One familiar face may be replaced by another familiar face on the West Windsor-Plainsboro Board of Education.
At its meeting on November 27 the board screened several Plainsboro residents who had expressed interest in serving on the board as a replacement for Ellen Walsh, who resigned from the board last month after selling her home in Plainsboro.
Present at the meeting and answering questions from the board were Taylor Yu Zhong, Vinod Shah, and Alapakkam “Mani” Manikandan. Another prospective candidate, Garima Maheshwari, had a scheduling conflict and met with board members earlier. Two others who had expressed interest earlier did not attend: Quamrul Hasan and Yen Lu.
At the end of the meeting the board discussed the candidates in closed session, hoping to reach a consensus on one candidate who could be approved by vote at the next meeting on Tuesday, December 11. Sources familiar with the discussion indicated that the board was leaning toward the appointment of Mani Manikandan to fill the open seat. But the action was not yet formal, and any board member retains the right to introduce another name at the December 11 meeting if they choose.
Manikandan is the familiar face because he served on the board until 2011, when he lost by fewer than 100 votes to current board member Rachelle Feldman Hurwitz. Manikandan, a computer software engineer, is a 13-year resident of Plainsboro and has helped coach the Science Olympiad team. “I felt deep in my heart that I had left a journey mid-way,” he said of his decision to seek the vacant seat after being off the board for more than a year. “I was able to contribute a few things and I still feel there I things I can bring to the table.”
Whoever is finally chosen by the board will serve until the next general election, at which time the public gets its say. WW-P school elections are normally held in April, but the state now permits school districts to move their election to the date of the general election in November.
Last year the WW-P board chose not to change its election date. This year it will re-consider the matter. Board president Hemant Marathe said the board “is going to have a discussion at the first meeting in January and depending on the outcome of the discussion we may have the issue on for vote during the second meeting in January. I believe we need to decide one way or the other by some point in February.”
Another issue that will be faced by the board, says Marathe, is “where to house everyone in the central office. During Irene last year the basement got flooded and is unusable as office space. We have used temporary arrangements for everyone in the basement ever since. The admin and facilities committee is looking at various options such as renting the space somewhere in the township, using space in existing building (which doesn’t exist!) or building offices on existing grounds. We will discuss the issue also at multiple board meetings starting early next year.”
