HomeMy Public PortalAboutLTC 121-2018 Memorial Service in Honor of Dr. Michael KropBAL HARBOUR
- VILLAGE -
OFFICE OF THE VILLAGE MANAGER
LETTER TO COUNCIL
NO. 121-2018
To: Mayor Gabriel Groisman and Members of the Village uncil
From: Jorge M. Gonzalez, Village Manager
Date: August 1, 2018
Subject: Memorial Service in Honor of Dr. Michael Krop
This Letter to Council (LTC) is to advise that a memorial service in honor of Dr. Michael
Krop will take place on Friday, August 3, 2018 beginning at 12:30 p.m. at Levitt Weinstein,
18840 W. Dixie Hwy in North Miami Beach. This will be followed by a memorial at Menorah
Gardens located at 21100 W. Griffin Road in Southwest Ranches.
Dr. Michael Krop served for over two decades on the Miami -Dade County School Board.
He also was an active member of our community; serving on Bal Harbour Village's Resort
Tax and Budget Advisory Committees along with the resident driven Bal Harbour Citizens
Coalition. Attached is a Miami Herald article detailing his contributions to the greater
community.
If you have any questions or need any additional information, please feel free to let me or
Assistant Village Manager Ramiro Inguanzo know.
JMG/RI
Dr. Michael Krop, an orthodontist
who became beloved school board
member, dies at 88
By Carli Teproff And Colleen Wright
cteproff@miamiherald.com
cawright@miamiherald.com
As an orthodontist in Miami Beach and Northeast Miami-Dade for decades, Dr.
Michael Krop made it a habit to not only straighten teeth, but to know his
patients.
Most of his patients were kids.
So after years of listening to their problems — many concerning schools in
Miami-Dade County — he decided to run for the Dade County School Board.
Krop, who maintained his practice while serving on the board for 24 years and
even had a school named after him, died Tuesday from heart disease at 88. He
died in his Bal Harbour home.
“He took such an interest not only in their teeth, but in their lives as a whole,”
said his son David Krop.
Krop, who was born in Pennsylvania and spent his childhood in Pottsville
(population 14,324, according to the recent census) earned his undergraduate
degree from Pennsylvania State University in 1952, and graduated from Temple
University dental school in 1956 . He served as a captain in the Army and did
dental work for the next two years, before enrolling in the orthodontics program
at Northwestern University.
In 1960, Krop and his wife, Lois, moved to Miami. He opened an orthodontics
practice on 41st Street in Miami Beach, where he remained for decades.
His son Daniel said his dad always engaged with his patients, a trait that carried
over when he served on the school board.
“He never wanted to be a politician but cared so much about education, his four
kids and everyone else’s chldren,” said his longtime administrative assistant
Judy Matz. “The man was absolutely brilliant. Any time there was a committee
or a conference session and people did not know whether to go this way or that
way, it was always [Michael] Krop who thought of the third way. Very creative
thinker.”
Krop, who was first elected to the school board in 1980, stepped down as
chairman of the board in 2004 when he was 73. At the time, he was the longest-
serving active board member.
Dr. Michael Krop and Dr. Robert Ingram congratulate each other on keeping their positions on the Miami-Dade School Board,
Nov. 18, 2003. Krop was the board’s chairperson and Ingram was the vice chairperson.
Patrick Farrell Miami Herald file photo
“He brought a lot to the school board decision making in the way of
understanding business and finance just generally the issues that we dealt with,”
said Janet McAliley, who served on the board from 1980 to 1996. “He’s very
smart. He did his homework. He read the documents, the audits, the agendas
and everything to be well prepared for the school board meetings and the
decisions that we were making on behalf of people in Dade County.”
When he announced his retirement, he made it clear that he still planned to be
involved.
“I may not run again, but I will always be committed to the task of making our
schools stronger and better,” he told the Herald at the time.
Through his board tenure, he helped direct policy under six different school
superintendents.
Even though Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho never
worked with him on the school board — Carvalho was appointed in 2008, four
years after Krop retired — Krop still kept in touch with him.
One day, Krop brought him over to Lindsey Hopkins, a vocational school run
by the district.
“He was no longer on the board and he dragged me to Lindsey Hopkins ... to
show me the low-cost, no-cost dental clinic that he helped run,’’ Carvalho said.
“I don’t think a lot of people knew that about him. He was that kind of guy.’’
Krop also mentored the man who would replace him on the board, Dr. Martin
Karp, the current vice chairman. Like many, Karp first met Krop in the dentist’s
chair.
When he replaced him on the board, Krop made sure to meet with Karp and
share his knowledge.
“It was helpful to have that information going into the seat,” Karp said. ”I think
I still have a file in my office with the notes from that meeting.”
While serving on the board, Krop pushed for counselors in every elementary
school, backed gifted programs and lobbied for 15 mph school zones.
P u b l i c s c h o o l s h a v e b e e n t h e g r e a t e q u a l i z e r , h e s a i d . W h e n y o u r e w e l l -
e d u c a t e d i n t h i s c o u n t r y , t h e s k y s t h e l i m i t .
A n o t h e r b i g a c c o m p l i s h m e n t : p u s h i n g f o r a n e w h i g h s c h o o l i n N o r t h e a s t
M i a m i - D a d e t o r e l i e v e o v e r c r o w d i n g
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n a m e d a f t e r K r o p , d e s p i t e o p p o s i t i o n f r o m o t h e r s w h o f e l t t h e s c h o o l s n a m e
s h o u l d r e f l e c t t h e n e i g h b o r h o o d o r s o m e o n e d e c e a s e d .
I f e e l v e r y , v e r y s t r o n g l y t h a t o n e s h o u l d s m e l l t h e r o s e s w h i l e t h e y a r e a l i v e ,
S t i n s o n s a i d a t t h e t i m e . T h e m e r e f a c t t h a t h e s i t s o n t h e b o a r d s h o u l d n o t d e n y h i m t h e
r i g h t t o h a v e h i s n a m e o n t h e s c h o o l . H e s b e e n a m o s t v a l u a b l e e y e f o r t h e p u b l i c i n t e r e s t o f t h i s
s c h o o l s y s t e m . H e i s d e s e r v i n g .
M c A l i l e y w a s o n e o f t h e p e o p l e w h o d i s a g r e e d .
I d i d n o t t h i n k w e s h o u l d n a m e a s c h o o l a f t e r o u r s e l v e s f o r a s i t t i n g b o a r d
m e m b e r , s h e s a i d . A n d I t o l d h i m t h a t .
T h e b o a r d p r e v a i l e d , a n d D r . M i c h a e l M . K r o p H i g h S c h o o l , 1 4 1 1 C o u n t y L i n e
R o a d , o p e n e d i n 1 9 9 8 , w i t h i t s f i r s t g r a d u a t i n g c l a s s i n 2 0 0 1 . H i s s o n D a n i e l
s a i d h i s f a t h e r a l w a y s c h e c k e d o n t h e s c h o o l .
B e y o n d h i s l o v e f o r e d u c a t i o n a n d d e n t i s t r y , K r o p a l w a y s m a d e t i m e f o r h i s
f a m i l y , h i s s o n s s a i d . I n J u n e , t h e y t h r e w a b i g p a r t y f o r t h e i r p a r e n t s 6 5 t h
w e d d i n g a n n i v e r s a r y .
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s t o o d f o r T i l D e a t h D o U s P a r t , D a n i e l s a i d . T h a t s w h a t h e m e a n t a n d t h a t s
w h a t h a p p e n e d .
I n a d d i t i o n t o h i s s o n s D a n i e l a n d D a v i d , K r o p i s s u r v i v e d b y h i s w i f e , L o i s ,
d a u g h t e r s P a m e l a a n d J u d i t h K r o p a n d 1 2 g r a n d c h i l d r e n .
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W e s t G r i f f i n R d . i n S o u t h w e s t R a n c h e s .