In this heated race, the Herald endorses incumbents Janet Goller and Richard Narby.
We've never heard anyone say a bad word about Goller. She is among the most kindhearted people you'll ever meet. She cares deeply about children. Her kids are grown and out of the schools, but she still regularly leads or takes part in activities at Kennedy High, from which her three children graduated.
Goller also has an incredibly level head and possesses a keen ability to defuse even the most contentious board meetings. During the Mepham football sex-abuse scandal, she was vice president of the Central District Board of Education, and acted as a voice of reason and concern, conducting herself like a true community leader.
A Mepham graduate, Goller also has a business background, so she's good with budgets. She's a financial officer for a major cheese importer.
Incumbent Richard Narby, who has served on the Board of Education for the past three years, is devoted to coaching local youth sports teams and acting as an advocate for children. Narby has served on numerous district committees, from technology to long-term facilities planning to the philosophy of education committee. And the list goes on. In short, he's involved.
Narby also knows a great deal about education. He owns a guidance counseling business for high-school students, and he has a master's in guidance and counseling.
Challenger Patrick Hoey is a deep thinker, an adjunct professor of political science at Nassau Community College. He has nearly completed his doctorate in public policy at Fordham.
Hoey has three young children in the Bellmore School District, and he's found several ways to play a role in the schools. He was one of a handful of residents who organized a petition drive to overturn Bellmore's longstanding system of for-seat voting. It was replaced with at-large voting, in which all candidates run against one another. The new system ensures that voters can hold all candidates accountable. In the past, well-liked incumbents often went unchallenged, winning election automatically without having to answer any questions.
The only trouble is, Hoey hasn't been continually active. He has not served on any district committees this year, nor attended any school-board meetings. These are time-tested ways to prove one's commitment to education.
The fourth candidate, Leonard Burger, is a stay-at-home dad with two young children who owns a tech company. We like him. But in his campaign, he appeared to be too focused on cutting costs and not enough on improving the education system. He also hasn't been active enough in the schools, beyond his involvement with the PTA.
The Herald's endorsements in the Bellmore Board of Education race go to Janet Goller and Richard Narby.
