It is likely that Twin Rivers Unified School District teachers will take to the picket lines Thursday morning as the union continues to battle with district leaders over compensation, healthcare and class sizes.
Unless a last minute agreement is reached Wednesday night, teachers will stop work Thursday, representing the first strike in the district’s almost 20-year history.
After more than a year of negotiations, Twin Rivers United Educators announced last month that they would strike Thursday, March 5, if district leaders do not meet their demands. Little movement has been made in the past several weeks — a report issued by a neutral third party failed to produce an agreement as of Tuesday.
Twin Rivers Unified enrolls around 25,000 students at 49 schools across North Sacramento, Rio Linda and North Highlands. The vast majority of its students, around 95%, are either English learners, foster youth, eligible for free or reduced-price meals, or a combination of the three. As California experiences a significant decline in K-12 enrollment, Twin Rivers is a part of the 30% of districts statewide that are gaining students year to year.
At the top of concern for Twin Rivers teachers are issues of healthcare premiums, which they say are much too high, and class sizes, which they also say are much too high.
Superintendent Steve Martinez and Board President Christine Jeffries have not responded to multiple interview requests by The Sacramento Bee. The district has also declined to answer Bee questions surrounding expectations for school operations come Thursday, instead directing a reporter to their negotiation news webpage.
Twin Rivers United Educators is one of several unions in the region that has joined a statewide California Teachers Association campaign to improve teacher pay and classroom conditions. Natomas Teachers Association, also in Sacramento County, is expected to announce a strike date in the coming days.
Will Twin Rivers schools be open Thursday?
Yes. According to the district’s website, schools will remain open “to maintain stability for students and families and to provide access to meals, programs, and services students rely on each day, including after-school activities.”
Its regular attendance policy remains in effect, and the district is reminding parents that staying home during a teacher strike is not considered an excused absence.
Transportation services, meal distribution and after-school programs will run on their normal schedule, the district says.
TRUE President Brittoni Ward said that the union is not giving guidance to families about whether to attend school or stay home.
“Families need to do what’s best for them,” she said.
Will other school employees show up to work?
Maybe. Classified employees — or non-teaching staff who support school operations such instructional aids, paraprofessionals, custodians, food service workers and bus drivers — will not hold a collective sympathy strike, although individual members are legally allowed to do so. Keisha Woods, chair of the Twin Rivers chapter of the California School Employees Association, told unit members in a Feb. 27 email that the union would provide support for any sympathy strikers if they are retaliated against by the district.
According to the email, the district has already threatened to discipline CSEA members who engage in a sympathy strike.
Sympathy striking employees must notify their supervisors ahead of time and will not be paid for the days they take off of work.
Classified employees who choose to work are instructed not to take on the duties of teachers, including providing instruction or being the primary supervisor of students.
Will students receive instruction?
Maybe. Last month the Twin Rivers board approved an emergency set of guidelines should teachers authorize a work stoppage. The resolution includes the authorization to hire substitute teachers at a rate of up to $600 per day. A spokesperson did not respond to a Bee inquiry about whether the district has started to hire substitutes in advance.
On its website, the district said that “the school day may look and feel different for students with substitutes, administrators, and support staff ensuring they are supervised and engaged in educational activities throughout the day.”
How long will the strike last?
It depends. The strike will last until the union and the school district come to an agreement, which could mean hours or several days after the picket commences Thursday morning. San Francisco teachers went on strike for four days last month and West Contra Costa teachers were out for two days before reaching a contract with their respective districts.
The Sacramento Bee
Jennah Pendleton is an education reporter for The Sacramento Bee. She previously covered schools and culture in the San Francisco Bay Area. She grew up in Orange County and is a graduate of the University of Oregon.