Zack Metzger, a senior at Colts Neck High School, is one of a handful of teens who have been elected to NJ school boards over the years.
HOWELL, NJ — In January, Colts Neck High School senior Zack Metzger will take a seat on the dais at the Freehold Regional High School Board of Education.
Unlike many high school students who sit with school boards across the state, updating the board and the audience on happenings in the schools, Metzger will be seated as a member of the board representing Howell and will be one of the youngest people to ever serve on a school board in the country.
Metzger turned 18 on Oct. 23 and won election to the three-year term on Tuesday, receiving 10,473 votes, more than double the 4,983 received by incumbent Joan Butcher-Farkas, according to unofficial results. The results become official after the voting is certified by the Monmouth County Board of Elections and the county clerk's office on Nov. 19.
The margin of victory caught him by surprise, however.
"I thought I had a good chance," he said by phone Wednesday night. "But 10,000? That definitely surprised me."
"I was glad (the election) was decided early," he said with a laugh, adding he thought he would be up until the wee hours waiting for the result.
Metzger said he decided in the spring that he wanted to run for the school board, because of concerns about the conditions of the buildings.
His parents, Amy and Larry Metzger, have been supportive from the start, and on Election Night were excited for his victory.
"They weren't really surprised," he said, though added that he chalked that up to the fact that they are his parents.
Make no mistake: Metzger is serious and clear-eyed about his reasons for running for the board and about what his role will be going forward. Hint: He's not there to advocate for junk food in the cafeteria or for shorter school days.
His campaign was focused on addressing issues with the buildings in the district, which has six high schools — Colts Neck, Freehold Boro, Freehold Township, Howell, Manalapan and Marlboro — serving about 10,000 students from eight municipalities, including Colts Neck, Englishtown, Farmingdale, Freehold, Freehold Township, Howell, Manalapan and Marlboro.
While Metzger lives in Howell, the district has crossover among the towns because of special programs hosted at the different high schools.
As a student walking the halls of Colts Neck High School, where he runs cross country, Metzger said he has seen the need to address problems with the buildings. He also campaigned on improving physical education and nutrition and academic rigor.
He also wants to make sure the curriculum is addressing artificial intelligence as the use of AI grows rapidly both within schools and the world at large.
Students need to learn now how to ethically use the technology, he said, while acknowledging the challenges it poses for teachers and schools.
On Wednesday night, Metzger said his first priority will be getting to know the other board members and their priorities for the district, which has struggled through several years of state aid cuts under S2.
"I am one of nine board members," he said, so anything he would like to see the district address will require the support of other members.
He said the reaction in school on Wednesday from classmates and teachers was positive, with several expressing their excitement at his victory.
Metzger admitted it will be odd sitting as a school board member while he is still in high school, because board members do have to make decisions that directly affect teachers.
"It's weird, because I'm their boss's boss," he said, noting the school board oversees the district's superintendent.
And while other students have asked him about things they would like to see done, Metzger said he has taken the opportunity to explain to them the role that a school board member serves.
"We don't run the day-to-day operations of the school," he said. "I wouldn't want to."
A board member's role is to take part in the decisions such as overseeing the budget, approving curriculum that meets state standards, and adopting policies in addition to overseeing the superintendent, and Metzger recited those tasks with clarity well beyond his years.
"I spent a lot of time educating people on the role of a board member," he said.
Board members also are links between the community and the administration, and Metzger said he believes that he brings a critical perspective to the board as a student.
While the district has an executive committee of students who represent all six high schools and who meet with the superintendent, there isn't direct access between the committee and the board.
"I think the board should consider what I have to say," Metzger said. "I think they should hear from students."
Metzger, who is in the process of applying to colleges, said his victory has him looking close to home because he will need to drive home to fulfill his duties to serving on the board. He's looking to study business or possibly political science, he said.
While Metzger has been 18 for just two weeks, he is not the youngest person to serve on a school board in New Jersey.
That honor appears to go to Lawrence Hamm, who was 17 when Mayor Kenneth Gibson appointed him to the Newark Board of Education in the early 1970s. Hamm later founded the People’s Organization for Progress and 50 years later continues to fight for social justice, a Patch report said.
A Sparta 18-year-old, Chad Wood, was elected to that town's school board in 2023, within weeks of his birthday and five months after he graduated from Sparta High School, NJ.com reported. He is still serving on that board and is its vice president, according to the district's website.
Others who have won election to school boards at 18 in New Jersey include Lisa Qarmont, who was elected by write-in to the Newton school board in 2017, according to a Patch report.
Jamie Serruto was elected to a 1-year term on the Millburn school board in 2019, two weeks after his 18th birthday, according to a Patch report.
Adam Parkinson joined the West New York school board in 2014 at 18 and became its president two years later when he was 20 years old, NJ.com reported. He now serves as principal of West New York Public School 5, an elementary school, and on the town's Board of Commissioners.
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