Changes
→Initiatives and Projects Implemented as School Board Member-2006-2016
Bergosh and his wife Sally have three children: Tori, Nicholas and Brandon.
==Education & career==
Bergosh received is a 1986 graduate of [[Pensacola High School]]. After high school, he moved out west to attend college, earning an associates Associates of arts Arts degree from Grossmont College (El Cajon, California) in 1990 and a B.A. from San Diego State University in 1994. Bergosh has earned a Master of Science in Administration from the University of West Florida. Before entering politics, Bergosh had a ten-year career as a retail business operator and facilities management specialist, including about 1 1/2 years working at [[Naval Air Station Pensacola]].<ref name="lookingout">"District 1 candidates looking out for students." ''Pensacola News Journal'', August 18, 2006.</ref>When his brother decided not to seek reelection, Bergosh said he was asked by [[Escambia County Superintendent|Superintendent]] [[Jim Paul]] to seek the office.<ref name="lookingout"/> He was elected on [[September 5]], [[2006]] with 5,110 votes — about twice as many as his closest rival, [[Todd Leonard]].<ref>"Escambia County School Board." ''Pensacola News Journal'', September 6, 2006.</ref> ==Initiatives and Projects Implemented as County Commissioner 2016-2020== {| class="wikitable"|-! Initiatives and Projects Implemented as County Commissioner 2016-2020|-| Restrooms at [[Beulah Park]] || Completed|-| Traffic light at [[Beulah Road]] and [[Mobile Hwy]] || Completed|-| [[Mitchell Avenue]] Sidewalks in [[Avondale]] || Completed|-| Drainage improvements and Sidewalks project on [[Merlin Road]] || Completed|-| 4-lane and sidewalk addition for [[Longleaf Drive]] from [[Pine Forest Road]] to [[Wymart Road]] || funded and currently at 60% design|-| $2.5 Million in Restore Act funding for District 1 Boat Ramp and park on [[Perdido Bay]] || Requested|-| $1.5 Million in D1 Restore Act funds utilized to help bring the $230 Million ST Engineering Aerospace expansion to Escambia County--1300 new jobs projected, || In progress|-| Acquisition of OLF8 in Beulah to be utilized to create mixed-use development and amenities for the Beulah community and an additional 300 jobs at Navy Federal Credit Union || In progress|-| Turn Lane at [[Woodside Avenue]] || Completed|-| Wilde Lake at Pine Forest Intersection improvements || Completed|-| [[Hwy 98]] resurfacing || Completed [[2018]]|-| [[Muldoon Road]] resurfacing || Completed [[2018]]|-| [[Mobile Hwy]] safety improvements, in Design [[2021]] || completion anticipated [[2022]]|-| 4-lane [[9-Mile Road]] with sidewalks and bike lane || Completed by Summer 2020|-| [[Bellview Park]] upgrades including new scoreboard || Completed [[2019]]|-|NW D1 Advisory committee for intelligent growth in [[Beulah]] || established [[2018]]|-|Escambia Youth Commission initiative || Approved and Established [[2019]]|-|District 1's first public library || funded and under construction Fall [[2020]]|-|[[Beulah Fire Station]] remodel || fully funded and under design Summer [[2020]] by Townes+Architects|-|4-Year pay plan for [[Escambia County Deputy Sheriff's Department]] || mediated and implemented [[2018]]|} ==Initiatives and Projects Implemented as School Board Member-2006-2016== *Implementation of a Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline - Independently run *District-run health clinic November, 2010. This first of its kind in Escambia County Schools*Implementation of a multi-faceted Drug Eradication Strategy -- this includes canine searches and drug testing students that participate in extracurricular *Video Recording of all workshops and meetings of the School Board *School Board "web-presence" on the district's new web page. After a 16 month series of delays, the School Board's web page was put up in [[2011]] to increase transparency.*Addition of a Safe Harbor Provision in the District Rights and Responsibilities Handbook, as a balance to zero tolerance. This initiative to provide students and parents an additional layer of due process protections was implemented over extensive protests by district staff and administrators*Participation of the Escambia County School District in the MAP (Merit Award Program), a statewide teacher performance pay program to reward great teachers and grow student achievement. *Expansion of music programs at the secondary level, with the addition of a new High School Band at [[West Florida High School]] beginning in the 2010-2011 school year.*Initiation of the Establishment of a University Lab School in Partnership with the [[University of West Florida]]. School opened 2010-2011 school year.*Acceleration of closure and consolidation process to correct district inefficiencies.
===Reaction & aftermath===Bergosh was criticized for a number accused the ''News Journal'' of the comments he made as Godzilla. Among his posts were claims that schools in the predominantly black [[Escambia County District 3|District 3]] were a "dragouting" his identity on the rest of the system, and what he suggested the district "do away with compulsory education beyond grade 8. … Build more prisons and get ready for the influx, but let's keep school a positive environment for students who WANT to come to school!!"<ref name="whois"/> He had believed was critical of teachers' unions for "roadblocking districts every step of the way" and even praised himself in the third person during a debate over merit pay safe outlet for teachersanonymous opinion: "I know we can count on Board member Bergosh to be there and vote to keep When the bonus money here in ''Pensacola. I know he is not going News Journal'' created an anonymous forum, encouraging the use of pseudonyms, as to genuflect, bow let people take down their guards and speaking in a frank manner regarding political ideas and kiss the union ringthoughts, and give I jumped at the union what they wantopportunity."<ref name="whoisstatement">[http://ricksblog.biz/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/jeff-bergosh.pdf Statement by Bergosh regarding Godzilla]</ref> When The publication pointed out that their website's current terms of use reserved "the School Board voted 4-1 against right to identify you as the existing merit pay planauthor of any of your postings or submissions by name, email address or screen name, as we deem appropriate, Godzilla said he could hear their "spines breaking in unison."<ref name="outing">[http://www.cjrpnj.orgcom/behind_the_newsapps/outing_godzillapbcs.php Outing Godzilla: An Internet crack in the Chinese walldll/section?Category=TERMS pnj.com Terms of Use] </ref> although this policy may have been altered since Bergosh initially registered.{{fact}} Bergosh asserted that he "never divulged any 'in-house'Columbia Journalism Review''secrets or committed ANY crime" and that the left-leaning newspaper had engaged in "[[Wikipedia:yellow journalism|yellow journalism]]" as retribution for his conservative opinions, October 16, 2007prompting him to "fight for my right to freedom of speech."<ref name="statement"/ref>
[[Image:BergoshPNJCartoon.jpg|thumb|right|[[Andy Marlette]]'s cartoon & winning caption]]
[[Image:BergoshSchneiderCartoon.jpg|thumb|right|Bergosh's cartoon response]]
Hostilities continued when the ''News Journal'' held a contest asking readers to submit captions for a cartoon of Bergosh wearing a Godzilla costume. (The winning caption said, "All the School Board costumes were taken!"<ref>[http://pnj.com/graphics/opinion/cartoon_101407_winner.jpg Final cartoon]</ref>) Bergosh countered by offering alternate captions critical of the newspaper's online policy (for example, "Deception <u>is</u> at the core of '<u>anonymous</u>' blogs!!"<ref>[http://jeffbergosh.net/cartoons.html Bergosh's parody cartoons]</ref>) and drawing a caricature of editor [[Dick Schneider]]:
<blockquote>These PNJ guys have had me on the front page twice, 4 editorials, and the “cartoon” has been up for 2 weeks!! These guys have given me more coverage this last month than Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, or their #1 hero, Al Gore, inventor of the internet and recent Nobel Peace Prize winner!! What a strange October this has been!! … So I put together my own little “cartoon contest”— knowing I have nowhere near the resources, time, nor the “need” to create news at the level of the PNJ. But, this is still rather humorous, in my opinion. I asked around town, at the [[Waterfront Rescue Mission]], at [[UWF]], At Happy Hour, and at my [[Mensa]] club meeting-- and came up with quite a few ideas for the caption, with the one in the final cartoon being deemed “the winner.”<ref name="website">[http://jeffbergosh.net/ JeffBergosh.net]</ref></blockquote>
His cartoon depicted Schneider outside a "House of Voodoo" sticking pins into a Godzilla doll and yelling, "MOMMY!! Your <u>dumb</u> idea is <u>not</u> WORKING!!"
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
[[Category:Escambia County School Board members|Bergosh, Jeff]] [[Category:Pensacola High School graduates|Bergosh, Jeff]]