Mehul Desai: Warren Township School Board Candidate

WARREN, NJ — The Warren Township School Board has six candidates vying for three seats in the upcoming election on Nov. 2.

Mehul Desai is one of the candidates running. The other candidates include:

• Daniel Croson - (is running together with Desai and Virmani)
• Aparna Virmani - (is running together with Croson and Desai)
• Tambudzayi Miranda Chibwe
• Ryan J. Valentino
• Eric Winch

All of the candidates are running for the three, three-year seats on the board.

Are you running for office in Warren? Contact Alexis Tarrazi at alexis.tarrazi@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Warren Patch.

Mehul Desai

Name: Mehul Desai

Age: 43

Town of residence: Warren

Position sought: Warren Board of Education

Family: Wife and Two Boys (8 and 10)

Education: Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering and Master’s in Construction Management

Occupation: Senior Project Manager for a REI firm

Previous or current elected appointed office: N/A

Why are you seeking to run for school board? While I have a personal interest in preserving and improving the quality of our schools, what better way to give back than being part of the Board of Ed and impact the young members of our community. I will be honored to dedicate my time and experience to give my community members a voice in making educational and administrative decisions. COVID has put an unfounded strain and is almost threatening to rip the delicate fabric of our town’s school system. Now more than ever, we need to come together to work in unison for our kids. I want to provide current and future parents a channel to express their concerns. I want to be a liaison for our community members, teachers, and the board. Let us come together for our kids and give them the education they truly deserve! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and I am hoping for your support to give me the opportunity to serve our great community.

What is your stance on masks in schools? I don’t have a strong feeling like some others do about the masks. In March of 2020, one of the requirements for us to keep working in NYC on a construction job site was to have our masks on for a full 10 hours. Work was more important to us, so we did that. Practically it is not possible for the kids to have a mask on for a full 6 or 7 hours and it is certainly wrong to expect that from the kids. But as a community we will have to come up with some novel plans so we can keep our kids safely in their schools.

Should schools offer a virtual option? Full Five Days school: School should be open five full days. There is no other place for our kids to learn and grow than their schools.

What other issues do you feel must be tackled in the school district?

• Fully funding our capital Improvement fund
• Creating a Parent-Liaison Committee

What sets you apart from the challenging candidates? I’m running for Board of Education not because I want to impose my views and opinions on others, but because I want to take the views and opinions of my community members and bring it to the School Board. I want to be a voice for my community members and parents.

What else would you like to share about yourself or your campaign? If elected, I will work hard to be a voice of my community members.