Election 2023: Chad Hyett for Marlboro Board of Education

MARLBORO, NJ — Chad Hyett is one of seven candidates seeking three full-term seats on the Marlboro Board of Education in the Nov. 7 election.

Hyett, of the Morganville section, is making his first bid for a spot on the school board.

He is running on the Focus on Education team with Aditi Gandhi and Susanne P. Miskiewicz. His campaign link is: https://focusonmarlboroeducation.com.

Other candidates in the race are listed below. No incumbents filed to run for re-election to the school board.

In these profiles, candidates provide voters with background about themselves and their positions on the issues, as they see them.

Hyett points to his experience both in education and as a parent of recent graduates from the Marlboro system. His 23-year career in communications is also a benefit, he says.

He said the main issues facing the district are staffing and state budget cuts because of the revised (state) S-2 funding formula.

Read more from Chad Hyett:

Background:

Candidates were asked to provide their professional or volunteer information, school board experience, campaign links, and personal background.

I have won awards for academic service, built a career in public communications, and have relevant personal experience as a parent of two recent Marlboro Township Public Schools (MTPS) students.

I firmly believe that schools are a fabric of our community, and I very much look forward to the opportunity to support this fundamental aspect of what makes Marlboro Township such a great place to live, work and raise a family.

I have been an advocate for education all my life, and most prolifically during the past decade.

During that time, I have focused my attention on mentoring students in rural parts of Appalachia. I believe these underprivileged kids deserve education and mentorship to better their job and career prospects. The mentorship and guidance I have provide has helped hundreds of students grow as young adults in thriving careers.

Earlier in my life, I was an advocate for special education, having grown up with a special needs brother. This work taught me early on that all children deserve a quality education and led me to the advocacy I am committed to today.

In an official capacity, I serve as an adviser in higher education. For the last decade, I have been a member of the Reed College of Media Visiting Committee at West Virginia University, a body of advisors invested in education that guide the school on fundraising and development activities, recruitment, curriculum, student enhancement, innovation, strategic planning, and college priorities.

I currently serve on the curriculum committee and review, edit, and advise on school curriculum that impacts thousands of students a year. In that role, I have helped to improve curriculum to match the everchanging skillset of the modern workforce and introduced new curriculum that better prepares students for a competitive job landscape.

I have a 23-year career in communications and have advised hundreds of brands, organizations, and executives how to best communicate with the public to earn trust and confidence. Throughout my career, not only have I delivered creative and strategic solutions for organizations, but I have earned the respect of hundreds of constituents through my interpersonal and relationship-building skills.

I work well with others. Regardless of differing viewpoints, I command respect from the multiple stakeholders I must address daily. These hard skills would bring a significant advantage to the MTPS Board of Education through my keen ability to listen and respond to the many constituents the board must serve.

Finally, I am a parent of two children who have benefited greatly from our public school system. I’m also a friend and advocate for hundreds of others whose kids also reap the benefits of living in this great town and the school system it provides.

I support our teachers, our staff, and our administration. I respect that their careers are not always easy yet are instrumental in shaping our future leaders. I want MTPS to remain the most admired schools in this state. I have the drive and work ethic to accomplish that goal.

Top issues:

Candidates were asked about the important issues in their district, and how the school board can address them.

Marlboro is facing a few issues, chief among those is staffing and state budget cuts because of the revised (state) S-2 funding formula.

Marlboro went several months without a superintendent, and three special education teachers started late in the school year due to slow hiring. Teachers and administrators have an appalling turnover rate nationwide, and it’s being driven higher by increased pressures, and unfortunately outside interests.

On top of that, we have had to cut academic coach positions due to budget limitations. While some of these challenges are beyond the control of the board, a solution we can control is keeping Marlboro a highly sought after school district for teachers and administrators. Our teachers need support and recognition for the challenges they tackle every day. Marlboro has amazing teachers, staff and administrators, and recent rhetoric has painted them in a bad light. Our teachers go above and beyond despite being challenged every day.

The state budget cuts are mandatory, and we can’t change that immediately. But we can be analytical and measured in how we spend our school budget.

Right now, Marlboro is unfortunately entangled in a few lawsuits, and those can quickly become expensive. Our opponents have stated that they would advocate spending whatever it takes to fight against Policy 5756 through the courts, for example.

While I agree on the intent of revising the policy, and respect that there are several people in our community vehemently against the current policy, there are better and more appropriate ways to address it so that it works for our community at large and avoids unnecessary legal woes and unintended consequences. That will take effort and leadership, and I along with my running mates are eager to take on that challenge.

At the same time, education costs money. We need to look at the outcome we are trying to achieve and work backwards from that for every decision on school spending. That outcome is the best educational experience for every student.

I would also like to surface another larger point. School budgets and where we spend those budgets are publicly available or requestable to any parent or community member. However, most people don’t understand those numbers and what they ultimately mean, nor should we expect that because most people do not have the time to analyze that information.

I believe the board should work on a different goal: Increased public understanding of our school budget. With my background in public communications, I believe there are better ways to communicate how MTPS makes budget decisions. I would apply that to move beyond fiscal transparency and work to increase the community’s understanding of our school budget, how it’s spent and the decisions that dictate that spending.

At the end of the day, it’s a simple question: How do we keep our schools great and highly sought after. If that’s our goal, then the decisions and effort put towards it will ultimately benefit every family, student, and taxpayer in Marlboro.

Policy 5756:

Candidates were asked if they wanted to comment on state Policy 5756, which provides guidance regarding transgender students, including communication with parents. Some districts in the state are repealing or amending the policy.

I think there is a lot of misinformation about this policy, as well as what is going on in our school district. New Jersey state Policy 5756 was designed to protect transgender students against discrimination. I agree with that just as I believe that any race, nationality, disability, sex, religion, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation should be protected from discrimination. Everyone deserves an inclusive learning environment. With that part, I have no issue with the state policy.

At the same time, the state policy has a stipulation that states, “there is no affirmative duty for any school district personnel to notify a student’s parent or guardian of the student’s gender identity or expression.” It does not say that schools can’t tell parents, and our administration has stated that they have always and will continue to work with students to notify parents.

I believe that is a sensible approach. It’s worked for years, and in fact, our board and administration has stated that we have never had an issue. As a parent myself, I fully support the rights of parents to know about their children’s education and what happens in our schools.

However, behind the scenes is a great deal of rhetoric that our very own teachers in Marlboro are keeping secrets from kids, and “indoctrinating” them to become transgender. While I cannot speak for other districts, and I will acknowledge there are bad actors, I have never seen or experienced this by one teacher in Marlboro, nor have my friends or running mates.

And we all have extremely recent and relevant experience with Marlboro schools and teachers, unlike others on the ballot. I won’t accept this rhetoric. In fact, if schools and teachers were indoctrinating our kids, I would immediately yank mine from the system and advise that every other parent do the same. But it’s not happening.

As for my thoughts on attempts to revise this policy by Marlboro’s board, our response is outlined on our website. In a nutshell, I agree with and understand the intent of the revisions that require mandatory notification, and I also understand why our board set down this path due to increasing demands from parents.

However, now we are engaged in a lawsuit and a court order that prohibits us from revising that policy because in doing so, we crafted a policy that was discriminatory. How does that accomplish “parental rights” to know about their child’s transgender status?

It's been brought to our attention through media and through conversations with our board that several other school districts eliminating Policy 5756 altogether. While people think that’s a better path forward, I’ve yet to see how that answers the demands of parents who want mandatory notification of their child’s preferred gender association. All it does is remove an extra layer of antidiscrimination against transgender students, but if that is covered in broader policies, then Policy 5756 is in fact redundant.

The bottom line is that this is an important and complex issue that needs resolved because it’s getting in the way of our school board being able to focus on education – in fact at our last special meeting in September we had six people make public comments.

They were all about repealing Policy 5756, which we cannot do because of the lawsuit, and none of them lived in Marlboro or had children in our school system. Unfortunately, we are in a place and time that calling out the facts and evaluating both sides either makes you against the rights of parents or against the rights of transgender students. It is way more complex. You can read more about our position on our website under the views section.

At the end of the day, it’s the kids and families who will suffer through a less than desirable educational experience. The advocates and vocal politically motivated critics on both sides will move onto the next issue, while pretending to care about education. Yet, they aren’t the ones who will ultimately be affected.

Marlboro Township Board of Education (Full term; vote for three)

• Dora Zanet: Education Not Indoctrination
• Shamoon Siddiqui: Keeping Parents Involved
• Chad Hyett: Focus on Education
• Craig Marshall: Advocating Family Values
• Aditi Gandhi: Focus on Education
• Cheryl Scuorzo: Education Not Indoctrination
• Susanne P. Miskiewicz: Focus on Education

Freehold Regional High School District

Representing Marlboro: Michael Messinger (vote for one, no contest)

Representing Colts Neck: Carl Accettola (vote for one, no contest)

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