Bedford High School principal resigns
BEDFORD – Bedford High School's principal resigned Thursday just as the school year got under way.
The school board accepted Stephen Donovan's resignation at a meeting Thursday night after Donovan was charged with driving while intoxicated last week, according to an open letter Superintendent Timothy Mayes sent to parents Friday.
"This is an extremely hard lesson for Mr. Donovan and for all of us in the Bedford School District 'family.' I expect people will have a wide range of feelings and opinions about this situation," Mayes wrote. "However, I have a great deal of respect for the honesty Mr. Donovan has displayed throughout this process."
Police stopped Donovan, a longtime educator who was set to enter his first year at the school, last week after "he made a poor decision to operate his vehicle after consuming alcohol," Mayes wrote.
Donovan was principal of Acton-Boxborough Regional High School in Acton, Mass., before being hired in Bedford.
He will appear in court in September and will likely lose his driver's license, according to Mayes' letter. The school board appointed Bob Jozokos as the school's interim principal for the upcoming school year, which began Wednesday. The school will graduate its first class this spring.
Mayes said Jozokos has served as the school's assistant principal and on its planning team for the last two years.the last two years.
"As we proceed through this unplanned transition, I ask that everyone in the Bedford community pull together and do everything possible to support Mr. Jozokos in his new role," Mayes wrote. "And just as importantly, we need to come together so the first graduating class of Bedford has a successful year. I trust we will."
Donovan is the second public official in the region whose DWI charge was made public this summer.
Nashua Board of Alderman member David MacLaughlin, 43, was arrested for drunken driving in Massachusetts sometime in June.
The Ward 8 alderman is being held at the Lawrence Correctional Alternative Center until Nov. 17. He has decided to continue serving his term and to run in the Nov. 3 city elections, according Michael Dennehy, a national political adviser who is acting as MacLaughlin's spokesperson.
