“For the last century, Great Neck has been upheld as one of America’s premier school districts. Now, it is time to move our district forward.
My family has called Great Neck home for nearly 50 years. During that time, my father, aunt and brothers all graduated from schools on both sides of town. As students, parents and active community members, each of us has experienced Great Neck Public Schools under the 102-year collective term of current board members.
The district is no longer the district my aunt and my father graduated from. In the last 50 years, we have gone from textbooks to iPads, from libraries to multimedia labs and from chalkboards to SmartBoards. We have also transformed from a relatively homogeneous to a strongly heterogeneous community.
Great Neck needs representation on the Board of Education that is connected to the experiences, demands and diversity of our 21st-century school system.
This is a financial and academic imperative.
We need a transparent budgeting process that deeply engages the community. We need academic programs that prepare students for college and future workforce demands. We need an academically rigorous school district that also values and supports our students’ individuality. The community is what makes our schools special and we must invest in keeping our diverse community strong and inclusive.
Great Neck needs a trustee who understands the state of our schools from the classroom to the boardroom. We are at a crucial juncture in the state of our district that requires ideas beyond the days of my aunt and my father. We must elect a fresh voice to fill this crucial yet absent role on our board. I am the only candidate capable of fulfilling this need.
Detailed policy proposals and planned community conversations can be found at www.joshratner.com and on my Facebook page. I welcome your ideas and I am committed to working together to move our school district forward.”
—Submitted by Josh Ratner
Read “School Board Announces Bond Issue, Trustee Monique Bloom Resigns, And More,” “Donald Panetta To Run For School Board,” “Lori Beth Schwartz To Run For School Board,” “Donna Peirez To Run For School Board” and “Nikolas Kron To Run For School Board.”
