The Abridged version:
- Teachers at Natomas Unified will see a 3.25% salary increase this year, and a 2% increase next year, under a new tentative agreement with the district.
- The tentative agreement marks the end of the district’s first-ever teachers strike, which has been ongoing since March 10.
- The terms of the agreement include $22 million in salaries and benefits for educators, according to the Natomas Teachers Association.
Natomas Unified School District teachers are set to see higher salaries and more robust health benefits in their new contracts, according to a new tentative agreement between the Natomas Teachers Association and the district.
The teachers’ union released details of the tentative agreement that was announced early Thursday morning.
The deal marks the close of the Natomas district’s first-ever strike, which had been underway since March 10. Natomas teachers were back in classrooms on Thursday in what the union described as a “transition day” across the 16,000-student district.
“For the term of this agreement we forced NUSD to invest over $22 million dollars into educator salary and benefits ALONE,” stated a message sent by the union to Natomas teachers this afternoon.
The agreement also lays out increased preparation time for elementary school teachers, classroom sizes for transitional kindergarten teachers and extra pay for special education teachers whose caseloads are exceeded.
“We’ve been talking about putting the priority on educators and students and we made tremendous progress on this,” said Nico Vaccaro, president of the Natomas Teachers Association.
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The district did not immediately provide comment on the terms of the tentative agreement.
“We appreciate the work and efforts of all involved to reach an agreement,” said spokesperson Deidra Powell, in an emailed statement. “Reaching this agreement means that the work stoppage has come to an end and certificated staff will be returning to the sites Thursday.”
Salary increases
Teachers will see a 3.25% salary increase this year, and a 2% increase next year, under the tentative agreement.
That figure is notably smaller than the raises teachers demanded during the strike. Natomas teachers previously pushed for a 7.5% raise that would be split between this year and the next school year.
The salary increases are poised to help close the gap in pay between Natomas Unified and other Sacramento County school districts, the union previously described.
Salaries for teachers in Natomas Unified ranged from about $56,000 to $121,000, with an average salary of $90,931 in 2024-2025. Average pay the same year in Twin Rivers was $98,027. Sacramento City Unified’s average teacher pay was $109,230.
Health benefits
The agreement also includes broader health coverage for teachers and their families. Health care previously had been a sticking point that prolonged the strike negotiations.
The tentative agreement paves the way for the district to cover 85% of Kaiser’s “high plan” in 2026. That coverage rate would increase to 90% in 2027 and be fully covered by the district by 2028.
Vaccaro described the new health benefits as a “huge win” for the union’s members, especially those that were paying high amounts out of pocket to cover their family members.
Contracts awaits ratification next week
The new contracts could be ratified as early as March 27.
The tentative agreement is awaiting a vote before the Natomas Teachers Union, which is slated for next Thursday, March 26. The tentative agreement would then go before the Natomas Unified School District Board of Trustees the following day.
Felicia Alvarez is a reporter at Abridged covering accountability. She’s called Sacramento home since 2015 and has reported on government, health care and breaking news topics for both local and national news outlets.