The Abridged version:
- Educators and officials in Natomas Unified announced a tentative agreement early Thursday, following more than a year of stalled negotiations and a week of striking.
- Schools in the district remained open during the work stoppage.
- Thursday will be a transition day at the schools, with teachers expected to return to the classrooms on Friday.
Educators and officials in Natomas Unified announced a tentative agreement early Thursday morning after more than a year of negotiations and over a week of striking by teachers.
The district said teachers will return to the classroom Friday after a transition day Thursday.
“This tentative agreement is an important step toward ensuring Natomas Unified School District provides our students with the safe, stable, fully-funded schools they deserve,” said teachers union president Nico Vaccaro.
The terms of the tentative deal were not immediately released.
A majority of union members must vote in favor of the terms. The Natomas school board needs to also give their approval, before the contract is official.
Teachers took to the picket line starting March 10. Schools remained open across Natomas, and a district spokesperson said in the initial days, attendance sat around 50%.
Second Sacramento area teacher strike
Natomas teachers have been on strike for over a week.
Their work stoppage followed educators in a neighboring district, Twin Rivers Unified, who began picketing days earlier.
Demands by the Natomas Teachers’ Association included significant pay raises, 100% district-funded health care and smaller class sizes.
Like in Twin Rivers, health care was a major sticking point.
Natomas Unified officials offered set amounts for employees and their families that equated to between 85% and 100% of the current Kaiser premium cost over the next three years. Teachers pushed for the district to go higher, arguing more competitive compensation is needed for staff retention.
Parents protested on behalf of teachers
Educators were joined by Natomas parents, some of whom staged an impromptu rally outside the district office March 17.
During this protest, one mother was arrested. Sacramento police confirmed at the time she had snuck into the then-closed district office and refused to leave the building.
Some families pitched tents outside the central office. Many others joined teachers on the districtwide picket lines.
“We got fed up,” Joanna Davis, a parent of two Natomas students, told Abridged on March 17. “We’re here to support our teachers that teach our kids.”
Statewide campaign spreads to Sacramento, Yolo counties
Natomas and Twin Rivers unions were part of a statewide coalition, led by the California Teachers Association.
Titled “We Can’t Wait” (a frequently chanted phrase on the picket line), the campaign includes more than 30 teacher unions across California. Many have gone on strike or are threatening to, under similar demands for higher compensation and improved classroom conditions.
David Goldberg, president of the statewide union, said the effort is aimed at local officials as well as state-level electeds.
“It’s all connected,” Goldberg told Abridged in February. “Locals are never going to get what they deserve — really deserve — until we really have more state funding.”
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.