North Bellmore School Board Candidate: Rosemarie Corless

Editor's Note: This article was written by Rosemarie Corless.

My name is Rosemarie Corless and I am running for re-election for my third full term as a trustee for the North Bellmore School Board.  

I have served as a board member for the last seven and a half years. During that time I have held the roles of both the Vice President and President of the board. Currently, I am serving another term as Vice President.

For the last 20 years I have lived in North Bellmore with my husband Matthew Corless, a retired New York City Firefighter who has spent many years as a volunteer with the North Bellmore Fire Dept. We have three daughters, Meghan and Kristen, who are in the 11th and 9th grade at Mepham High School, and Erin, who is a 7th grader at Grand Avenue Middle School.

I have a strong belief in giving back to my community, and have been active in various volunteer activities since I was a teenager. Some of my volunteer activities have included Nassau County 4-H, Town of Hempstead Kiwanis Club and medical coordinator for the NY State Games for the Physically Challenged. I have served as a Girl Scout leader for more than six years. My children and I volunteer weekly at the Last Hope Animal Shelter, and I have held many different leadership positions in the Newbridge Road School PTA.

I am presently serving as an executive board member on both the Grand Avenue and the Mepham PTA. Prior to becoming a trustee, I served several years as a board member on the North Bellmore Educational Foundation as treasurer.

Professionally, I hold a Master’s Degree in Pediatric Nursing and have worked for the last 20 years at Memorial Sloan Kettering as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner working with children who have cancer. In 2008 I received the NY State Woman of Distinction award for my work both as a professional and as a volunteer.

I strongly believe that it takes a village to raise a child and that it is important for our community to come together for the good of the children. They are our future and are worth the investment.Serving as a trustee for the North Bellmore Board of Education we passed a bond that addressed safety concerns of old asbestos tiles, completed putting in new boilers in each of our buildings, which can now run on either gas or oil to allow for greater savings to the taxpayers, all interiors doors have been replaced with doors that lock for safety and meet fire code standards, as well as many other improvements.

We have worked very hard to maintain our current programs without cuts in staffing, all while maintaining small class sizes. I am committed to the programs that make North Bellmore Schools excellent, including the arts and technology. It is my belief that as a board trustee to we need to provide students with a well-rounded, cost effective education.  

Our tax levy this year is 2.5 percent, which is well below the North Bellmore allowable tax limit of 5 percent, as a board we are also mindful of the cost to the taxpayer. We have accomplished this goal by careful examination of all expenses. Over the last several years we have negotiated employee contracts that have been both fair to our valuable employees and have provided significant savings to the taxpayers.

My actions as a board member prove that I very capable of performing this task and have worked hard to move our district in a forward direction. In the next few years difficult decisions will need to be made in order to continue educating our children to the standards we have come to expect in North Bellmore.  

The community will need trustees who will address the educational needs of students while being mindful of the taxpayer’s ability to pay. I look forward to continuing my service to the North Bellmore community and ask for your continued support.