13 Residents Look To Serve On School Board, 2 Chosen In Bernards Township

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Dinesh Kannah and Guddia Singh were chosen out of 13 candidates to fill two open seats on the Bernards Township School Board on Monday night.

The board saw a large interest in residents who were looking to serve their community with a total of 13 candidates speaking at the Jan. 24 meeting.

Each candidate was given five minutes to speak about why they should serve on the board of education. Afterward, the board went into an hour-long executive session before voting for Kannah and Singh.

Kannah, a 10-year resident of Bernards Township, is a father of twins attending Mount Prospect Elementary School. He has a dual master's degree in math and finance and comes from a family of educators.

"I seeking this role to use my experience and skills to serve our community and support my unwavering belief in the power of education," said Kannah.

Singh, a mother of three, a chef and wellness executive, was previously selected to serve on the board in June to fill in for a vacancy. She later ran for a full term in the November 2021 election but had not received enough votes.

"I am hopeful that I will get a chance to come back as a board member and work hard to better our schools and create stellar opportunities for our students and their families," said Singh prior to being selected. "I want to be involved in the long haul. To me, this is not just a temporary job but rather a priority that I hold near and dear."

Both appointments were made effective immediately. Kannah and Singh will serve through the remainder of 2022.

If they want to serve beyond 2022, they must file with the Somerset County Clerk's office to run in the November 2022 election for the remaining one year of Korn's term resulting from this vacancy or for a three-year term.

The candidates who applied included:

1. Nimish Amin
2. Carl Bird
3. Erica Blackman
4. Korie Caruso
5. Jonathan Collins
6. Csilla Csipak
7. Dinesh Khanna
8. Michael Lordi
9. Keith Molinari
10. Chris Parker
11. Larry Rascio
12. Guddia Singh
13. Libby J. West

Both Kannah and Singh are replacing Jennifer Korn and Lauren Beckman who resigned during the Dec. 20 meeting.

Board President Karen Gray said Beckman "mentioned family reasons" for her reasoning for resigning.

Korn resigned over state mandates regarding masking and vaccines in the school system. Read More: Board Member Resigns Over Mask Mandate At Basking Ridge Schools

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