Vote For Scott Barnett

My Bio

Why I'm running I have lived with educators my entire life. My parents were both high school math teachers (my Dad taught at the high school I went to). My wife has been an educator since before I met her, and has been a middle school science teacher in NJ for nearly 25 years. My wife and I moved to Asbury Park in 2019 after raising two children in the Marlboro Township and Freehold Regional High School District Public Schools. We loved Asbury Park then, and we love it even more now — but like a lot of families here, we've watched our property tax bill climb in a way that's hard to make sense of. In less than 7 years, our tax burden has more than doubled on a like-for-like basis — and most of that increase happened in just the last three years. When that increase hit, I wanted to understand why. So I started asking questions. I didn't get consistent answers. Some board members pointed to the city's PILOT (payment-in-lieu-of-taxes) agreements. Others pointed to leadership changes in the superintendent's office. When I asked to see the actual budget numbers behind these explanations, I found that most board members didn't have them either — and neither did I. The one thing everyone agreed on? The public school budget was by far the largest source of the tax increases. But when I asked how or why, no one could answer me. That was the beginning of a much longer look into how our district actually operates. What I found I started asking broader questions: How do our standardized test scores compare to the rest of the state? What's our student-to-teacher ratio, and how does it compare to similar districts? How much are we spending on administration relative to our enrollment? Have we looked seriously at regionalization or shared services with neighboring districts? The answers were hard to get, and harder to hear. Our state testing results have been among the lowest in New Jersey for well over a decade. At the same time, we spend more per student than almost any district in the state. It appeared — though I couldn't get the data to fully confirm it at the time — that we were carrying more buildings, more staff, and more administrative infrastructure than a district our size actually needs. In fact, the budget was nearly the same as it was when the district had twice as many students. Worst of all, our students aren't getting the results that they deserve, even with this level of spending. It became clear that we needed to do better for the kids, and do it in a more efficient manner. I asked whether anyone on the board had put together a full picture of this. One board member told me they had — that they had already looked into regionalization and concluded it would cost more than what we're paying now, and that the budget was fundamentally sound. When I asked to see the analysis behind that conclusion, I was told it wasn't something they were willing to share. That response — more than the tax bill itself — is what convinced me to get involved directly. Getting involved Starting in the spring of 2025, I began attending Board of Education meetings regularly. I filed public records requests (OPRA requests) for budget documents, staffing data, and curriculum information — much of which, I later learned, most board members had never seen themselves. Piece by piece, I built a clearer picture of the district: where the money goes, how staffing compares to enrollment, and how our outcomes stack up against similar districts across New Jersey. It wasn't a pretty picture. But it was, for the first time, an honest one. In November 2025, Asbury Park voters elected a new board majority focused on greater transparency and openness. That board has made real progress since — though it's been slower than it should be, and it's faced real resistance from board members who see any discussion of staffing or spending reductions as inherently "anti-children." I don't see it that way, and I never have. Scott with family Where I stand I believe in public education, and I have always voted for tax increases in line with supporting local schools. But I was privileged to live in areas where those taxes and budgets lined up with excellent results. I want the children and parents of Asbury Park to experience the same excellence as a result of a well-rounded and transparent budget. I believe our school district can do two things at once: provide our kids with an excellent education, and do it in a cost efficient manner. Those two goals aren't in conflict — but achieving both requires decisions based on real data, not assumptions, not tradition, and not whoever argues loudest at a board meeting. That means measuring what we're doing — all of it, regularly — and being honest about what's working and what isn't. It means giving parents, teachers, and students a real seat at the table, not as a formality, but as a genuine source of information the board actually uses. And it means making tough calls when the data calls for them, even when those calls affect staffing, buildings, or long-standing routines — because avoiding hard decisions hasn't gotten Asbury Park the results our kids deserve. Transparency, for me, is key, and sunlight is the best disinfectant. To improve our schools and help our community feel great about their tax dollars, we need to make decisions based on accurate data — and act on them. I'm running for the Asbury Park Board of Education because I believe we can build a school district this city is genuinely proud of — one that spends wisely, measures honestly, and works together for its students instead of against itself. I'd be honored to have your vote this November.

My Key Issues