Every election cycle there are dozens of school board seats that become available in communities around Arizona. In an effort to connect voters and candidates, this section will display school board candidates and their values.

The following candidates are running for a school board seat in the coming election:

AMPHITHEATER  

Mona L. Gibson

Amphitheater School Board

Mona L. Gibson, was born and raised in the New York City area, moving to Tucson in 1978 with her family to attend the University of Arizona where she obtained her Bachelor of Science in General Biology/Psychology, Masters of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling and finally a Masters of Business Administration with concentration in Human Resources and Marketing. Mona worked primarily in the Human Resources departments of Pima County and Tucson Unified School District (20 years combined), working most of that time in employment rights and benefits administration. Understanding government budgets and governance is extremely important for a school board member. 

For the last decade of employment, she worked for UnitedHealthcare as a Service Account Manager, dedicated to the Arizona State Retirement System assisting state retirees in enrolling and understanding their health insurance benefits.  The majority of her time was spent on listening to retirees and identifying their needs and concerns.  Her personnel management and leadership skills were honed when she served her synagogue (Tucson’s oldest and largest Reform congregation) on the Board of Directors, and as President for three of the 10 years.  In 1996, Mona married Scott Gibson and gave birth to their wonderful son, Michael, who attended Amphitheater Unified School District for his entire K-12 education.  Now, as a retired professional, she has time and energy to give back to the Amphi community and represent all parents who want the best education in a wonderful school district.  Mona wants to be an advocate for parents and teachers who want their voices heard and see decisions being made transparently.

CASA GRANDE

CAVE CREEK

Jackie Ulmer

Cave Creek Unified School District

Jackie Ulmer is a mother, entrepreneur and involved citizen. She has two grown children, with a son currently serving overseas in the USMC. As an active, committed parent, she served on PTA/PTO; school site council, ESL and GATE programs, chairing career day and of course, actively volunteering in her children’s classrooms. She believes children are our greatest asset and our future. Their opportunity to reach their full potential relies heavily on the role of the parent, school and its community. Trust, transparency, respect, and accountability go hand in hand with the education process. The governing board should be a catalyst for ensuring a positive environment for our children to thrive. She's committed to Parent's Rights; quality teachers who are compensated well; school safety; curriculum transparency; and raising the bar on proficiency levels and standards.  

CHANDLER

DEER VALLEY

Paul Carver

Deer Valley Unified School District Governing Board Candidate

My name is Paul Carver and it would be an honor to serve the community in the capacity of a DVUSDBoard Member. My family has roots in the Valley going back to the 1940’s. I am a Father to 8 grown children, a Deer Valley High School graduate and served as a Corporal in the United States Marine Corps.

I have always known our children are a precious resource and have done my best through the years to guide and protect them. Helping to secure safe environments to learn and grow; whether that has been as a Little league Coach or as Youth Leader in my Church or a Scout Master in the Boy Scouts of America.

My Oath to protect and serve my Country has no expiration. My goal as a School Board Member is to bring the focus back from a politically charged environment to an academically focused environment.

Children should have all the tools they need to learn without interference of political, racial or sexual bias. Parents will find that they will have more opportunity to engage in their children’s education by electing me to the Board. Schools are there to support parents not to replace them. Thank you for your consideration.

DYSART

Jennifer Drake

Dysart Unified School District

Jennifer Drake is a Dysart Unified School District candidate for the Governing Board. “I am a mother, wife, community member and resident of Surprise for 20 years. We are proud and blessed parents of our son who is in the 5th grade. Just like most parents this past year, I have noticed challenging times for our public schools and how ‘the system’ is failing our children. I would work hard to ensure the fundamentals of education are brought back into the classroom, removing all the progressive programs so our children have a successful path for their future. I firmly believe that our schools are a local issue and that the federal government has no business interfering in how our schools are run.”

Dawn Densmore

Dysart Unified - Governing Board (Incumbent)

I am currently serving as a Governing Board Member for the Dysart Unified School District and I am running for re-election to continue to represent ALL residents of the district.  I am a mother of four children, three who are recent Dysart alumni and one current student. 

I will continue to protect parental rights in education and support critical efforts to ensure the safety of students and staff.  During my term I have fought for medical freedom from forced masking and vaccines, ensuring our district opened as quickly as possible after state restrictions were lifted, voted against mask mandates (twice!) and lead conversations with city leaders to successfully gain four additional School Resource Officers for our Middle Schools. 

Curriculum has and will continue to be a large focus of my work.  Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE) have no place in our schools.  I believe honest history, math, and science are the foundation for academic success.  I greatly appreciate your support in this important work - protecting our children, our taxpayers and our future!

Email:  Dawn4Dysart@gmail.com

Donate: https://secure.winred.com/dawn-for-dysart/donate-today

FLAGSTAFF

Michelle (Mindy) Thomas

Flagstaff Unified School District

My name is Michelle (Mindy) Thomas. I am running for FUSD school board. I am passionate about investing in Flagstaff and its young people. Our school district needs to do better at implementing instructional standards that teach the next generation to be skilled critical thinkers. The district also needs to focus on excellent academic standards, so our children can be competent leaders and can make well informed choices.

I'm ready to get to work to help education in our city. I worked my way through college as a single mother and earned a BS in Forestry Science, with a minor in Geology and an Administrative Support Certificate. I have received many scholarships and made the National Dean’s List for excellence. 

In addition, I have worked at NAU and I helped start the Flagstaff Christian School in town. At the same time, my husband and I helped start a Cub Scout Pack and a Boy Scout Troop. Our Cub Scout Pack was one of the highest earning packs in the state. I also created my own business to share the music and teaching that I love. 

I’ve lived in Flagstaff for 28 years, my husband’s family for three generations. My father was a Green Beret, my father-in-law was in the Navy, and my husband was a Wildland Firefighter. We’ve been blessed with 4 sons, 2 of them active duty Marines and a daughter-in-law who is also a Marine.  

We spend much of our time and effort for the betterment of others, especially young people. A healthy, well-structured foundation for children and youth is severely lacking in our city. I’ve been listening to students, parents and teachers who are not being heard by the very leaders who swore an oath to serve them. So, I’ve decided it’s time for me to step up and be a voice for them.

FOUNTAIN HILLS

Libby Settle

Fountain Hills Unified School District

Libby was born and raised in Central Illinois and graduated with an Elementary Education degree from Illinois State University in 1998.  She began her teaching career shortly after graduating college and meeting her husband, Shaun.  They moved to Fountain Hills in 2004 and have been raising their family there ever since.  Both Libby and Shaun have always had a heart for children and have opened their home to children in foster care in 2010.  They are currently parents to 13 children between the ages of 1 and 15. 

Upon moving to Arizona, Libby pursued a career in accounting and has been working in the accounting field for the past 17 years in varying capacities.  After deciding to dedicate their time and energy to being foster parents, she reduced her work schedule to allow for more time in caring for her special needs children.  

Growing up in a small town like Fountain Hills, Libby has always loved the community support and positive, caring relationships found in the Fountain Hills School District.  She is passionate that Fountain Hills needs to continue to have the wonderful community staff and school that we have been accustomed to over the years.  As a special needs parent, Libby strongly believes that every child deserves a quality education.  Libby wants the best for our children, our community, and our future and as a member of the school board will work tirelessly to support that goal.

Madicyn Reid

Fountain Hills School Board

Madicyn is a mother, entrepreneur, and passionate child advocate. Since her youth, she's been committed to establishing an independent career to facilitate a schedule focused on her children. Madicyn believes every child has individual worth and immeasurable potential, especially when given the proper tools. As a member of the school board, Madicyn will ensure the stewardship of educating our youth is taken seriously with initiatives focused on academic achievement, character development, and life skills. It's time to establish truth, transparency, and traditional American values in public education. Let's give children the tools to build a bright future. Please visit her Facebook page to donate and spread the word, Madicyn Reid for School Board.

GILBERT

HIGLEY

Anna Van Hoek

Higley Unified Governing Board

Anna was born in Armenia and moved to California in 1987.  In 2003 she married her husband, Sandy and moved to Gilbert.  She has 2 children, Jaiden 16 and Zoie 12.  She has lived in the Higley District since 2006 and in the Higley schools since 2010.

She became a parental rights advocate ever since her oldest, Jaiden started kindergarten.  She realized quickly that not only was it difficult to deal with a medically fragile child, but things were even more complicated when trying to obtain an IEP or a 504 to ensure her daughter was safe at school.  Thankfully, Dr. Mike Thomason was there to help.  Over the years Anna has educated and helped many parents through the IEP and 504 process along with ways for them to advocate for their children.  When the focus is on the child’s best interest, things shouldn’t be difficult.

​As a member of the governing board and her background in finance and accounting, Anna will work hard for parents and the community to have transparency when it comes to their tax dollars and what their children are being taught. She will ensure parental and student rights are upheld and that the students are a priority.  Last but not least, Anna will fight for academic accountability when it comes to students learning, with a focus on Reading, Writing, Math, History and Science.

Roy Morales

Higley Unified Governing Board

Roy Morales is a husband, a father of four and a 12-year resident of Gilbert. He has a B.S. in Accounting and an MBA from Grand Canyon University. During his more than 25 years in the mortgage banking industry, he has held various roles includes Sales, Operations & Fraud Investigations.

​Roy was a volunteer with the Civil Air Patrol, the auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. His duties as 1st Lieutenant included both the Public Affairs and Recruiting & Retention Officer. Roy was also a member of the air crew supporting search and rescue missions.

Roy is a product of the public education system and is grateful for what it has afforded him. However, he is a strong proponent of school choice. So how can Higley Unified Schools be competitive? Trust, accountability and transparency are key.

KYRENE

Kristi Ohman

Kyrene School Board

My husband and I are raising two Kyrene Kids; both are proud Sierra Suns. I grew up in Minnesota, but Arizona has been my home for the past 16 years. I earned my Bachelor degree in Elementary Education from St. Cloud State University and my Master’s Degree from Grand Canyon University. I have taught in public and charter schools; Elementary and Middle. My passion has always been instructing students face to face. I believe that true learning happens in the classroom.

Transparency is a priority to parents. I want parents to know what is being taught, where additional resources are coming from, and approval policies are being followed openly and honestly. Teachers and parents should be working together to provide every student with what they deserve. Parents’ involvement in the classroom should be encouraged and valued, and there needs to be a focus on the fundamentals.

I aim to bring accountability to all. Dialogue should be open, and every voice accounted for. Everyone should be held to a high standard. The home and classroom need to be connected. Students will learn to value their development, confidence will grow, and they will take responsibility for their actions and learning.

A school is only as strong as its community. Strong schools keep property values high, and everyone’s involvement is essential. I will keep monies in the classroom to help keep class sizes low, purchase needed equipment, and make sure students are directly affected.

I want to be an honest voice for Kyrene Kids and truly listen to all parents, teachers, and community members. I am proud to bring a current teacher and parent’s perspective to the Kyrene Board that has fought to overcome the pandemic. I believe Kyrene is an amazing district and can reach its highest potential, focusing on education fundamentals and accountability for all. The pandemic has left us in a severe academic slump and regression of social skills, work ethic, and behavior. We need to be mindful and fight back for our Kyrene kids. I cannot wait to serve Kyrene in a new capacity. 

LIBERTY

LITCHFIELD

MESA

Since retiring Ed has volunteered his time for a local non-profit as their legislative liaison where he learned the state legislative process and met with legislators to advocate for favorable bills and against unfavorable bills. For the last 3 years he has been a volunteer in a men’s mentoring program where he gives instruction to and shares his knowledge with young men, helping them to become better men, husbands, and fathers. 

Ed will bring a lifetime of skills, knowledge and wisdom to the Mesa Public School Board to solve the district’s most pressing problems so that students receive the quality education they deserve. Please visit Ed’s website to see how he will fight for our children’s future. 

Chris Hamlet 

Mesa School Board 

My name is Chris Hamlet, I am an 82nd Airborne Army Veteran, single proud father of two, and a soldier in God’s Army. My second child is currently a student in the district and I want nothing but the best education for not only my child – but for all children of Mesa. 

I got involved in the Mesa Public Schools race because I couldn’t stand to see our children continue to fall behind generation after generation due to politically charged and special-interest propelled curricula and standards. 

I believe that we must put our children first. We must listen to the parents and keep them involved as integral voices of the Mesa Public Schools system. 

I believe we should eliminate politically and philosophically charged teaching practices and customs such as Critical Theory and its progeny such as Critical Race Theory or Critical Gender Theory alongside discriminatory “Social and Emotional Learning” practices. We must radically change the Mesa Portrait of a Graduate to better serve our students. 

I believe we must have some standards of dress for our students. We have allowed our students to become hypersexualized by a continuously relaxed dress code. I don’t believe we should bring back full-on uniforms, however, we ought to encourage a sense of decency. 

Overall, I believe that we ought to return the power of education to the parents. For far too long, the government and myriad special interest groups have tried to stick their hands into our children’s future. I will always stand strong for the interests of our children and against malicious interference from the outside. I will always put God, Country, and Family first. 

I would be honored to earn your vote on November 8th, 2022  

NOGALES

PARADISE VALLEY

Sandra Christensen

PVUSD Candidate for Governing Board:

Sandra Christensen is a woman of God, a wife, a mother, and an entrepreneur.  Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has a plan for each of us and Sandra believes that part of that plan is to use our gifts and talents to help others.  When her child was attending Pinnacle Peak Prep, she was active in PTO, a room parent, school event photographer/videographer, edited yearbook pages, chaperoned field trips, and was a Moms in Prayer Leader.  Currently, Sandra is a Horizon High Choir Accents supporter, volunteers as chaperone for choir trips, choral performances and donates time as photographer / videographer on retreats.  Over the past school year, she has been addressing PV school concerns at governing board meetings, reviewing and providing feedback on newly proposed school curriculum, and attending United Parent Council (UPC) meetings.  She has also helped to organize parent meetings with PV district leaders to discuss parent concerns not addressed through UPC or governing board meetings.

Sandra has spent over 30 years defending those who normally don’t have a voice.  Whether as a foster parent, room parent, church volunteer, animal rescuer, Phoenix Dream Center mentor, or local Precinct Committeeman, Sandra strives for excellence as she works tirelessly to protect the vulnerable as well as our liberties and freedoms. 

Previously, Sandra held management positions at Honeywell, Perot Systems, and Alta Vista Veterinary Hospital before retiring to focus on family and community service.  Sandra has a BBA in Business Computer Systems at New Mexico State University and has taken many graduate courses in science and information technology at Arizona State University.  She also studied veterinary medicine at University of California Davis.

PAYSON

Susan Ward

Payson School Board

I am a dedicated mother, wife, community servant, and advocate.

I have been blessed beyond all I could have asked for or imagined and had the honor of being a stay-at-home mom. I have spent the past 25 years advocating for children, my own, and those who had no voice. In my children’s schools, I served in many roles including PTO President, literacy tutor, senior project evaluator, art docent, and more. For over a decade, I served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), championing for the well-being of youth in foster care in Pierce County, Washington. As a part of this nationally recognized program, I was committed to advocating for the youth by serving as a stable and consistent presence in their lives through home visits, school visits, court appearances, and more. This position required me to be able to identify problems, recommend solutions, and ensure approved recommendations were implemented. These qualities are all skills I will bring to the school board. Having now settled in Payson, I am serving as a Gila County CASA, currently volunteering at the Payson Senior Center, and am introducing a new literacy program at Payson Community Kids.

In getting to know the Payson Community, I was shocked and discouraged by the bleak graduation rates and failing proficiency scores of our students. I want to see our students succeed, have a sense of pride, and be prepared to enter the workforce of tomorrow. I also want to see our teachers equipped with the proper support both financially and systematically, to hold our students to the high standards we know they can achieve.

I am running for the Payson School Board to advance a bold new approach to learning and getting our students back on track. Together, we can inspire bold dreams and extraordinary futures!

PEORIA

Devon Updegraff-Day

Peoria Unified School District

Devon Updegraff-Day is an Arizona native, mother of three, small business owner and a Physician Assistant of almost 14 years specializing in dermatology. She will be obtaining a doctorate in health sciences this coming December and is working on a research project that examines the parent’s perspectives on how COVID-19 related school closures and quarantines affected their child. 

Devon became extremely passionate about preserving parental rights 2 years ago when irrational and harmful COVID mandates were enforced on our children. Together with Heather Rooks, she helped form the parent advocate and non-profit organization West Valley Parents Uniting. If both Heather Rooks and Devon Updegraff-Day get elected to the board they plan on significantly reducing supplemental resources, mandate curriculum transparency, significantly reduce SEL programs and eliminate all forms of restorative practice.  Focus will be put back on raising academic achievement and expectations. Children need to be challenged, not coddled. Now is the time to turn course and give upcoming generations a fighting chance. 

PRESCOTT

Michele Hamer

Prescott Unified School Board 

I have been a volunteer at the Prescott Unified School District (PUSD) for four years before they shut down the district.  I found a great deal of enjoyment helping the dedicated teachers and working with young inquisitive minds. Today,  I feel the leadership at PUSD has lost their direction and are no longer delivering the academic education these students deserve.

​PUSD has lost their educational focus on our students.   Therefore, the parents/guardians, are taking their kids elsewhere to be educated.  While Charter, Parochial, and Private Schools are full, with waiting lists, PUSD's enrollment has dropped by 13.7% in the last two years.   The district's enrollment dropped by 36.5% in twelve short years.  A school's funding comes from kids in seats and our public schools cannot afford to lose any more students. As the co-founder and chairman of the Arizona School Board Watchdogs, I worked to educate parents and guardians on their rights under Arizona law.  Many brave parents came forward to regain these rights only to find a long and intimidating process.  As a member of PUSD's governing board, I will respect and enforce these laws.

Good leadership and a different vision is needed now more than ever, and I have the skills, the time and the passion to donate to this cause.  To accomplish this, I will demand transparency,  and encourage data-driven decision making through action plans that set measurable goals.

Linda’s varied range of education and experience also allows her to understand the need for and benefits of classical education, academic competence, and the differences between counseling and indoctrination.

Her goals are to raise the level of academic performance of PUSD students and to empower them with real-world skills and competencies in math, reading, writing, critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, innovation, digital literacy, and adaptability.   She also supports classes like, but not limited to, home economics and personal finance and supports the promotion of MICTED (Mountain Institute Career and Technical Education that encourages the Trade School environment.

To accomplish these goals Linda is a firm believer in transparency and collaboration among parents, teachers, school administrators, and students. Linda will promote regular and consistent communication with parents regarding classroom activities and scholastic assignments and believes parents should have access to all materials used in the classroom or for after-school activities.

When elected Linda will immediately focus on the following areas of improvement:

1.       Create a Teacher-Parent-Board Committee to ensure parents' and teachers' voices are heard with regard to all school activities and curriculum.

2.       Scour the curriculum to remove Critical Race Theory (CRT), Social Emotional Learning (SEL),  inappropriate gender dysphoria and sex curriculum, and anything else that distracts from academic achievement and sound management of the District’s finances and resources.

3.       Support the teachers that serve the best interest of our students.  Linda believes the vast majority of real, every day, nurturing teachers still care about the best interest of the child.

PRESCOTT VALLEY

Timothy L. McGhee

Humboldt #22 School Board

Greeting friends, my name is Timothy L. McGhee, Family Nurse Practitioner and a U.S. Air Force Veteran.  Being a parent of four children attending school within the Humboldt #22 School district, I am concerned about the direction our country is going as well as the politicization of the school boards in this nation.  Every day it seems as though we see parents attempting to recall school boards throughout our nation.  School boards are making decisions against the will of the parents and appears to have lost track with the purpose of education in our country today.  My purpose for running for Humboldt #22 school board is to bring education back to the class rooms and to keep politics out of directing the nature of what is considered education and what is not. 

America has, seemingly, lost sight of her essential goodness laid out so beautifully in the self-evident truth “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, which among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is our solemn duty to educate our children, it is my duty to educate my children, to take hold of this reality. To fully take their rightful place as citizens in this remarkable country they must be equipped with a sound basic education. That is the job of our primary and secondary school system. As we have seen, so clearly over the last two years, school board service needs to be more carefully overseen by parents. It can too easily fall into the hands of ideologist whose only desire is to indoctrinate our children into ideologist like themselves.

Ensuring that complete basic education is provided is the job of the local school board. This is my intention if you, the parents of the children of the Humboldt School District, elect me to the school board: That all of our twelfth-grade students function well at the twelfth-grade level in the basic skills of reading, writing, sciences, and mathematics at graduation. That they have had opportunity to broaden their fields of interest into other areas the system may be able to provide, whether it is languages, music, sports, etc. So that when they leave our school system they are fully prepared for whatever their next step in life may be.

I am running my campaign through my heart and soul to make a difference in order to bring back our education to our district and not to intertwine politics into education. I ask for voters to look at why candidates are running before they vote. Is the candidate running for their own political belief, power or is it for our children sake to better prepare them for the future.

QUEEN CREEK

SAHUARITA

My name is Raul Rodriguez. I’m a husband, father of two daughters, a Christian, and recently retired from the US Border Patrol. I have a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Texas.  

I believe our children learn best in a classroom environment and I strongly believe that parents have every right to know what their children are learning and hold the exclusive rights for all health-related issues.  

I have lived in Rancho Sahuarita for twenty years and my wife and I are active in the community. My oldest daughter graduated from Walden Grove High School and my youngest will be attending Wrightson Ridge School, both schools are in SUSD.  

My entire career has been spent as a public servant. I worked for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, the United States Border Patrol and the United States Marine Corps.  I’m a Gulf War Veteran and was deployed to Operation Restore Hope.  

I remember when I graduated from the Border Patrol Academy, our guest speaker, Doris Meissner, said that people often look down on Public Servants. I choose to follow this path because as she also noted, we should be proud that the work we do is important and impacts people’s lives. She was correct about that and I know I have made a difference.  It was an honor for me to serve my country, and I look forward to continuing to serve in my community.  

SCOTTSDALE

SIERRA VISTA

TUCSON

William (Bill) Morgan

Catalina Foothills Unified School District

I am retired from healthcare facility management in and now live in Tucson with Debbie, my wife. We have two children that both love Tucson, especially in the winter.

Education: I have earned a Bachelor of Applied Science and a certiCicate of completion of a two-year Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning program at Boise State University.

Work: I worked as a healthcare facility director for St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center in Boise, and Saint Patrick Hospital in Montana. I served as the assistant liaison ofCicer for emergency management with the U.S. Navy Reserve for the State of Idaho for ten years and as a records specialist with the Sea Bees for 10 years. I retired from the U. S. Navy in 2000. While working in healthcare I was elected to represent the northwest as a regional director for the American Society for Healthcare Engineering, (ASHE) for two terms and was elected President of ASHE in 2006. I am a fellow with the American Society of Healthcare Engineering. I worked part time for the Joint Commission for Healthcare accreditation as an environment of care inspector for licensing compliance throughout the United States.

Experience: 6 years serving as a member of the governing board for ASHE. 1 year serving as president of the Board. Multiple years serving as a committee member of the Education Committee for ASHE as well as being a member of multiple other committees Chairman of the Environment of Care Committee at three different hospitals Managed multiple buildings and staff in three large healthcare systems. Taught classes in healthcare compliance, safety, and engineering to groups at national conferences and local hospitals. While working as an apprentice for the Union PaciCic Railroad I was elected as the local chairman of the Brotherhood or Railway Carmen in Idaho. Managed budgets for operations, stafCing, and capital budgeting for large healthcare facilities. 

Val Romero

Tucson Unified School District

The oldest of three siblings, Val Romero was born in 1971 to native Tucsonan Orlando Valencia Romero and Heather Devine. As the first born, Val jokes he was the 'Experiment' for their parental inexperience. Wanting their children to have Christian educations, Val's parents enrolled him at Redeemer Lutheran School, and then at Salpointe Catholic High School, where he graduated in 1989. Says Val of his parents' faith, "They gave me a great God-based education, which has helped me on my spiritual journey, and they empowered me to think for myself, be strong in my beliefs, and be loving and kind to people." Val also learned independent thinking and valuable problem-solving skills, and acknowledges his mom and grandfather as being major influencers in his life. Ever gregarious as a young man and convinced he wanted to become a DJ, Val enrolled in the Phoenix Academy-Radio Broadcasting School in 1993, where he concurrently a worked as a Lounge Host at the Black Angus in Tempe and a mobile DJ for Rockin' Robin's DJ Service. When he moved back home to Tucson a year later, he continued to DJ at the Black Angus, then The Bum Steer and worked live broadcast mobile events for the radio station KWFM. After his parents' eventual divorce, Val went to Hawaii where his father was remarried, and came face to face with the Spirit of Aloha. Its literal meaning, 'Presence of breath' or 'Breath of life,' Aloha is a way of living and treating each other with kindness, love and respect. For Val, it is living in harmony, sending and receiving positive energy, and creating positive feelings and thoughts. Val has been single dad to daughter Megan since 2003; herself the proud parent of an adorable 6 year old daughter named Penni, and a 2 month newborn named Michael. Val's family is the highest priority of his life.

VAIL

Over the last year, I began to see how far behind so many of Arizona’s kids were in reading, writing, arithmetic, science, and history.  We must ensure that “ALL CHILDREN” receive a quality education. We must create a community of independent critical thinkers. The ability to weigh competing ideas is important for our students!

When Covid came along, we saw the negative impact it had on our children and grandchildren.  We can’t afford anymore school closures, contentious mask and vaccine mandates, and social isolation. Say “No” to Critical Race Theory.

We need to return school to being about school by equipping our children with the skills and knowledge they need to fully participate in the community, economy and to be future leaders.

I’ve been honored to represent Vail personally and professionally for the past 16 years by being an advocate for higher standards, raising student, parent, teacher, and staff morale, more dollars into student programs, and provide highly competitive pay for teachers.

We need to implement a stronger response to bullying of, and by, students, teachers, and staff and a better accountability for superintendents, governing board members, principals and assistant principals when they fail to honor their position.

Anastasia Tsatsakis

Vail Unified School District Governing Board

Anastasia is a wife, mom to a great son, patriot, devout Orthodox Christian and a Nebraska Cornhusker fan through and through! Originally from Omaha, she married her husband in Illinois and ultimately found their way to Arizona, where they have lived for 8 years.  They made Vail their home and since then have been very involved in their community.  

She realized that she needed to take action after mandates were proposed in the schools in 2020 and knew trouble was coming.  She’s been in front of the school board fighting for the kids and their rights ever since.

After April 27, she was catapulted into the spotlight for being “elected” to the VUSD board and calling for mask mandates to be lifted.  Since then she has fought for her community, demanding answers to the questions that are still needing answers.  Everything from mandates, funding, CRT/SEL, curriculum issues and ESSERS, and calling to account the wrongdoing and silence of the board members!  

Her valuable connections to many important groups in Arizona and with legislature will make her invaluable to her community!

Accountability, transparency, preservation of parent and child rights, and fighting for the community are her goals!

Email: Vailfreedomfighters@yahoo.com

Phone: 888.290.9118

https://www.facebook.com/anastasia.tsatsakis.5

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