BRIDGEWATER, NJ - He only graduated from the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District in June – but resident Zachary Malek believes that that puts him in a unique position to make a real difference on the board of education.
“I have personally experienced firsthand the good, the bad and the ugly of our school district,” he said. “To my knowledge, none of the candidates have this level of experience in the district.”
Malek is running for one of two open three-year seats representing Bridgewater on the board of education.
Malek was born and raised in Bridgewater, and was educated by the district from kindergarten through 12th grade. He was part of the forensics speech and debate team for all four years of high school, performing extemporaneous speaking on a wide array of domestic and international topics.
In addition, Malek said, he recruited and tutored students for the team, and was a volunteer trainer for Summer Forensics Institute with incoming freshmen and upperclassmen. As a senior, he was co-captain of the speech team.
“BRRSD provided a well rounded education, offering sports, extracurricular activities and excellent teaching,” he said.
Malek was also a national semifinalist in Extemporaneous Speaking at the 2016 University of Pennsylvania Liberty Bell Classic, and a state semi-finalist in Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking at the 2017 NJ State Championships.
On the athletic side, Malek was cross country captain, and received three varsity letters in track and field and cross country. Academically, he was a two-year advanced placement scholar recipient.
Malek is now enrolled at Rutgers University, majoring in political science, and with plans to attend law school after graduation.
Malek said he believes it is concerning that candidates for the board of education have not been through the school district themselves.
“The BOE is making policies and may not understand the possible ramifications,” he said. “Some may say the BOE has youthful representation via the high school student representatives. But these roles are appointed, not elected.”
“Our student reps are chosen by the superintendent and high school principal and are not allowed to fully participate in the BOE,” he added. “This means the only voice the students have is effectively silenced on many issues. So I would like to give back to BRRSD by offering my knowledge and experience to improve it in ways the current system wouldn’t allow.”
That youthful representation is one of the issues facing the school district, Malek said.
“I will be able to provide a new perspective since I have gone through the system K through 12,” he said. “There are issues that the board of education is not aware of, but I am.”
“We should be striving for greatness, and in this strive we cannot be satisfied with the status quo,” he added. “This is holding back Bridgewater-Raritan from its full potential.”
In addition, Malek said, fiscal spending is another issue affecting the district. Every year the budget increases, but, he said, he doesn’t know where that money is going.
“In my four years at the high school, I have never seen an improvement that has been done because of the millions of dollars that were added to the budget annually,” he said. “In addition, the budgets released by the board of education are not any better at answering my questions.”
Malek said it is important to know where and why the money is being allocated.
Curriculum is also something Malek said he believes needs to be addressed, particularly with regard to technology and engineering.
“The future is in STEM fields, so we should be putting a greater emphasis on these areas,” he said. “So BRRSD should have classes at earlier ages so students are exposed earlier, and, once in the high school, can perform better in STEM classes.”
Malek said one example is the introduction to computer science, which is one of two prerequisites for the advanced placement computer science class.
“But the class doesn’t properly prepare students,” he said. “I took this class and have friends who took AP computer science and believe it didn’t properly prepare them.”
“We need our students to be fluent in three languages once they graduate, English, a foreign language and a computer language,” he added.
That is one of his plans for district improvement if he is elected, Malek said.
“Science, technology, engineering and math are where the good paying jobs are, and will be in the foreseeable future,” he said. “Our current classes at the high school are failing to properly teach students even basic principles of computer science.”
“BRHS doesn’t provide good options for modern computer programming languages and in-depth technology,” he added. “In addition, these classes should be taught in intermediate and middle schools.”
Malek said the district also needs to leverage existing education infrastructure to decrease the cost of college education by offering an associate’s degree simultaneously with a high school diploma.
“The high cost of college is causing students and families to go into debt and is impacting choices available to BRHS students,” he said.
The Raritan Valley Community College Academy for Health and Medical Sciences Associate’s Degree program provides for only a handful of students from BRHS to earn a high school diploma and associate’s degree while in high school.
“This program proves high school students can obtain both a high school diploma and associate’s degree at the same time,” Malek said. “The teaching staff at BRHS is highly qualified and many can teach college level courses. Many have received masters and PhDs.”
“Therefore, it should become BRHS’s mission to make college more affordable by offering an associate’s degree,” he added. “No other high school in the local area offers this, and it would make BRHS an innovative school.”
In addition, Malek said, the district needs better communication and greater budget transparency.
“It is the duty of the board of education to make clear where exactly the taxpayers’ money is going, and, as a board of education member, I will fight for greater communication and budget transparency,” he said.
In terms of communication, Malek said he believes one key issue requiring greater community involvement is full day kindergarten.
“I believe that the board’s current inaction is hampering our district’s full potential,” he said. “If I am elected on the board, I will push for a referendum on full day kindergarten.”
Malek said he recognizes that one of the biggest cons for full day kindergarten is cost.
“The community has to decide, with studies provided by the current administration, whether or not this policy should be implemented,” he said.
Malek said he believes the administration should present the facts and studies to the community, and hold special board of education meetings to hear parental concerns and opinions.
“It is time for the board to stop dragging its feet on this issue and act,” he said. “This is a major decision and it requires our community to have a say.”
“Most of the community does not pay close attention to the dealings of the school board, but I want this to change,” he added. “If elected, I will make it my personal goal to see the community has greater insight and input on important education-related matters.”
Malek said he believes an important aspect of public service is giving back to the community and striving to make it a better place to live and work.
“Bridgewater-Raritan has cemented a foundation that will follow me for the rest of my life, a foundation that I am extremely thankful for,” he said. “After everything BRRSD has given me, I want to give back to the district to help students and the community.”
