After reading the article on the four candidates I would like to say that yes I agree Fowler and Ferone have made great strides within the community regarding buildings and parks. A very important part of keeping a community whole is our schools. Floral Park-Bellerose schools are unfortunately lagging amidst the storm of controversy over the implementation of common core standards and the resulting high stakes testing attached to it. We tried to bring to the attention of our current BOE, that the administrators they’ve hired have created an atmosphere of constant test prep in our classrooms. The result was opposition. We don’t feel the needs of our children are being addressed. This in turn led to parents deciding to place their children in private schools where there is more flexibility of teaching and the rigors of testing is not at the forefront and therefore the test prep is at a minimum.
Kropf and Rossi have both a community and educational background that will help parents see changed in their education. New changes to replace antiquated views. If there were ever a time for new fresh blood, it’s now. Floral Park and Bellerose communities need to be known for a good school district or it won’t matter how beautiful our community is aesthetically.
—Jill Popolizio
