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Eric C. Heins, a Pittsburg elementary school teacher, and Mikki Cichocki, a teacher from San Bernardino, were voted vice president-elect and secretary-treasurer-elect, respectively, of the 325,000-member California Teachers Association Saturday. With Dean E. Vogel, who was voted CTA President-elect in January, the two complete the new team of officers of the state’s largest teachers union.
Heins and Cichocki were elected by CTA’s 745-member State Council of Education, the union’s top governing body of democratically elected representatives, during its quarterly meeting in Los Angeles. The three begin their terms on June 26.
“Eric and Mikki have worked tirelessly on behalf of their own members as well as educators around the state. At a time when our schools are being threatened by budget cuts, and 20,000 more lay-offs, I know Eric and Mikki will be the leaders we need to stand up for our public schools,” said CTA President David A. Sanchez.
A resident of San Francisco, Heins has taught elementary school in the Pittsburg Unified School District for 20 years and is a member of the Pittsburg Education Association. He has been on the CTA Board of Directors for 4 years, representing educators in Contra Costa and most of Alameda Counties. He also served on the board of directors for the National Education Association.
“CTA is one of the strongest and most effective advocates there is for teachers, for schools and for students. I look forward to contributing my skills to further strengthen that advocacy and work in partnership with the public so that we can obtain the resources our schools need,” Heins said.
Cichocki (pronounced “chuh-husky”) is a resident of Riverside, and is a youth services teacher in San Bernardino City Schools. She has served as president of the San Bernardino Teachers Association and is a member of the CTA board of directors, where she has represented San Bernardino area teachers for almost nine years. She has a daughter, Olivia.
“Our students, including my daughter, deserve a quality public education. I am fortunate to be in a position where I can work to make that a reality – beginning with exerting pressure on our state Legislature to pass the governor’s proposed budget plan,” Cichocki said. “Our schools cannot afford any more cuts.”
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The 325,000-member CTA is affiliated with the 3.2 million-member National Education Association.