The 725 member Vacaville Teachers Association has announced their joint early endorsements for the November 2026 school board races – and for the Area 4 County Board of Supervisors.
The union, which represents all of the certificated employees of the Vacaville Unified School District, serving 12,526 students, have backed retired educator Nancy Dunn for the Vacaville School Board, Area 1 and Santiago Serrato for the Vacaville School Board, Area 5. They have also endorsed Dr Michael Silva for the County Board of Supervisors
“Obviously we’re jumping in early,” said Brenda Hensley, President of the Vacaville Teachers Association, “but some candidates make it easy to do so. Nancy Dunn’s deep understanding of the challenges facing our members, and her point-by-point approach to addressing these challenges, collaboratively, is precisely the sort of Trustee this district needs and we look forward to continuing our ongoing active collaboration.”
Echoing Hensley’s sentiments, Vacaville Teachers Association Vice-President Jaxie Murray emphasized how “collaboration is a fundamental part of what we do in the Vacaville Unified School District. We need Trustees who are committed to doing the work of bringing people together because our kids deserve nothing less.”
VTA has also backed Santiago Serrato, a Unit Supervisor at the Napa State Hospital, the oldest Psychiatric Hospital in California.
“Mental health issues have skyrocketed in recent years,” said Hensley, a veteran Math Teacher at Will C Wood High School, “and, while Trustee Serrato isn’t directly working with with our district mental health staff, his empathy, kindness and ability to meet people where they are made it easy for us to line up early behind his candidacy for the Vacaville School Board. He gets where we’re coming from and I can’t imagine a more empathetic Trustee.”
Additionally, the union endorsed Dr. Michael Silva, a current California Teachers Association member, in his run for the Solano County Board of Supervisors
“Michael grew up in Vacaville, he’s a graduate of our schools, he’s served on our school board, and he continued to advocate for public education during his time on the Vacaville City Council,” said Murray, a Kindergarten teacher at Markham Elementary School. “While we will not be contributing financial resources to this race, when one of our own approaches us, asking for our support to continue to advocate for our kids, we’re happy to do so and we wish him the best of luck.”
The election for the Vacaville School Board, and the Solano County Board of Education, will be held on November 3rd. The Primary for the County Board of Supervisors will be held on June 2nd, with the top two candidates advancing to the general election on November 3rd.
“There are a lot of folks in the community who would be great elected officials,” said Hensley, “and we look forward to meeting with them to discuss our shared values. District employees have dedicated their lives to educating kids, and we know how important it is to have elected officials that understand what it takes to help kids be successful, so we will fight to support those people in their campaigns.”
