The Abridged version:
- Three Sacramento-area school districts — Twin Rivers Unified in North Sacramento, Natomas Unified and Washington Unified in West Sacramento — are on the brink of teacher strikes. Twin Rivers and Natomas could face work stoppages as soon as next week.
- Tens of thousands of families would feel the impact if teachers take to the picket line. District leaders have put forward emergency protocols to keep schools open, including hiring substitute teachers at up to $600 a day.
- Union leaders have urged parents not to send their children to school during a strike but say they will respect families’ decisions.
Educators in two Sacramento area districts are gearing up to go on strike as soon as next week, disrupting the families of tens of thousands of students.
Union leaders at Twin Rivers Unified announced Thursday they are headed to the picket lines March 5, after a last meeting with the district failed to produce an agreement.
Nearby in Natomas Unified, the union and district are also wrapping up final negotiations. The Natomas Teachers’ Association has not set an official strike date, but the earliest they could legally stop working is Wednesday, March 4.
Washington Unified educators are just a step behind their neighbors. The West Sacramento district will hold its last bargaining round March 17. A strike would be possible in early April.
Strikes part of statewide union campaign
The three localities are part of a statewide campaign organized by the California Teachers Association. More than 30 school districts across California have coalesced under the “We Can’t Wait” banner.
Two districts — San Francisco Unified and West Contra Costa Unified in the Bay Area — have already gone on strike this school year. A handful of others are on the brink, similar to Twin Rivers, Natomas and West Sacramento.
David Goldberg, president of the statewide union, said the mass effort is a call for change at all levels — from individual school boards to state officials.
“It’s all connected,” Goldberg said. “Locals are never going to get what they deserve — really deserve — until we really have more state funding.”
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What are the demands?
Unions in the three districts are pushing for many of the same demands, including:
- Salary increases they say are needed to keep up with the rising cost of living and to help retain teachers.
- Fully covered health care benefits, similar to what teachers in Sacramento City Unified School district receive.
- Changes to improve working conditions, such as smaller class sizes and additional campus safety measures.
Natomas Superintendent Robyn Castillo, in an early February note to parents, said the district recognizes the difficulty of increasing health care costs. She said the district explored “creative options” to medical plans, including a proposal that would save an individual teacher up to $3,700.
Both sides trying to avert strike
District and union leaders have each emphasized they are trying to avert a strike.
The event of a work stoppage, especially one lasting multiple days, would unsettle thousands of students’ classroom experience. In some cases — like in San Francisco earlier this month or at Sacramento City Unified in 2022 — schools temporarily close.
But district leaders in Twin Rivers, Natomas and West Sacramento are pushing to keep the doors open, even if the regular teachers walk out.
Twin Rivers trustees last week passed a set of protocols to follow in the event of a teacher strike. They include paying substitutes up to $600 a day and possibly reimbursing those who commute more than 15 miles.
The Natomas Unified school board is considering a similar measure during a special meeting scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Thursday. Washington Unified trustees are weighing their own version Thursday evening.
On a webpage of negotiation updates, Natomas Unified notes that an average teacher with 10 years of experience will forfeit about $493 a day during a strike based on 183.5 instructional days each year. A veteran teacher at the top of the pay scale will forgo about $661 each day.
Parents show support, consider impact
Hundreds of educators poured into the Twin Rivers administration building Tuesday to demonstrate ahead of the school board’s meeting. They were joined by many parents.
“Our teachers are not being heard,” said Erika Flores, a mother of two students in the district. “I wish they would be heard.”
Also that evening, members of the Natomas Teachers’ Association hosted a virtual town hall for parents, explaining the current bargaining situation.
Of the dozens of parents on the Zoom call, several declared support for the educators. Some questioned, though, if sending their students to class during a strike would be seen as crossing the picket line.
Union leaders have urged parents to keep their kids out of class to put pressure on districts, since attendance is tied directly to state funding.
This may be a difficult task for families with working parents, limited access to child care or whose children rely on free or reduced-price school meals.
“Of course we’re understanding,” said Brittoni Ward, president of the Twin Rivers teacher union.
“We understand that … the benefits of schools being open goes beyond the learning,” she continued. “We will do everything that we can to get communication out and try to problem-solve how we can support our students without anyone having to cross the picket line.”
Savannah Kuchar is a reporter covering education. She came to Sacramento to be a part of the Abridged team and contribute to a crucial local news source.