Whether you’re a freshman or a senior, there’s a certain familiar face that you’ll recognize as you go around campus, either in pictures or in person; Dr. Melvin Bedford.
Dr. Bedford became our principal in 2021, making history as the first black principal of Austin High. He’s known amongst both students and staff for bringing people together, and can often be seen around the school engaging in casual conversation.
In recent years, there’s been a lot of controversy over public education, from teacher pay, to curriculum, to budgeting. So we talked to Dr. Bedford about Austin High, its future, and the future of education overall.
One of the most prominent issues in education right now is President Trump’s plan to defund several educational programs. This has caused many students and teachers to wonder whether their favorite classes will even exist next year. This includes Newspaper, which is a part of the CTE department. According to Bedford, “There’s a lot of things on the table at the federal level that we don’t necessarily have influence over. There’s a number of changes that I think are pretty scary. I can’t tell you how they’re going to affect CTE. I know that AISD has a commitment to making sure we protect those things that we know are valuable, and that includes CTE.”
Another issue is the recapture program, also known as the Robin Hood plan. For those who are unfamiliar, Dr. Bedford explained it best. “We, in a property rich school district, send money to school districts that aren’t so property rich. It started off as actually a good idea…to sorta redistribute from the “have’s” to the “have-nots”. It’s now become convoluted to the point where it’s difficult for school districts who send money to fund their own programs.”
Bedford, like many people in AISD, think that recapture should be reworked. “I would at least like to see politicians look at it, and just ensure that the programs that are losing funds in recapture are able to sustain themselves, before they send a ton of money off somewhere else. It’s not as simple as that–it’s even above my head–but that’s essentially the jist.”
We also asked Dr. Bedford if anything could be done to combat the issue of students going to the bathroom to skip class. He said, “Yes, there is. It’s gonna have to be an entire school effort, from students, teachers, administrators, and parents. But yes, there’s a number of things we can do.”
On a more positive note, one thing that Bedford has noticed improve this year is the promotion of extracurricular programs. “I’ve seen more of an emphasis on student activities, student clubs, student extracurricular items…which was one of the things I was excited about my first year here.” He explained. “I think school is a lot more fun when kids have things that they’re interested in outside of their school curriculum.” He also pointed out that extracurriculars can help students relieve stress from school. “We want you to work hard in class, we want you to earn as high of grades as possible, but we also want you to be having fun, because that’s just as important to being a well rounded student.”
Dr. Bedford’s favorite part of the day is lunch, “but not for the reason you’re thinking”, he added. “No, lunch is like the halfway point, and you get to see all the kids outside the classroom, and in their environment. Y’all kinda let your hair down. I get a chance to know you better.”
Lastly, we asked Dr. Bedford his opinion of the Maroon newspaper. “I love it. I hope it continues. I want a big huge picture of me on the back of it.” He laughed.
