Portland Maine, August 26, 2009 – Ed Bryan, West End resident and Reiche School activist, has announced his candidacy for the District 2 School Committee seat in Portland.

Mr. Bryan is currently on the board of the West End Neighborhood Association and on the steering committee for the West End Community Action Network (WECAN), the group charged with implementing plans and CDBG funds granted to build a safer and more interconnected West End neighborhood.

In addition, Mr. Bryan has been on the Reiche School PTO and Parent Advisory Committee (RPAC) since 2004. Working closely with the school’s administrators, RPAC helped secure funding for improvements to Reiche School that have created a safer and better learning environment. “Instead of waiting five to seven years for a state sponsored renovation that would have cost so much more,” said Mr. Bryan, “we felt that if we could address a few key areas and help the principal stay focused on learning results, it would be a better investment for everyone.”

Mr. Bryan is the owner of a small business, Crystal Reporting Solutions. Working from his office on Congress St he consults with and writes budget, finance, and personnel reports for municipalities and school districts across the country. “For 8 years I have been helping clients get to the heart of the issues by writing reports that present information in a clear and concise manner,” says Mr. Bryan. “The feedback I get is that people start talking about real issues instead of complaining that they can’t understand the data!”

A Portland resident since 1993, Mr. Bryan graduated from Bowdoin College in 1987, worked at L.L. Bean for seven years, Tyler Technologies for seven years and has been running his own business since 2005. Married since 1995 to Suzanne, the current Reiche PTO co-chair, they have two children at Reiche School and plan to send the first of them to King Middle School next year. In his spare time he coaches his son’s lacrosse, soccer and basketball teams, sings with the Portland Community Chorus and swam his first Peak’s to Portland race this past July.
When asked of his priorities for the school committee, Mr Bryan stated that proposing informed budgets and operating within those budgets is the biggest priority. “I also hope to help facilitate partnerships between the City and School Department, using my experience with building relations between Reiche School, Portland Recreation and WENA”