Chin seeks Herricks seat after Jain says no more

Richard Tedesco

Dr. Sanjay Jain, a six-year veteran of the Herricks Board of Education, announced at last Thursday night’s meeting that he would not seek re-election to his board seat.

Jain said he will leave the board this year after serving two terms over the past six years. 

“It is now time for me to move aside, and let another from the many enthusiastic members of our community contribute their energy and wisdom to our school district,” Jain said. “I have learned a lot during my time on the board, and hope that my presence has had some positive impact on this district although it may be difficult to quantify.”

Juleigh Chin, president of the Denton Avenue PTA, said after the meeting she is planning to run for the open seat.

Jain is a neurologist specializing in the treatment of epilepsy at North Shore-LIJ Hospital in New Hyde Park. He said the demands of his work there is one of several factors that prompted his decision to step down from the board.

He called his fellow board members “a tremendously talented group of individuals” and commended the “hard work” of the school district’s administrators, teachers, support staff and other employees for their efforts.

“This is one of the most important tasks a society can perform and I feel fortunate to have been in a role that allowed me to try to make it easier for those who are trying to do this tremendous job of trying to light up our children’s minds,” he said.

Herricks board President Christine Turner told Jain, “We appreciate your six years on the board.”

“Seems like six, doesn’t it?,” Jain replied, as he and other board members laughed.

Jain served on the board as it dealt with serious budget cuts over the past two years, including the elimination of 49 teaching positions in the district. 

Asked whether the stress of dealing with budget decisions with the tax cap was a factor in his decision to leave the board, Jain said no.

“There was no stress involved – we had to do whatever the circumstances allowed us to. There were tough choices that had to be made and that was not a pleasant task, but that comes with the territory,” Jain said.

Board Vice President Jim Gounaris acknowledged that he had policy differences with Jain before he became a board member, but said he appreciated Jain’s work on the board. 

Gounaris said he’d grown fond of him and called Jain’s decision to not run again as “a tremendous loss to the district.”

“He will be missed,” Gounaris said.

Jain, who is a member of the Herricks Indo-U.S. organization, is the only board trustee whose term in office expires this year.

Chin said she had asked Jain if he would be seeking re-election before she decided to run for the now open seat. 

She said she has not yet filed her petitions with signatures needed to endorse her candidacy for the board seat and declined to comment further on her candidacy. She said she was not aware of any other candidates running for the seat Jain will be vacating.

Chin is in her fourth year as president of the Denton Avenue PTA.

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