New York Guyanese gear up for elections

By Vishnu Bisram
Guyana Chronicle
May 18, 1999


TODAY, school board elections will be held in New York City, and Guyanese in the Richmond Hill area are gearing up for the elections to choose one of their own, Gyanda Shivnarain, as a member of the nine-member board of District 27 where tens of thousands of Guyanese immigrants are settled.

The term of office is three years. There are 32 school districts in the city and voters will choose nine board members for each district. Each school board is semi-autonomous in running the junior high schools and primary schools in the district; District 27 has 35 such schools. The high schools are run by a non-elected central administration appointed by politicians.

The board of each of the 32 districts is in charge of hundreds of millions of dollars and has the power to hire and fire some of the staff in the schools as well as in the district office and to select books for classroom use. The board also plans and implements the curriculum and sets certain policies and provides services not only for students but for the parents in the community.

This is the first school board election in which a Guyanese is running for office. Mr. Shivnarain has been making final efforts to encourage Guyanese and other Caribbean people to come out in massive numbers and vote for him so that he can help to empower their communities.

Turn outs at these local elections are usually very low, just about five per cent of eligible voters. So whosoever can get out the voters, about 1500, is guaranteed a victory.

Gyanda Shivnarain, a Berbician, contends that District 27 board is not representative of the population, nearly a third of whom are immigrants. Thus, not surprisingly, the community hardly receive service from the board. The board provides selective services for some neighborhoods and extra funding for some schools while others, especially those where Indian children are in attendance, are neglected. Gyanda says he will seek to reverse this trend if elected.

Gyanda feels he is most qualified to represent the immigrant Guyanese community. He knows the district very well. He has a long history of community service and having semi-retired has a lot of free time to work for the community. He was welcomed at all of the Mosques and mandirs. He also has the endorsement of every Caribbean community leader, Muslim and Hindu, and every Caribbean newspaper. They express confidence that he will address the needs of the community and provide services that address the concerns that "are close to our hearts such as teenage pregnancy, high drop out rate, truancy or hookey jams, overcrowding, and violence".

Shivnarian says that his election will help to empower the community and open new avenues for Indians. The community has no elected representative; so, he will be the first. His presence on the board can lead to funding for after school adult programmes in computer literacy and social programmes. He can also help in the formation of a school within the community. And he can set up an advisory committee of parents to advise him on policy and needs.

In addition, he can pressure the board to hire a staff that is representative of the population of the district and help to provide jobs for qualified immigrant educators who better understand the needs of immigrant children.

Gyanda exudes confidence about winning. He hopes to garner the most votes which he says he can use to bargain for benefits for the community.


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Guyana: Land of Six Peoples