Dr. Kirit D. Chapatwala has announced his candidacy for the Selma City School Board District 1 seat in the Oct. 27 election.

District 1 is made up of Wards 1 and 2.

Chapatwala has served on the Selma City School Board for the last nine years.

He had been chairman of the school finance committee for last two years.

He believes that Selma City School Board needs to be multicultural because of its diverse student population.

Chapatwala said he will continue to support sound and open school finance. He knows that Alabama will have proration again for this academic year that will force the board to make very difficult decisions to maintain a financially viable school system.

Chapatwala believes in education and also in continuing education. This is one of the reasons he attends the Alabama Association of School Boards (AASB) continuing education programs for which he has reached its highest education level Master’s Honor Roll.

In 2006, he was named to the All-State School Board by AASB, the first and only one for the Selma City Schools.

He was also a participant of the second year class of Selma Dallas County Leadership Program.

Chapatwala has also been active in AASB as a member and the founder of the multicultural committee. He also works to lobby.

Dr. Chapatwala earned his Ph.D. from Mississippi State University in microbiology, biochemistry, and ecology in 1978. Since then, he has been employed by Selma University, where he has taught and has conducted research. .

He and his wife Sherry have three daughters. All attended public schools and colleges.