Bedford school board appoints Stephanie Nichols to interim seat

The Bedford School Board on Wednesday evening appointed Stephanie Nichols to an interim seat created after the resignation of a prior member. The board voted by voice to approve the appointment and then administered the oath of office to Nichols. Nichols, who said she taught in Bedford for 14 years and most recently worked as an assistant principal and AP/IB coordinator, told the board she moved back to Bedford after studying education at UNH and said she is active in local charity work. She told the board she has two children in the district and is co‑president of Greater Bedford Women Aid. Board members said they had a strong pool of candidates and described the decision as difficult before a member moved and a second was recorded to appoint Nichols. The board returned from a brief nonpublic deliberation to make the public motion and took a voice vote recorded as unanimous. After the vote the board administered the statutory oath for school board members. Nichols repeated and signed the oath, and district staff completed the required paperwork to place her into the interim seat. The appointment fills a vacancy created when the prior member, Mindy Bader, resigned and moved out of state. The board said the interim appointment will continue until the next regular appointment or election process, consistent with district practice for midterm vacancies. No policy or budget change was made as part of the appointment; the board said it would resume its scheduled agenda after the swearing in.