(Image source from: The American Bazaar)

Virginia businessman Vinson X. Palathingal is running for Fairfax County School Board.

If elected, the Fall Church, Virginia, the resident will become the first Indian American to serve on the board of the Fairfax County Public Schools, the tenth largest school system in the United States.

Kerala-born Palathingal, a technology entrepreneur, is running as an at-large candidate. The board has 12 elected board members, including three at-large members, who serve four-year terms.

Every voter can vote for up to three candidates for the three at-large seats. The election is on November 5, 2019.

On Tuesday, Palathingal was endorsed by the county’s Republican Party.

“I have been a Fairfax County resident for 22 years and my two children studied at county schools,” Palathingal told the American Bazaar in an interview. “It gives me necessary insight and knowledge to help the public school system overcome some of the daunting challenges that it is facing now. We need a member on our school board, who will help Fairfax County Public Schools focus on their mission, safeguard the role of parents and live within our means.”

Palathingal said he is campaigning mainly on three issues: Academic rigor, fiscal prudence, and total transparency. “Protecting parents’ rights is extremely important,” he said, adding that more details about his positions and priorities are available on his campaign website.

Palathingal, who came to the United States in 1992 to pursue a graduate degree in civil engineer, has founded a number of companies, including Amaram, an IT services business that serves federal, state and local governments and Fortune 500 companies. He is also the founder and executive director of the Indo-American Center, a think-tank based in the Washington, D.C., area that works to strengthen the strategic partnership between the United States and India.

The Fairfax County school system, the largest public school system in Virginia and in the Baltimore Washington Area, oversees nearly 200 schools and centers, with a combined student population of 187,000.

“The destiny of any country is built in classrooms,” said Palathingal, who describes himself as “a social and fiscal conservative and the free market, small government, small business, and freedom thinker.”

Explaining why he decided to run for the school board, the businessman said he is strongly concerned about the declining school results, which, according to him, have gone down despite pumping in more money raised through higher real estate taxes.

The entrepreneur said he would bring to the board skill, empathy and understanding of the issues to address challenges currently faced by students and parents.

Palathingal is very critical of the way the board is being run in the past few years. “We are going to take back the Fairfax County School Board,” he declared at a public meeting recently. “They are failing miserably. They are clearly underperforming in their fundamental responsibility of educating our children.”

The candidate leveled a litany of charges against the existing board. “They are misusing our money,” he said. “Their priorities are misplaced. I am mad as hell. I want you to be [mad as well].”

Palathingal said he has the right ideas to transform the board and the state of education in the country. “I have some very clear ideas about how to improve our STEMP education,” he said. “I have a serious interest in promoting US history education.”

Palathingal has received the endorsement of several influential Fairfax County Republicans.

Palathingal earned his bachelor’s in civil engineering from the Government Engineering College, Thrissur, in 1988.

He completed his master’s from the University of Reno, also in civil engineering, in 1995.

After working for the Maryland State Highway Administration, Metro Washington Council of Governments and Fannie Mae, Palathingal launched Amaram in 1998.

Palathingal is married to his high school sweetheart Asha. They have two children.

By Sowmya Sangam