A Bellefonte Area School Board member resigned on Friday night after being arrested this week on an assault charge.
Jack Bechdel II — who is accused of striking his girlfriend in the face and shoving her out of a car — wrote in a message addressed to the school community and public that his resignation is effective immediately.
Bechdel, 58, wrote that “these events have no relation to anything with the Bellefonte Area School District, the Board of Directors or any associates,” but that his actions have “drawn a spotlight on the Board that is not warranted.”
“As long as I am on the board during this period, the public will question every detail of every decision made,” Bechdel wrote. “I am proud of my work on the board and the relationships that had developed over the years. For the Board to continue its course unfettered, I must step down as director. This decision was not taken lightly and I dread that things had to end this way. I wish the board the best and hope that they continue to have civil discussion in the future.”
He was elected to the nine-member school board in 2021 and was in the final year of his first term. He filed to run for reelection in 2025, and will still appear on the ballot for the primary election in May because the deadline to withdraw was March 26.
Bechdel was charged with one misdemeanor count of simple assault and a summary count of physical harassment after the incident on Wednesday evening in College Township.
His girlfriend told State College police that Bechdel had driven her to Sheetz and began arguing with her about her drinking habits. Bechdel then allegedly reached across her, opened the passenger side door while the vehicle was in motion and pushed her out along Shiloh Road.
The woman said “her left ankle had been run over after being shoved out of the vehicle,” police wrote. She then got back in the vehicle and asked Bechdel to take her home.
When they arrived at her residence, the woman said, Bechdel “struck her on the side of her face with a backhand swing while his fist was closed because she wouldn’t get out of the vehicle,” according to the affidavit. Bechdel then shoved her out of the car and drove away, police wrote.
An officer observed that the woman “had noticeable bruising and swelling under her left eye along with blood on her hands,” according to the affidavit.
Bechdel was located at Lowe’s in Patton Township, where he was interviewed by a borough police officer. Bechdel admitted he struck the woman in the way she described, and said he only did so because she struck him on the side of his face and mouth while he was driving, according to the affidavit.
The officer wrote that he observed no signs of injury to Bechdel’s face. Bechdel said his front tooth was knocked loose, which the officer confirmed but noted that most of Bechdel’s teeth were rotted or missing.
Bechdel was also cited for driving with a suspended license.
He was arraigned on Thursday morning by District Judge Allen Sinclair and released on $10,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 9.
Prior to Bechdel’s resignation, school board President Jon Guizar said only that “his situation did not involve the school district, the school board or his service to the community” and that Bechdel informed the board he would “take a short time to reflect on the matter before making any further statement.”
