By Angela D. Chunka

I have lived in Vista for 14 years with my husband Michael and our four children. My sons, Michael and Nick, graduates of Rancho Buena Vista High School, are both attending the University of California Santa Cruz this fall. Vincent is an incoming freshman at Rancho and Olivia is starting sixth grade at Madison Middle School. In addition to their exceptional education our lives have been enriched through community sports and local activities that have helped shape who they are today. Vista truly is "one of the 50 fabulous places to raise a family".

Through my work in VUSD as an Instructional Assistant, classroom helper and my leadership roles in PTA, School Site Councils, Advisory, Boundary and Budget Committees, I believe there are workable solutions available that will enhance our children's learning achievements and test scores to make our district strong and competitive. My PTA leadership as President of Del Norte PTA Council has brought about positive changes working with district and school site administrations. It has also given me a unique opportunity to have an in-depth understanding of our schools accomplishments and challenges as a district. As chairperson for school site council at three different schools, I have worked within the budget to reach as many students as possible with the funds given to us by the district. While working on the Budget Committee, we were committed to maintaining the standard for excellence for ALL students while faced with deep budget cuts. My goal is to prepare students for the challenges they will face in the 21st century while being fiscally responsible as a school district. I am committed to the challenge of academic excellence for ALL VUSD students, while working to develop a strong cohesive relationship with the other board members and District administration.