Muhammad Saqeeb
Why I'm running
I'm running for the East Brunswick Board of Education because I care about everyone in our community, and I want to ensure our schools are putting students first. When I eventually have children, I want to ensure that they and any of their friends do not have to face the level of alienation that I felt when I was a student in East Brunswick.
I live here. I started at Memorial Elementary School and graduated from East Brunswick High School.
All I know is East Brunswick.
I was a student who struggled to communicate, took special education classes, and had speech therapy. I know how isolating school can feel sometimes, especially for students who may not feel connected to their peers or their school community. I know how much it means for someone to listen and speak for those who are still developing their own voice.
When schools become an environment that builds relationships across cultures, it raises their confidence, empathy, and willingness to challenge what they don't know. Our schools should best equip our students with material conditions they are coming into this age of AI technology where they need to differentiate between truths and lies more critically.
I've been involved in bringing youth voices forward. I've worked directly with student clubs to help conduct toy drives for other schools in need because I believe every one of our students deserves an opportunity. I have advocated for students locally and worked to build diverse connections.
Every student should feel that they are seen, supported, respected, and given the opportunity to succeed.
That is why I would focus on students' mental health, school climate, and making sure every student feels like they belong. We need to build an environment that encourages the social and emotional well-being of each student and listens empathetically to each student.
Even our technology policies must come back to the root issue: empathy.
At the same time, putting students first means recognizing the financial pressures facing both our school district and our community.
I was a college student during the COVID-19 pandemic, and I, like many other community members, have felt the rising cost of inflation and its impact on housing, childcare, our communities' physical and mental health, and the nearly unaffordable healthcare premiums we are currently facing statewide.
Families are already dealing with rising costs for housing, childcare, healthcare, and everyday necessities. At the same time, the district must continue providing high-quality education while managing increasing operational costs.
As a Board of Education member, I would try my best to work with the team to find innovative solutions to help reduce the impact of these costs on our school community. I believe the Board must continue looking for responsible ways to control costs, protect essential programs and sports, and make sure taxpayer dollars are being used effectively.
Finally, I would make it a priority to listen to students, parents, teachers, and residents and improve communication so people understand what the Board is doing and why.
My experience in East Brunswick taught me how important it is for students to feel supported and connected. I know how much it matters for someone to listen when a student is still developing their voice.
I want students from all backgrounds and needs to feel that East Brunswick is their home for generations.
Our platform
A Five-Year Plan for Better Schools at Lower Cost
As funding gets cut, the solution to budget constraints starts with replacing inefficient programs with better-quality, cost-reducing ones, expanding access and opportunities for students while saving money. Here's how we will do it:
01
Free, Universal Full-Day Pre-K
What
Expand towards free full-day preschool for all East Brunswick’s estimated 824 preschool-age children, with the State requiring districts to work toward serving at least 90%, or about 742 children, through district classrooms, Head Start, and qualified providers.
Why
A local full-time private preschool costs about $1,280/month. At that price, preschool for all 824 children represents about $10.55M/year in family costs.
How
Have the Board direct the district to apply for NJ Preschool Expansion Aid. NJDOE calculates the preschool universe as 2× first-grade enrollment; East Brunswick reported 412 first-graders, producing an 824-child universe, and State rules call for plans to reach at least 90%. At Middlesex County’s $16,806 district-seat planning rate, 742 seats equal about $12.47M. Using the illustrative 40% State-share assumption, about $4.99M would come from PEA, with existing preschool spending and Head Start/provider configurations reducing the remaining local cost. North Brunswick already uses district, private-provider, and Head Start classrooms for free full-day preschool.
Result
Hundreds more children get full-day early education regardless of family income, enter kindergarten better prepared, and families no longer have to choose between preschool and thousands of dollars in annual childcare costs. Up to $10.55M/year in private family preschool costs is displaced, with an upper-end local planning estimate of about $337/year on the average assessed home before additional offsets.
02
Affordable School Supplies, Clubs & Activities for All
What
Eliminate participation fees, reduce required school-supply costs, and end student lunch debt.
Why
Families already pay taxes for public schools but are still charged for activities, supplies, meals, and private enrichment.
How
Have the Board replace approximately $359,000 in annual participation-fee revenue, centrally purchase basic supplies only where bulk pricing beats family retail costs, and maximize State/federal meal assistance before covering remaining lunch debt. Monroe already provides grades 7–12 athletics and co-curricular activities without a participation fee.
Result
No student is priced out of sports, clubs, music, or activities because their family cannot afford the fee; families also face fewer school-supply and meal costs. $0 participation fees would cost about $18/year on the average assessed home if the entire $359,000 were replaced through the levy, before savings elsewhere.
03
Expand Special Education in East Brunswick
What
Bring more specialized programs and services into East Brunswick where the district can provide them effectively.
Why
East Brunswick budgets about $6.61M/year for outside special-education tuition, before transportation.
How
Direct the superintendent to compare every potential in-district program against avoided tuition + avoided transportation + potential tuition revenue from neighboring districts. Build programs only where serving students locally produces better service and a stronger financial result. We'll do this in phases: first identify which needs can be met locally with our current space, then determine which programs require hiring specialists to fit within existing space, and in the long term, build new facilities to house those programs in-house.
Result
More students receive specialized instruction, therapies, and support inside their own school district, closer to their families and peers, with less time spent traveling to outside placements. At the same time, bringing appropriate placements in-house can reduce the district’s $6.61M+ outside-placement bill and potentially generate tuition revenue from neighboring districts.
04
Lower Healthcare Costs + Expand Care
What
Combine employee health-cost reform with expanded student and staff medical, mental-health, dental, and prescription access.
Why
East Brunswick employee benefits cost about $40.36M/year. Even small percentage reductions therefore produce substantial savings.
How
Direct the administration to pursue FQHC, hospital, or community-provider partnerships; bill eligible care through Medicaid/private insurance; and competitively review insurance, pharmacy, PBM, rebate, and prescription contracts. South Brunswick already separately procures both operation of a district health center and brokerage for health and prescription benefits.
Result
Students get mental-health and healthcare services closer to where they already go to school, while staff gain easier access to care and lower-cost treatment options. Problems can be addressed earlier instead of families having to navigate outside providers on their own. The goal is $0 net new recurring tax cost, while a 3–5% reduction in benefits costs would save roughly $1.21M–$2.02M/year.
05
Build the New 9–12 High School
What
Build a permanent 9–12 high school instead of continuing to layer temporary fixes onto the existing building.
Why
Preliminary estimates put major work on the existing high school at $300M+, existing school plus temporary-capacity changes around $323M, existing school plus a Ninth Grade Academy around $386M, and a new four-grade high school around $385M–$425M.
How
Have the Board develop one permanent proposal, maximize available State construction/debt-service aid, match borrowing against retiring debt, and publish the real homeowner tax impact before any referendum.
Result
Students and staff get a safer, healthier, modern school with enough space for grades 9–12, modern labs and classrooms, and fewer temporary or overcrowded learning environments. It also gives taxpayers one permanent facilities solution instead of repeatedly paying for partial fixes. No homeowner tax figure should be promised until State aid, financing, retiring debt, and eligible costs are known.
Sources
06
Responsible AI + Technology
What
Keep generative AI out of assigned Pre-K–8 work except approved accommodations, while teaching responsible AI research in grades 9–12.
Why
Students need to develop reading, writing, research, and critical-thinking skills before relying on AI-generated work.
How
Have the Board establish grade-level rules and integrate source verification, hallucinations, citations, deepfakes, bias, and privacy into existing curriculum and professional development.
Result
Younger students develop their own reading, writing, creativity, and reasoning first; older students graduate knowing how to research with AI, detect false information and deepfakes, verify sources, and use the technology responsibly. No major new recurring expenditure is required.
07
HIB + Inclusivity Built Around East Brunswick
What
Make anti-bullying and inclusion policy reflect East Brunswick’s actual students, demographics, languages, and reported incidents.
Why
Generic training cannot address discrimination effectively if it does not reflect the problems students are actually reporting.
How
Strengthen Board policy and use HIB reports, demographic data, climate surveys, and student/family feedback to update training annually while improving consistency in investigations.
Result
Students have a clearer, more reliable process when they report bullying or discrimination, staff receive training based on problems actually occurring in East Brunswick, and the district gets measurable data showing which student communities feel safe, included, or underserved. This can largely use existing HIB and professional-development resources.