5/2/16 president's message

Dear VTA Members,

I’ve been holding off on sending out this message as I wanted to safely say, THE RETRO is here. A little extra never hurts. Be sure to check your pay stub for accuracy. You should have gotten 5 months worth of 6%.   (Your March $ x 5 x 0.06 = approximate amount of your retro).
Keep Calm and Union On - Click on the link or use this URL: https://goo.gl/GIeivU. Highlights include sign ups for VTA sports leagues, The VTA Picnic and information about some past and present issues. Thanks to our Organizing Team for stepping up.  Anybody interested contact us at VTAunite@gmail.com or vistateachers@gmail.com.

VTASF -This is the 29th year that the Vista Teachers Association Scholarship Fund has provided scholarships through the voluntary contributions of its members. With the $40,000 that will be presented this year, the VTA Scholarship Fund has awarded more than $700,000 to 1800 students since 1988. This is yet another example of the dedication of the those of us that teach in VUSD. In order to maintain this fabulous tradition we need your donations. Please click here to access the donation form and consider donating or increasing your current donation.

San Diego County - The County Office of Education plays a much bigger role in our lives than many of us realize. Policies of the COE were responsible for our retro delay, but that is just one example. The School Board of the COE acts as an oversight agency and sets policy and agendas that affect our bargaining, approves our local budget and can approve charter schools that the local districts have denied, among other things. The COE sets the tone for the entire county.  This June 4 of the 5 board members are up for reelection.
Below are links to four candidate flyers; district one, Gregg Robinson; district two, Guadalupe Gonzalez; district 4, Mark Anderson; District 5, Rick Shea; and a link to a district map. Please check the map and see who will represent you and your neighbors. Then print up some flyers and pass them out.  As a teacher your voice matters. Your neighbors will listen if you talk to them. If you happen to live in District 5 we also have yard signs that could be placed in your yard.
Gregg Robinson - District 1
Guadalupe Gonzalez - District 2
Mark Anderson - District 4
Rick Shea - District 5  YARD SIGNS AT VTA OFFICE  FOR DISTRICT 5
District Map

Election Results - Congratulations and welcome to the VTA executive board to the following people: MaryPat Lee - Secretary, Eric Walker - SpEd Executive Board Rep, Reed Monson High School Executive Board Rep,  Todd Maher - Middle School Executive Board Rep, Ken Butler and Gail Cantrell - Elementary Executive Board Reps. I also want to thank the other people that stepped up and were willing to represent our members. It is your dedication that makes VTA a sustainable organization. Click HERE for a link to the official results
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State Council News - Therease SilvaBaroa was elected as an alternate to represent VTA at the quarterly CTA meetings. Reagan Duncan and I will continue to serve in this role as well.

Thank you for all you do,
Your VTA President,

​Tod Critchlow