Holmdel BOE candidates: Zhenling “Linda” Zhang & Irfan Lateef

According to US News and World report, our Holmdel High school ranked 1434 in 2020. We were 422 in the nation in 2012. During the same period, our school taxes have increased by a whopping 18%. While a moderate increase in school taxes is to be expected, such a dramatic increase considering falling school ranking must be justified, if a justification is even possible. (Remember that 68% of our property taxes goes to our school district. So, even a moderate decrease in our school taxes would be a substantial tax relief to our residents.)

Based on the data from the last eight years it is obvious that the current cadre of the elected BOE members has failed to achieve its two main mandates: maintain a high ranking for our school district and simultaneously keep our property taxes contained. We are currently on an unsustainable path.

We need a change – a significant change to our BOE. Linda Zhang and Irfan Lateef, in my opinion, are the candidates who could bring about this much needed change. Two hi-tech professionals who have a track record of helping our students and our community and is focused on improving our schools.

Linda Zhang is a 10-year resident and a parent of Holmdel High school students. She has an M.S. in Computer Science and is currently a leader at Microsoft. She is the founder and the president of SQLPass, Central NJ chapter, delivering free tech training sessions to local developers and engineers. She has also hosted the Holmdel AI and Robotics team.

Irfan Lateef is a 20-year resident and a parent of four Holmdel High school students. He has spent 20 years in the telecom industry in various leadership roles. He is currently the Chair of the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) NJ Coast Section with over 1,300 members and ten chapters. He is also a motivational speaker on next generation technologies.

I urge the residents of Holmdel to vote for Zhang and Lateef this election.

Prakash Santhana

Holmdel Township Committeeman (2020-2022).