Anastasia Okonski, a Coral Springs High School student, had a question for Coral Springs city officials. And in the city’s third annual teen political forum, she had the perfect platform to elicit a reply from them.
“Why don’t we have [a] recreational water polo league in Coral Springs,” Anastasia asked. “We would like something here so that we don’t have to go to Deerfield Beach.”
Commissioner Vince Boccard, who heads the city’s youth and family committee, liked the idea. “It’s the first time that I am hearing this. This is something that we can bring to the table. We do have the facility,” he said to applause from the high school students who attended the event.
The audience was noticeably thinner compared to the previous two editions of the event, but there was no shortage of enthusiasm on part of the students who attended. The questions covered a wide spectrum of topics, from the FCAT, the future of Bright Futures scholarships, the need for a paintball field and a recreational lacrosse league in the city, lack of funding for education in Florida, to the possibility of a four-day school week.
The event, a brainchild of Commissioner Roy Gold, occurred at Coral Springs High School, with students from five local high schools attending. State Senator Jeremy Ring, State Representative Ari Porth, Coral Springs City Commission members, Broward School Board member Stephanie Kraft, Police Chief Duncan Foster, and Fire Chief Mark Curran were on the dais answering questions. Ashley Schemtob, Lee Braun, Sangitha Palaniappa, and Jessica Suarez were the emcees.
As in earlier editions, there were more than a few questions relating to the FCAT. Responding to one, Senator Ring said that there was a legislation being pushed that would limit the importance of FCAT. “I think you will see more end of the year tests,” he said.