I recently had the privilege of meeting school board candidates Rick Smith and Dr. Kurt Schmeller. I had the opportunity to learn their perspectives on how they would help the Glen Cove School District and I came away from that meeting with a new optimism and excitement about what the Glen Cove Schools could become for my kids, your kids, and our entire community.

Imagine a school district where the teachers had the liberty, the authority, the training and the accountability to truly teach, with the full backing of parents, board members and administration.

Imagine having a district that was not content to simply meet NYS standards, but where we would strive to exceed them and then set our own gold standards of excellence. Imagine a district where we would not see a huge number of our best students being bussed out of our community to attend school elsewhere. Where our own schools would be good enough to attract and retain these kids throughout their school careers. (This current scenario is tantamount to having virtual charter schools with one major difference...most of us can't afford private school.)

Imagine a district where parents could rest assured that their kids were getting the best academic education possible, without fearing that their kids were being indoctrinated into globalism, humanism and other new-age philosophies.

Imagine a district where parents and all community members could be certain that true fiscal prudence was being exercised in the administration of the school budget. Imagine a district where the school board leadership was objective, innovative and pragmatic; and not beholden to special interest groups or good old boy networks. Imagine a district where there was true, regular open dialogue and parents' voices could be heard and their concerns be addressed, instead of being told that there must be a compelling reason to meet with a teacher.

Imagine having a school district we could be proud of, one that we could point to as being a shining example of the very best that Glen Cove has to offer, one that would attract families and new businesses to our city, where we wouldn't have to hide stories about test results and school designations and violent incidents, but where we could shout it from the housetops that we have the best school district in Nassau County or even New York State.

How can you help these dreams become a reality?

Vote for Smith and Schmeller on May 15.

Dennis O'Dowd