A longtime Miami-Dade school official is being remembered for his passion for what he once called the great equalizer.
Former school board member Michael Krop passed away on Tuesday from heart disease at the age of 88.
Krop served on the school board for almost 25 years, and he believed public education created a level-playing field that helped everyone see the sky was the limit.
A high school in Northeast Miami-Dade is named after him, and the school board chair who pushed for that honor tells the Miami Herald he felt very strongly that Krop deserved to be able to smell the roses while he was still alive.