Enjoy the Holidays -- The new year is going to be busy!

My warmest wishes to you all and hopes for a wonderful vacation.  When we return from our holiday, we will find ourselves at the start of a very shortened election cycle.  Two items will be at the top of a very busy election cycle: the Schools and Communities First Statewide ballot measure; and San Leandro’s school bond, which will appear on the March Ballot as Measure N.
 
Schools and Community First
Congratulations to Roosevelt School’s Natasha Weidner, who was our top ranked signature gatherer for November and December!  Natasha has earned the first prize, which is a Paradiso Gift Certificate.  Thank you for all the hard work.  Shout outs to Roosevelt School, which had the top three signature gatherers, including Natasha, Patty Fishbaugh and Karen Koizumi.  Another Paradiso gift card will be awarded for the person who gathers the most signatures in January and February.
 
 
Please Keep Collecting Signatures!  We need to gather more than 600,000 signatures to qualify SCF for the state ballot.  The holidays are a great time to gather signatures.  When your friends and family come to visit, don’t let them eat dessert until they sign!  If you need a few petitions, let me know and I will bring you some on Friday.
 
March 3 Election
SLTA’s Representative Council unanimously endorsed the San Leandro School Bond measure, Measure N, which will appear on the March 3 ballot.  While Rep Council’s support was unanimous, we had a discussion about assuring that the District is communicating with teachers and parents about the needs of each school community. Rep Council also endorsed Angela Normand, who is running for County Board of Education in the District that includes much of Oakland and Alameda.  Angela is a teacher in Brentwood, and is our CTA Board Member for much of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.
 
SLTA coordinates all of its election work through STAND (San Leandro Teachers Advocating New Directions), our political action committee.  The STAND Committee consists of James Riddle, Nancy James and myself.  The committee will be forwarding a list of recommendations for SLTA’s campaign activities to the January Representative Council.
 
Finally, don’t forget to check out the SLTA  website, Instagram and  Facebook group.
 
In Solidarity,
Tom

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