Monthly Archives: September 2023

Supporting Travis Air Force Base’s Five & Thrive | dailyrepublic.com

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By Sheila McCabe

The mission of Five & Thrive is to tackle the top five quality-of-life issues military families face because their quality of life is directly tied to the readiness, resilience, recruitment and retention of our armed forces.

The five areas that fall within Five & Thrive are (1) Childcare; (2) Education; (3) Healthcare; (4) Housing; and (5) Spouse Employment.

This summer, Dixon Unified School District, Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District, Travis Unified School District, and Vacaville Unified School District joined forces to address one of the barriers related to education – summer registration.

Source: Civic Leaders: Supporting Travis Air Force Base’s Five & Thrive | Lifestyle | dailyrepublic.com

Lindsay Kelly leads race for VUSD Trustee Area 4 – The Vacaville Reporter

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By Nick McConnell

Lindsay Kelly is expected to be named to the Vacaville Unified School District Board of Trustees Area 4 seat, after leading the vote tally in the special vacancy election held Tuesday.

As of 9:13 p.m., the Solano County Registrar of Voters released their final vote totals for the evening, which showed Kelly ahead with 453 votes. Dave McCallum followed with 416 votes, and Michael Martin came in third with 119 votes out of a total 988.

Vacaville Parents United, a local interest group for parents, held a petition drive to force this special vacancy election. The election cost the district an estimated $113,000 to the district, which Superintendent Ed Santopadre said would come out the district’s general fund.

Source: Lindsay Kelly leads race for VUSD Trustee Area 4 – The Vacaville Reporter

VUSD releases 2023-24 enrollment data – The Vacaville Reporter

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By Nick McConnell

The Vacaville Unified School District’s enrollment numbers are up over last year by over 100 students, Superintendent Ed Santopadre announced last week at the September VUSD board of trustees meeting.

Without counting charter school students, the district has a total of 11,345 students this fall, up from 11,181 last year, marking an increase of 164 students.

Vacaville High School reported 2,030 students this year, and Will C. Wood reported 1,701.

Source: VUSD releases 2023-24 enrollment data – The Vacaville Reporter

‘FSUSD Runs This!’ returns this week | dailyrepublic.com

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The Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District will host a “FSUSD Runs This!” event this weekend.This community-centered initiative aims to promote health, wellness and a sense of unity among residents of all ages and physical abilities, according to a press release.

The event is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Saturday at Nelda Mundy Elementary School, 70 Vintage Valley Drive, Fairfield.

Participants can register online in advance by visiting the official event page, www.active.com/fairfield-ca/running/distance-running-races/fsusd-runs-this-1-event-2023. For those who prefer on-site registration, an option will be available on the day of the event.

Source: The Week Ahead: ‘FSUSD Runs This!’ returns this week | Fairfield | dailyrepublic.com

Who will win VUSD’s Trustee Area 4 seat? – The Vacaville Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Who among three candidates will win a seat to represent Vacaville Unified’s Trustee Area 4 on Tuesday?

That’s when voters will decide the outcome of a special election for a post vacated by a petition drive earlier this year.

Those seeking the seat are former VUSD trustee David McCallum, 63, a local radio broadcaster who was appointed to the governing board when another member resigned but was forced out by the petition drive. Others are Michael W. Martin, 41, a local real estate broker; and Lindsay Kelly, 44, an insurance claims adjuster.

Source: Who will win VUSD’s Trustee Area 4 seat? – The Vacaville Reporter

Travis governing board looks to fill vacant seat at next meeting | dailyrepublic.com

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By Susan Hiland

The Travis Unified School District Governing Board will consider the selection process to replace board member and clerk Zenobia Muhammad at its next meeting.

Muhammad tendered her resignation on Aug. 31.

The options going forward are to either provisionally appoint or call a special election to fill the vacancy.

The board will discuss the best course of action on Tuesday. If they decide on an appointment, then they will conduct applicant interviews at the Oct. 10 meeting. To choose a special election means the seat will be vacant until the next election in 2024.

Source: Travis governing board looks to fill vacant seat at next meeting | Education | dailyrepublic.com

VUSD trustees discuss fentanyl prevention, centralized kitchen plans – The Vacaville Reporter

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By Nick McConnell

The Vacaville Unified School District Board of Trustees met Thursday night for its regular September meeting to discuss fentanyl prevention in schools, enrollment numbers and plans for a new centralized kitchen facility for the district.

Superintendent Ed Santopadre started off his comments with introductions for two new staff members. Isabell Ott a new lead mental health clinician, is committed to the development of students’ emotional needs, and Laura Roberts will serve as assistant principal at Callison Elementary this year, focused on fostering positive relationships between students, families and teachers.

Enrollment numbers are up this year for VUSD, Santopadre said. Without counting charter school students, the district has a total of 11,345 students this fall, up from 11,181 last year, marking an increase of 164 students.

Source: VUSD trustees discuss fentanyl prevention, centralized kitchen plans – The Vacaville Reporter

Solar panels to save VUSD 55 million – The Vacaville Reporter

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By Nick McConnell

Students and parents at Vacaville High School might have noticed new solar arrays above the parking lot this fall, and while the shade they provide is nice, they’re doing a lot more than just keeping cars cool, according to district officials.

Kelly Burks, Associate Superintendent of the Vacaville Unified School District, said the district has added the arrays to 15 of its sites and made updates to much of its HVAC equipment at a total cost of $28.5 million. While that might seem steep, she said, the project will actually save the district almost $55 million over the coming 30 years, as they help combat rising utility costs from Pacific Gas and Electric.

Source: Solar panels to save VUSD 55 million – The Vacaville Reporter

Vallejo school district rolls out three-year plan to improve low attendance – Vallejo Sun

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The Vallejo City Unified School District unveiled a three-year plan to address dismal student attendance rates in Vallejo schools which dropped to dramatic new lows during the COVID-19 pandemic at a district board meeting on Wednesday night.

District Superintendent William Spalding said during the meeting that chronic absenteeism is a major concern for the district not only because it affects student learning outcomes, but because it also figures into the district’s state funding. With chronic absenteeism rates hovering around 50%, that could translate to millions of dollars in lost funding for the district.

Source: Vallejo school district rolls out three-year plan to improve low attendance

Polk takes seat as new interim school board member | dailyrepublic.com

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By Susan Hiland

The Fairfield governing board has a new interim board member, Perry W. Polk, who took his oath of office and chair at a special meeting on Wednesday.

Polk along, with five others, applied for the school-board opening created by the exit of longtime board member, David C. Isom, in July.

The other interested candidates included Aaron Joseph Garcia, Cheryl Chatmon, James Hodgman, Kai Eusebio and Steven Donald Quinlan.

Source: Polk takes seat as new interim school board member | Education | dailyrepublic.com

VTA endorses experienced educator for VUSD trustee post – The Vacaville Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

The Vacaville Teachers Association has endorsed a UC Davis dean and former school teacher as a candidate in the VUSD Trustee Area 6 special election on Dec. 19.

Amy Tran Russell — a senior assistant dean for student affairs, earned two master’s degrees — an MBA from UCD and one in education from UC Santa Cruz. She also earned a bachelor’s degree in history from UCD, according to a teachers union press statement sent to The Reporter on Wednesday and information in her candidate statement.

Russell, 43, started her career teaching social studies for the Benicia Unified School District and coaching track and field. She then worked with high school students as part of a youth leadership development program for five years.

Source: VTA endorses experienced educator for VUSD trustee post – The Vacaville Reporter

FSUSD offering African American parenting course | dailyrepublic.com

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Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District will offer a program on Effective Black Parenting this fall.

This program offers practical support for parents and caregivers of African American children, with a focus on culturally relevant strategies, the district said in a statement.

Classes for the fall session will begin Sept. 12, and will meet from 6 to 7:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday through Nov. 7 in the Fairfield-Suisun Adult School, 900 Travis Blvd., in Fairfield.

Source: Fairfield school district offering African American parenting course | News | dailyrepublic.com