Jonai Singh, co-president of the Herricks school district PTA Council, is running for a seat on the Herricks Board of Education.
Singh said last week she plans to run for the school board seat currently held by Paul Ehrbar.
Ehrbar, who is also the mayor of Williston Park, said he had not yet decided whether he will seek another term on the school board. He said he intended to reveal his decision at the March 3 school board meeting.
Singh, who has been active with the Herricks PTA for the past 10 years, is coming to the end of her current two-year term as PTA council co-president. She said that her experience as a parent in the school district, her volunteer work with senior citizens and her interaction with disparate ethnic groups makes her a viable candidate.
“I have a lot to offer. I’m a person who’s connected not just with parents who have children in the community. I’m a person who’s connected with the senior citizens and all the ethnics groups within the community,” Singh said.
Singh has two daughters, Disha and Roshni, who are currently in ninth grade and sixth grade, respectively.
“I have been through the experience with all the different buildings so I have knowledge of the district,” she said.
With two children in the school district and as a volunteer with senior citizens groups in the community, Singh said she believes she has the ability to represent the viewpoints of all members of the Herricks community.
“Being a school board member, you have to keep the entire community in perspective,” she said. “When I hold that position, I will speak for everyone. I will speak for those who are not in the room.”
She has served as Searingtown Elementary School PTA President and is a past president of the Herricks Indo-US Community, Inc., an Indian-American organization.
A native of Calcutta, India, Singh migrated to this country when she was 23 years old. She has lived in the Herricks School District for the past 13 years.
She was the recipient of the New York State Parent Teachers Association Golden Oak award in 2009 and was inducted in the Women Roll of Honor by the Town of North Hempstead in March 2010.
