Dan Brosgol ~ Candidate for Re-election to the Bedford School Committee

Citizens of Bedford,

I am pleased to announce my intention to run for re-election this March to the Bedford School Committee for another three-year term.

I have had the privilege of serving on the School Committee since 2015, during which time we have tackled meaningful issues including building additions, enrollment growth, the ongoing development of in-house special education programs, the rollout of second-generation MCAS, and more. While that was interesting and challenging, since the arrival of Covid-19, the intensity and complexity of our work has increased significantly. Since March we have concluded a search for a new superintendent, made cuts to our budget when the Town’s financial position required them, pivoted to hybrid learning in August, and continuously reviewed our model since we opened school in September. We have tackled these challenges head-on and in partnership with our exceptional district leadership to ensure that we continue to do our best in the face of a raging pandemic.

Given these challenges, we take great pride in the successful re-opening of school in September in a hybrid model of in-person and remote learning, the overall success of our cohort model across the district, and our recent votes to bring back more than 200 additional students for four-day/full-day instruction in early 2021. But make no mistake- our work is far from complete. We are currently evaluating budget scenarios for the 2021-22 school year and are endeavoring to bring back more children safely into our schools between now and the end of this year. There are countless questions to answer about these matters, and I look forward to helping guide that conversation over the course of the next few months. To that end, the School Committee has taken the unprecedented step of scheduling weekly meetings from November to February to stay on top of these matters.

For those of you who attend our meetings, you know that I frequently take time to reflect on how lucky we are to live in Bedford, for our town is truly unique in the way that we work together to support our children’s educations. This year, more than ever, it has taken an incredible amount of collaboration and coordination to make that happen. Without the partnership with, communication between, and support of the parent community, the Finance Committee, the teachers’ union, the central office staff, the Town Manager, the Health Director, our representatives in state government, and the voters and residents of Bedford, we would not be in the position that we are right now. Make no mistake—most towns do not work together as Bedford does, and we should never take that for granted.

It has been one of my greatest honors to have served Bedford on the School Committee since 2015, and especially now as Chair during this time of unprecedented challenge. I humbly ask for your vote on March 13 and hope to be able to continue this work for another three years.