Jeremy Li for Bridgewater

05/21/2026

Every special needs parent knows the exhaustion of fighting a system that feels designed to keep you in the dark. I introduced policy changes to finally fix this by guaranteeing you get draft IEPs days before a meeting, officially protecting your right to record those meetings, and cutting the bureaucratic red tape that delays getting your child help.

But instead of supporting your families, Jim Maloney, who campaigned on being your champion, joined Michael Pepe to silence the motion. I do not believe in empty campaign promises. I believe in empowering parents with real action. No matter who tries to shut the microphone off, I will never stop fighting to give you the respect and partnership you deserve at the IEP table.

Check out my policy here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cSyk6wrglSFCe7XyscVqyt-Bg4vGU6Gr/view?usp=sharing

“The following statements are made in my capacity as a private citizen, and not in my capacity as a board member. These statements are also not representative of the Board or its individual members and solely represent my own personal opinions.”

05/18/2026

Good luck in the SEMIFINALS against Immaculata!!! We are BR!!!

05/15/2026

When I campaigned for a seat on the Board of Education, I made a clear promise to our community: I would bring rigorous fiscal oversight and real accountability to our district. True fiscal responsibility isn’t just about passing a budget—it’s about verifying where every single taxpayer dollar actually goes. For too long, the norm has been to simply rubber-stamp hundreds of pages of spending without asking the hard questions. That is not oversight.

To ensure the accountability I promised, I recently reviewed public records and invoices to compare them directly against our approved budget allocations. The discrepancies demand immediate answers:

🔍 The Weightroom Discrepancy: We budgeted $57,000 across 2025 to 2027 for weightroom equipment. The actual invoices found for these purchases in the public record? $0. (See attached OPRA response).

🔍 The Landyard Gap: We budgeted $17,000 for lanyards, yet public records show ONLY $950 spent on items like lanyards for 2025-2026. (See attached purchase order).

When budgeted line items routinely fail to match actual spending, we have to ask: Where are the remaining tens of thousands of dollars being quietly reallocated? I campaigned on ending the era of operating in the dark, and I intend to keep that promise. I will continue to exercise fiscal oversight, advocate for taxpayers, and ask the tough questions that deserve answers. We owe it to the taxpayers to ensure taxpayer funds are used wisely.

Verify the records for yourself: Read the full OPRA request and response here: https://opramachine.com/request/invoice_requests

Stay informed:
If you want regular updates on my ongoing efforts to enforce strict fiscal oversight and cut wasteful spending while protecting investments for our students, subscribe to my newsletter here: https://www.tinyurl.com/JLinewsletter

“The following statements are made in my capacity as a private citizen, and not in my capacity as a board member. These statements are also not representative of the Board or its individual members and solely represent my own personal opinions.”

05/01/2026

🚨 Record tax hikes. Defunded programs. Silenced voices. 🚨

At the April 28th BOE meeting, the Rubber-Stamp Majority voted to raise your taxes to RECORD HIGHS—shifting the burden onto working-class families to fund a bloated bureaucracy instead of our classrooms.

Adding insult to injury, they voted to defund the Gifted & Talented (AI) program across the district. Under the guise of "equity," they are actually stripping vital educational opportunities from the disadvantaged families who need them most, all to fund a partisan agenda.

The ultimate betrayal came from AJ Joshi. At the 2024 Candidate's Night, he publicly promised:

"I will continue to advocate for [the AI program] as long as I’m on the Board." Last night, he broke that promise. He took your votes for granted and voted to strip away that funding. He proved he will say whatever it takes to get elected, only to turn his back on you.

When I tried to stand up for our community during the debate, board members Michael Pepe, Rebecca Hassouna, and Barry Walker literally CUT OFF MY MIC.

They didn’t just silence me—they silenced parents, students, and taxpayers.

Elections have consequences. Bridgewater & Raritan deserve better than leadership that puts bureaucratic and special interests over our kids.

“The following statements are made in my capacity as a private citizen, and not in my capacity as a board member. These statements are also not representative of the Board or its individual members and solely represent my own personal opinions.”

05/01/2026

I wanted to share this amazing non-profit organization with the public which offers therapy dogs FREE OF CHARGE.

As a proponent of fiscal conservatism and student support, I strive to ensure we offer every student including students with Special Needs the support they need to thrive while also saving taxpayers money.

Working with organizations like these are a core part of my campaign platform, which emphasizes partnering with non-profit organizations like The Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs to support our amazing students.

My hope is that our district will consider leveraging non-profit partnerships to engage with our community, save taxpayers money, and support every student.

The public and the BOE would have heard about opportunities like these from me, unfortunately Michael Pepe and Rebecca Hassouna chose to silence me rather than have a constructive discussion about how we can support students.

https://golden-dogs.org

“The following statements are made in my capacity as a private citizen, and not in my capacity as a board member. These statements are also not representative of the Board or its individual members and solely represent my own personal opinions.”

Our organization evaluates, tests, trains and qualifies owners and their well behaved dogs as therapy dog teams. We offer free therapy dog visits.

04/24/2026

The April 28th meeting is a critical meeting and I need you to make your voice heard at Public Comment.

The stakes could not be higher for the children who depend on us and the Board of Education to advocate for them to protect their education, which is under threat from out of touch, radical ideological agendas.

I need your help. I need you to step up to the microphone during Public Comment and speak in favor of the Academically Independent program and Gifted & Talented education.

Let's prove that the actions to dismantle the Academically Independent program are not just an attack on families with children in this program, but an attack on every family and every future high-achieving student seeking to excel in the classroom. This is a matter of whether this Board is prepared to put politics and rubber-stamping first or families first.

As long as I stand, I will continue to fight alongside us and alongside EVERY family in our district because OUR VOICE MATTERS.

I have created a policy that I intend to re-introduce to protect the AI program and I need your help in voicing your support for my common sense policy to protect our Gifted & Talented programs and to protect Gifted & Talented education for EVERY student.

Click below to read it and please share with every family!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWy_RMBR1clIEWr8h5gZeD8jp7f3mdog/view?usp=drivesdk

“The following statements are made in my capacity as a private citizen, and not in my capacity as a board member. These statements are also not representative of the Board or its individual members and solely represent my own personal opinions.”

03/23/2026

Read an Op-Ed by Inder Banga about the value of the Academically Independent program and Gifted & Talented programs for students from the perspective of a parent of G&T children!

When my family chose Bridgewater, we did not choose it by accident.We researched. We visited. We talked to parents. We looked at test scores, curriculum offerings and the intangible quality that...

03/21/2026

The Rubber-Stamp Majority chose politics and tax hikes over our children. Here is what happened to your voice on the Board:

❌ Debate Shut Down: When I demanded answers, Michael Pepe gaveled down my voice and silenced me, choosing bureaucracy and closed doors over transparency.

❌ Students Ignored: The Majority watched our children plead for their Gifted & Talented programs, then immediately voted to defund them without a single question or debate. When I introduced a policy to protect Gifted & Talented programs, they voted it down. Without question. Without debate.

❌ Testimony Dismissed: Jennifer Loughran shockingly described the heartbreaking testimony of our primary students as "an hour of being scolded” and called our G&T program “the exclusive program that the liberal elites championed”, turning YOUR child’s education into a partisan punching bag.

❌ Promises Broken: AJ Joshi packed his bags and walked out of the meeting after claiming "AI is not going away"—completely contradicting the administration's actions to end it. Lying and hiding from voters and accountability.

Like every family, parent, student, and taxpayer in this community, I am fed up. But I am not backing down.

As your advocate, I will fight tooth and nail to protect our Academically Independent and G&T opportunities for EVERY CHILD!

Watch some of the amazing public comment testimony of our children from the March 17th, 2026 meeting.

“The following statements are made in my capacity as a private citizen, and not in my capacity as a board member. These statements are also not representative of the Board or its individual members and solely represent my own personal opinions.”

03/06/2026

Happy Lunar New Year to all those who celebrate! This time of year is shared amongst families & friends and I had the pleasure of attending the celebrations with our community at the Bridgewater Commons Mall and the Bridgewater Chinese American Association celebration at the Bridgewater Senior Center!

“The following statements are made in my capacity as a private citizen, and not in my capacity as a board member. These statements are also not representative of the Board or its individual members and solely represent my own personal opinions.”

02/26/2026

🚨 WATCH: The School Board’s Rubber-Stamp Majority OPENLY LAUGHS and BULLIES their own colleague like middle schoolers. 🚨

The topic they were interrupting? Trusting families to make educational choices when it comes to AP (Advanced Placement) exam and course enrollment.

Is this the childish, unprofessional behavior the public is supposed to accept from the people making decisions over our children's futures?

Is this the behavior we expect from Michael Pepe, an actual 5th grade public school teacher?

Is this how members like Jennifer Loughran and Rebecca Hassouna think they should conduct themselves in an official Board meeting?

What kind of behavior do they think they are modeling for our kids?

The teachers who taught me at BR would NEVER have tolerated this in their classrooms.

Bridgewater & Raritan deserve better than this embarrassing charade. 🛑👇

“The following statements are made in my capacity as a private citizen, and not in my capacity as a board member. These statements are also not representative of the Board or its individual members and solely represent my own personal opinions.”