Schneider, Patel, Rivera Lead In Edison Board Of Education Race

EDISON, NJ — The slate of "Build Bright Futures" is leading the Edison Board of Education race, according to unofficial results by Middlesex County.

With 100 percent precincts reporting, on Wednesday, Dough Schneider, Biral Patel, and Brian Rivera are leading the race.

Nine candidates were vying for three open seats on the Board of Education.

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The results will remain unofficial pending certification.

As of 12 p.m. Wednesday, here's the count:

• Biral Patel: 6,257
• Douglas Schneider: 6,332
• Brian Rivera: 5,711
• David Tingle: 4,267
• Elizabeth M. Conway: 4,040
• Padmaja 'Paddy' Chinta: 3,939
• Vimal A. Parikh: 3,645
• Gabriel Haller: 2,680
• Ralph Errico: 2,230
• Write-In: 99

Incumbent Patel said that overcrowding is one of the biggest problems facing the school district, apart from transportation issues and dropping district ranking.

"We have an unsolved overcrowding crisis, transportation is a mess, enrollment is not been done in a timely efficient manner, children are not happy with many other aspects including rankings going down. There is frustration everywhere," Patel told Patch. "The most important thing that all BOE members can and must do is change their attitude and work round the clock to help people."

Patel was elected to the Board of Education in January after Ralph Errico resigned in December. Errico ran again but got the least number of votes so far.

Schneider said fiscal responsibility, individual student achievement, and accessibility would be the focus of his work, once elected to the Board. "Taxpayers do not feel the tax bills match the services. As a Board member, I will work with the new Mayor to help re-establish a high level of synergy between all public offices to benefit our residents," he said.

An educator for 22 years, Rivera said COVID-19 has created a huge disruption to learning and the priority for this year should be to "have students and staff return to a safe and positive learning environment."

"Priority for this year should be to have students and staff return to a safe and positive learning environment so our children can continue to grow academically and emotionally. We need to address any learning losses or gaps that some of our students may have encountered due to COVID-19. A plan needs to be developed by our district to assess students and narrow that gap.," he said.

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