Amy Tran Russell is banking on her experiences as an educator and administrator over one of the most successful master’s business analytics programs at UC Davis to win her the Trustee Area 6 seat on the Vacaville Unified School District board.

It was the same résumé that won her an appointment to the post by the sitting school board, only to have a protest petition force the Dec. 19 special election. Russell faces Tracee Stacy, a former Vacaville Unified trustee, in the election to fill the final year of the post vacated by Kelly Welsh when she moved out of the district.

Source: Vaca Unified candidate touts experience as educator, UC Davis business administrator | News | dailyrepublic.com

Tracee Stacy is banking on her experience as a former school board trustee and her familiarity with the community to win the Trustee Area 6 seat on the Vacaville Unified School District board.

Stacy, 44, served on the Vacaville Unified board from 2016 to 2020 before losing a close re-election bid.

But she said she is not done wanting to serve and is eager to help lead the district into the future – noting the development of the district’s next Local Control and Accountability Plan – and emphasized that she is motivated from the classroom out.

Source: Vaca Unified candidate says community ties a critical part of election | News | dailyrepublic.com

By Nick McConnell

Vacaville Unified trustee candidate Amy Tran Russell on Thursday held a campaign kickoff event, sponsored by the Vacaville Teachers’ Association, at Ridgeview Park.

Russell, who works in administration for the University of California, Davis, is running against former governing board member Tracee Stacy in a special vacancy election forced by a petition drive following Russell’s appointment to the board earlier this year.

Vacaville City Councilmember Sarah Chapman spoke at the event, saying she and the candidate share an understanding of the importance of education.

Source: VUSD candidate Russell hosts campaign kickoff – The Vacaville Reporter

By Nick McConnell

The two candidates running for the Vacaville Unified School District Board of Trustees District 6 election participated in a forum Thursday evening, streamed on Facebook live by event host the Vacaville People’s Forum.

Amy Tran Russell, a senior assistant dean at UC Davis, and Tracee Stacy, a former board member and community educator for the Area Agency on Aging, answered questions for about an hour. Wendy Breckon, a former planning commissioner in Vacaville, and Jepsen student Jovanni Silva served as moderators, introducing questions submitted from the community on a number of issues, including the upcoming Local Control and Accountability Plan, the need to solve overcrowding, communication with parents, and more.

Source: VUSD district 6 candidates participate in forum – The Vacaville Reporter

By Susan Hiland

Candidates for the Vacaville Unified School District Area 6 special election answered questions at a live-streamed Facebook feed on Thursday night.

The two candidates looking to fill the open seat are Amy Tran Russell and Tracee Stacy.

Election Day will be on Dec. 19.

This is the second special election for the district with the last one being on Sept. 12, with three candidates running. That special election cost the district about $114,000. That race was won by Lindsay Kelly.

Source: VUSD Candidates forum talks future of district | Education | dailyrepublic.com

A candidate forum for the Vacaville Unified School District Trustee Area 6 special election has been scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday.

The two candidates seeking the post, Amy Russell and Tracee Stacy, are expected to participate, organizers said.

The event, hosted by the Vacaville People’s Forum, will be streamed live via the group’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/vvpeoplesforum. Video of the forum also will be posted on the site.

Source: Candidate forum set for Vaca Unified Trustee Area 6 election | News | dailyrepublic.com

By Nick McConnell

The Vacaville Unified School District Board of Trustees met Thursday evening for a regularly sheculed meeting, where they heard updates from the district’s HR staff and Superintendent Ed Santopadre.

Santopadre said it was a busy couple of weeks across the district since the last meeting of the board — Tuesday evening saw VUSD hold its college and career fair for over 1000 high school students in the gym at Will C. Wood High School. Financial aid workshops were held, as well as one on NCAA eligibility for student athletes.

The event was equal parts college and career fair, Santopadre said, as many employers and universities attended the event to meet with students. Six University of California schools, five California state schools, 15 private in state institutions and two out of state institutions attended the fair.

Source: VUSD trustees discuss HR, college fair – The Vacaville Reporter

By Nick McConnell

Newly elected Vacaville Unified School District Area Four Board of Trustees Member Lindsay Kelly was sworn into office at the regularly scheduled Thursday board meeting, where trustees also heard from new student board members from each of the high schools.

Kelly thanked her fellow board members for a warm welcome, and said she has met with a number of them, as well as the district office and some community members. She said she hopes to focus on collaborating with parents to support students while on the board.

“I’m really thankful to everyone who supported me during the campaign, both those who have been upfront and center and those who have been behind the scenes.”

Source: Kelly takes seat on VUSD board – The Vacaville Reporter

By Nick McConnell

The Vacaville Unified School District Board of Trustees received updates to plans for a new library during its Thursday meeting.

Library officials told the board about planned additions, including an adult reading room, space for outdoor programming, and other updated furnishing. A temporary library space will be made available until the project is fully completed.

Superintendent Ed Santopadre announced former principal Adam Rich as Senior Director of Facilities Maintenance.

Source: VUSD Trustees hear library updates, public commenters – The Vacaville Reporter

The deadline for filing candidate papers is 5 p.m. today (Sept. 22) for the Dec. 19 special election for Trustee Area 6 on the Vacaville Unified School District board.

The only candidate to complete the filing requirements as of Thursday, Amy Tran Russell, is also the candidate the school board had appointed to fill the vacancy prior to a protest petition being filed with the Solano County Office of Education, which forced the special election.

Tracee Stacy has taken out nomination papers, but has yet to file them, the Solano County Registrar of Voters Office reported.

Source: Nomination deadline for Vaca school district special election is today | News | dailyrepublic.com

The last of the late-arriving mail-in ballots have been tallied in the special election for the Trustee Area 4 seat on the Vacaville Unified School District board.

The 59 ballots that were postmarked by the Sept. 12 election day, but arrived at the county Election’s Office through Tuesday, did not change the outcome. In fact, the winner, Lindsay Kelly, padded her advantage.

Kelly had 454 votes after election day, and finished with 487 or 46.47% of the vote. Dave McCallum added 20 votes to his election day total, finishing with 436 votes (41/6%) and Michael Martin totaled 125 votes (11.93%), six more than election day. The turnout was 12.28% of the 8,570 registered voters in the trustee area, the county reported.

Source: Last of ballots tallied on Vaca Unified special election | News | dailyrepublic.com

Lindsay Kelly appears to have won the Trustee Area 4 seat on the Vacaville Unified School District board, narrowly defeating Dave McCallum by 38 votes in a special election that drew an 11.58% turnout.

The unofficial tally as of Wednesday had Kelly with 454 votes, or 45.9% of the 993 ballots cast. McCallum finished with 416 votes (42.06%) and Michael Martin was third with 119 votes (12.03%).

There are 8,570 registered voters in the trustee area, the county reported.

Source: Kelly wins seat on Vacaville Unified school board | News | dailyrepublic.com

The Solano County supervisors agreed to have the county run a special election to decide who will represent Trustee Area 6 on the Vacaville Unified School District board.

The consent agenda action came Tuesday, the same day a special election was being held to decide who will represent Trustee Area 4 on that same school board.

Both are the result of protest petitions being filed with the Solano County Office of Education after the school board had appointed individuals to the posts, and are led by a group that does not think their voices – marked as parents – are being heard by the district on critical issues.

Source: County to run second Vacaville Unified special election | News | dailyrepublic.com