Meet Eric Bridgford – District Area 1 Candidate for the Carpinteria Unified Board of Trustees

Eric Bridgford 

Eric Bridgford is an engineer and owner of the Carpinteria Dory Company, which specializes in the construction and restoration of wooden dory boats since 2017. Before creating this company, Bridgford worked as a reservoir engineer for Venoco, an offshore oil drilling company. 

Introduce yourself and tell the community why you are running for the Carpinteria Unified School District Board of Trustees. Speak on any experience you bring to the table.

My name is Eric Bridgford. I am a family man, business owner and ocean enthusiast. Myself, my wife and our two boys have lived in Carpinteria for almost 10 years now. I currently own a boat building company – the Carpinteria Dory Company – and my wife is the assistant director at Lou Grant Parent-Child Workshop. I attended public schools in Colorado, Montana and New Mexico; graduated from University of New Mexico with a bachelor’s degree in Geology; and earned a master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from Colorado School of Mines. 

As an engineer I worked in large teams on complex multi-year projects. Analytical expertise, effective communication and teamwork are all skills that I would bring to the table if elected.

I am running for the Carpinteria Unified School Board because it is time to give back. Carpinteria has been such a welcoming and beneficial place for my family that I want to give back in a meaningful way. A good education is one of the keys to a successful happy life and I would like to contribute to that endeavor if elected. 

The school district has faced a number of pressing issues in the past two years, particularly related to Covid-19 community levels and protocols. What do you see as the school district’s and students’ most important issue, and why? 

Everyone involved in the world of education just went through two of the most difficult years in their profession. I want to acknowledge the amount of work the entire district did during this time. Moving forward, I think the most important task is to support the teachers, staff and students at every level. Effectively, this means attracting and retaining well qualified teachers and staff, giving them the support they need to do their incredible work and keeping our school facilities in good shape. 

One additional issue I would like to work on as school board member is to ensure there is proper funding and support for physical education and the arts. I believe that time and energy spent on these activities creates a better learning environment and ultimately a better community.

Reflect a recent school board decision. Would you have made a different decision? Why or why not? 

I would like to say that I am extremely pleased that the Summerland School is finally being rebuilt and we are looking forward to our youngest son attending the new school in January. 

I think this school is critical to the Summerland community and enhances the Carpinteria Unified School District overall. I am also in favor of social emotional learning and the AHA! programs in our schools. I believe that these types of activities create the foundations for safer schools and communities. I applaud the school board for providing the resources for these programs.