Bridgewater-Raritan School Board Election 2024: Jeremy Li

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Bridgewater Township's general election on Nov. 5 has five candidates running for three open seats for the Board of Education.

Jeremy Li is running for one of the three, three-year seats. Opposing candidates include incumbents Ashish 'AJ' Joshi and Jennifer Loughran and newcomers Jeremy Li, Philip Jones, and William Atkins.

Are you running for office in Bridgewater? Contact Alexis Tarrazi at alexis.tarrazi@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Bridgewater Patch.

Jeremy Li

• Age: 21
• Town of residence: Bridgewater, NJ
• Position sought: Board of Education
• Family: 2 Parents and 1 Brother
• Education: High School Diploma (BRHS Class of ‘21), Bachelor of Science in Finance (Rutgers University Class of 25’)
• Occupation: College student (Senior) and former finance intern
• Previous elected/appointed office: Student Senator at Rutgers University
• Campaign website: liforboe.com

Why are you seeking election for the Board of Education?

I am a recent graduate of BRHS and I am seeking election to the Board of Education because I want to promote academic excellence, uphold accountability & oversight on the board, and empower parents in our school community.

Since 2019, our rankings have fallen from #22 in the state to #42 as a public school district according to Niche while enrollment has fallen and taxes have risen. The reality is that we need to do more to protect and preserve the tradition of academic and education excellence that our school district is known for. I believe that finding ways to promote academic excellence and critical thinking in our courses is an essential step towards making sure our students continue to thrive after graduation.

I also believe that promoting a culture of accountability & oversight in our administration while engaging community stakeholders will create a decision-making environment oriented towards ensuring proper due diligence is performed when making strategic decisions.

In addition, I think that there are many ways we can further expand the role of parents and guardians in our district. We need to ensure that parents are fully informed about their children in school. From improving lines of communication between the board, administrators, and teachers with parents to making sure parents are given more opportunities to have a seat at the table, I believe that empowering our parents will strengthen our schools and improve student success.

This past summer the Board made enhancements to its security at schools in the district. How do you feel about the changes and do you feel enough was done?

Making sure that students are learning in a safe environment must be a top priority for our board and it’s important that our board makes strategic decisions concerning security in our schools with proper data-driven due diligence. We know that each and every school in our district has its own security requirements and we need to consider what solutions will best protect our students at our different schools in a serious, thought-out way. For example, our high school’s open campus layout would call for a different security enhancement plan. Project quality also needs to be well managed to make sure every security initiative the district funds will achieve its intended purposes of protecting our schools. This was not the case several years ago when newly installed security locks in the high school failed to work properly. In hindsight, we are lucky that no serious security threats faced our schools during that time, but we need to do more to make sure that a costly mistake like this doesn't happen again. I am pleased to see the board make a commitment to school safety, but the board needs to make sure that due diligence is completed before approving investments. The board also needs to make sure that contractors are delivering the results of their proposals. At the end of the day, the board needs to make sure every penny of taxpayer’s money being spent on school security is maximizing school security and safety for our school community.

With the referendum passed, work is beginning to upgrade facilities in preparation for full-day kindergarten. How do you feel about the progress being made?

From the school district website, I can see the rendering of proposed construction additions for our middle school and appreciate being able to see updated plans and progress on construction so far. On top of being able to see these updates, I would appreciate a detailed project plan timeline from the board being disclosed to the public to allow people such as myself to better gauge construction progress and whether construction deadlines and budgets are being met. It’s important that we allow the public to hold the district accountable for completing these upgrades in a cost-efficient, quality-conscious manner, especially given the significant strategic importance of these facility upgrades to our district and our financial position. Besides the facilities upgrade effort, I would also like to see more concurrent progress in launching full day kindergarten. Given that taxpayers have been funding an operational budget for full day kindergarten since the approval of the referendum in 2023 without a full day kindergarten, we should be finding ways to accommodate this for current families with our current spaces and resources for the time being until construction is completed.

What would you like to see improved in the school district?

I think the school district should focus on expanding evidence-based mental health resources because students continue to face many mental health challenges. As a student having faced my own struggles, I empathize with students who are struggling with mental health and believe that more can be done to make sure that evidence-based mental health approaches with tangible results are available for students. This is an area where the board can work closely with and support parents and families to maximize the overall benefit for students.

I also believe that it’s time to address optimizing school start times for students. We need to make sure that students are getting the sleep they need to do well in school and classes are starting at an appropriate time across all our schools. Students shouldn’t be walking to a school bus stop when the sun is barely up or starting school too late.

I believe my perspectives as a student will allow me to help the board better find ways to address the issues students face in our schools everyday.

What other issues would you like to tackle if elected to the Board of Ed?

Another issue I would like to tackle is the rise of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) in our schools. This is a quickly-evolving technology that continues to require more attention. As a board member, I will make sure that our district is addressing the opportunities and challenges posed by AI in our schools. The board must work to make sure we are providing guidelines protecting academic integrity from AI. On the flip side, I believe that AI and other advanced technologies have the potential to positively impact our curriculum and prepare our students to be ready for tomorrow’s world. There are so many ways we can responsibly integrate advanced technologies such as AI into our education system to enhance student experiences and educational outcomes.

What sets you apart from the challenging candidates?

What sets me apart is that I’m not afraid of standing up for the interests of students, teachers, parents, taxpayers, and our community here in Bridgewater even if it might be difficult. I’m not afraid of pointing out and recognizing problems with the intention of addressing them for the benefit of our school community. Should I have the opportunity to be on the BOE and be part of a process that could have been handled better, I am not afraid to acknowledge when issues come up that justify a need for change and solutions.

I believe we as a school district should have a growth mindset where we can be open to acknowledging problems and striving to be the best. I will welcome voices from our entire school community, be it positive or constructive criticism, and will gladly listen to issues being brought up as the first step in addressing them, rather than sweeping them under the rug.

As a recent graduate, I experienced first-hand many of the same challenges students are facing across all of our grades and I understand how difficult it is being a student today. At the end of the day, this campaign is about action and getting stuff done because we need a board member that’s ready to put education first.

What else would you like to share about yourself or your campaign?

I am currently a senior at Rutgers University studying finance. I have been a lifelong resident of Bridgewater Township. As someone who just recently went through the entire BRRSD education program and understands the value of a high school diploma from BRHS, I also understand the challenges students face in our schools today. At Rutgers, I am deeply involved in the governance of my school, having represented and advocated for the business school as a student senator in the University Senate. There, I worked with my fellow senators to develop information technology policies designed to improve the technology experiences of students. I also was a member of the allocations committee for the Rutgers Business Governing Association, making sure that student fee money was being allocated to school organizations in a fiscally responsible manner while properly funding programs. In various capacities, I have served in roles as an advocate fighting for the interests of people and I look forward to bringing my contributions and perspectives to our Board of Education.