking with a voice of calm reason. Even when accusations were hurled at him -- unjustly -- he maintained his dignity and stood by the school district that he had helped shape into one of the state's -- and the nation's -- finest.
When Billig became a school trustee in 1978, the North Merrick and Central High School districts were no standouts. They were nice, middle-class, suburban districts that didn't garner much attention. The districts' academic performance was considered good, even very good, but not exceptional.
By the time Billig completed his school-board tenure last June, both the North Merrick and Central districts had become nationally regarded centers of learning. In recent years, Newsweek has consistently ranked two Bellmore-Merrick high schools -- Kennedy and Calhoun -- among America's 100 best. Mepham hasn't lagged far behind, at No. 125. That's an amazing accomplishment, considering the number of schools in the country -- and that wealthier schools, like Jericho, Great Neck and Garden City, are also on the Top 100 list.
For 30 years, Billig's sound decision-making -- and his commitment of time and energy -- have helped guide the policies of the North Merrick and Central districts, allowing them to blossom. For this, and so much more, the Merrick Herald proudly names Billig its Person of the Year for 2004.
Anyone who calls North Merrick and the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School districts home owes Billig an enormous debt of gratitude -- not only for the part he played in improving the schools, but also because he helped raise an entire community's profile. When word got out that Bellmore-Merrick schools were terrific academic institutions, people from all over started moving here in greater numbers.
Bellmore-Merrick is now an A-list community that young, concerned parents want to move to, and they're willing to pay considerably more to do so. Home prices in Bellmore-Merrick have risen, on average, 11 percent annually in recent years, outpacing much of the rest of Nassau County.
Bellmore-Merrick isn't a perfect place, of course. Over the years, some school officials have downplayed, or even ignored, serious problems like bullying. That, in part, is what many people reacted to when the Mepham scandal broke. But Billig wasn't one to turn a blind eye to such concerns. He listened when parents told them of the problems their children faced in the schools, and he acted to alleviate them.
At Board of Education meetings, he spoke his mind, no matter what his fellow board members thought. His foremost concern was students' best interests.
David Feller, the North Merrick Elementary District superintendent, said, "I think everything that Norbert has done has been to improve the lives of children. He's always spoken his mind and is very honest. Norbert never had a hidden agenda."
Last May, Billig told the Merrick Herald, "My biggest challenge was to be the kind of board member my community would be proud of. I always made sure I was available to do the kind of things that connect the school board with the community." Over the years, Billig was a visible presence at school functions, from concerts to theatrical productions to art shows.
Billig holds master's degrees in education and guidance counseling. He began his education career as a social studies teacher in Queens and Brooklyn, and later became a guidance counselor.
He helped start the North Merrick gifted education program. He also helped introduce all-day kindergarten to the district, which he wasn't sure about at first. He wondered whether parents would want their 5-year-olds in school from early morning through the afternoon. When North Merrick was first weighing the program's viability 20 years ago, it was uncharted territory. Now all-day kindergarten is considered standard practice in top-notch elementary schools. Billig calls it "a preparation for reading and writing. And," he added, "all-day kindergarten has ended up being one of the big factors that identifies limitations children have so they can be addressed early, like speech and language delays or social issues."
Billig also supported such worthy efforts as the Central District's enormously successful Science Research Program, which has become an incubator for national award-winning research projects. And he pushed to have a ninth period added to Central's school day. The program started this year, and promises to raise students' academic performance by giving them more class time and a wider choice of courses.
The list of Billig's contributions goes on and on.
He has many plans for the future. He recently joined the Merrick Kiwanis Club to continue volunteering for the community that he loves so much.
For all of this, Billig is truly the Merricks' Person of the Year.
