{"id":214744,"date":"2026-03-11T11:35:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T11:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/214744\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T11:35:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T11:35:25","slug":"natomas-teachers-to-strike-after-contract-talks-stall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/214744\/","title":{"rendered":"Natomas teachers to strike after contract talks stall"},"content":{"rendered":"

After an unfruitful weekend of bargaining, Natomas educators<\/a> are preparing to strike<\/a> Tuesday as district leaders ready themselves to keep schools open for around 17,000 students without classroom teachers.<\/p>\n

Like teachers unions across the state, the Natomas Teachers Association says it is seeking fully-paid health care benefits, increased compensation and lower class sizes for its members.<\/p>\n

The district most recently adjusted its proposal Friday, offering an increased raise and a restructured health benefit plan with a fully-paid option for teachers and their dependents for the next two years.<\/p>\n

District leaders say that they identified budget reductions and methods to stretch available funding to be able to afford this proposal while protecting its students and preventing cuts to programming.<\/p>\n

Negotiations stalled after an 11-hour Sunday bargaining session in which neither side moved from the proposal. There is no plan to meet before tomorrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of last week, the neutral fact finding report confirmed the district\u2019s proposal is aligned with an independent, neutral voice that they determined is reasonable within the fiscal realities facing our district,\u201d Superintendent Robyn Castillo said at a Monday news conference. \u201cDespite that progress, we are now facing the possibility of a strike beginning tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hoping that they get serious,\u201d NTA President Nico Vaccaro said outside the district office Monday morning. \u201cOur bargaining team is here waiting to negotiate \u2014 we told them we\u2019re ready. Instead of being at the table, they chose to hold a press conference. It\u2019s disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n

What parents can expect<\/p>\n

Natomas teachers will take to the picket line Tuesday for the first time in district history as teachers in the adjacent Twin Rivers school district will be striking<\/a> for their fourth consecutive day<\/a>. Teachers in Dublin took to picket lines<\/a> Monday morning after contract negotiations failed. Schools in both districts remain open. All three strikes are associated with a statewide California Teachers Association campaign to improve conditions for teachers.<\/p>\n

NUSD schools will also stay open \u2014 district leaders promise that schools will be staffed with qualified substitute teachers and other district personnel to keep schools \u201copen, safe and supervised.\u201d Castillo said that the district will continue to offer after-school programs, meals and services for students with disabilities.<\/p>\n

Substitutes working during the strike could make up to $600 per day, according to an NUSD board resolution voted on last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have made arrangements so that students are safe, they are well fed and they are receiving curriculum,\u201d Castillo said Monday. \u201cOur staff has worked diligently to put several systems into place, but our number one priority is not to strike.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Natomas Natomas Unified School District Superintendent Robyn Castillo waits to answer questions during a news conference at district headquarters in Sacramento on Monday. REN\u00c9E C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com How are negotiations going?<\/p>\n

NUSD is offering a 4% salary increase for teachers over the next two years and a proposal to pay for the cost of the district\u2019s least expensive health care plan for educators and their dependents for two years. The amount paid by the district to cover that plan in 2027 would become the floor, with employees becoming responsible for any increase in costs in the years after.<\/p>\n

The district\u2019s offer is consistent with the findings of a third-party fact finder and improves conditions for teachers while being mindful of the suburban district\u2019s \u201cfiscal reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

NTA leaders say that the district\u2019s offer demonstrates that they are \u201cnot taking the needs of educators or students seriously.\u201d The union is seeking an 8.5% raise over two years, a fully employer-paid Kaiser health care plan for members and their dependents, plus minimum staffing levels for school psychologists, nurses and social workers.<\/p>\n

Board President Micah Grant said that the district would need to cut student programs such as International Baccalaureate, sports and career technical education pathways to afford NTA\u2019s demands. These programs are integral to the district\u2019s identity, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the second most diverse district in the nation, and our programs match that diversity,\u201d Grant said in an interview. \u201cThat\u2019s really important to me, and it can\u2019t be understated. For example, our cosmetology pathway keeps kids in school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vaccaro resists district messaging that it cannot afford the union\u2019s demands, citing district spending on outside contractors and its robust reserves.<\/p>\n

\"Cass Cass Hammer, a third-grade teacher on the Natomas teacher union’s bargaining team, holds a sign Monday outside Natomas Unified School District headquarters, where leaders held a press conference, in Sacramento. REN\u00c9E C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a prioritization issue,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re spending millions of dollars each year on contracting out consultants where they could be focusing on keeping permanent staff here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The union lost 106 teachers last year, about 15% of its members. Vacarro said they either left the profession or moved to another district that pays more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a stability crisis, and we\u2019re asking the district to end that crisis,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re asking them to come to the table so we can end that crisis and get a fair agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grant said that he wanted to let Natomas families know that district leaders do \u201ccare tremendously\u201d about conditions for teachers and students.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want every student to have a safe and welcoming environment to go to school, and that does include teachers, absolutely,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we also have an obligation to make sure that the things that are specialized for students to come and enjoy and make life and find their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was originally published March 9, 2026 at 2:18 PM.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Jennah Pendleton<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n

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.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After an unfruitful weekend of bargaining, Natomas educators are preparing to strike Tuesday as district leaders ready themselves…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":214745,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[98497,917,121,123,122,98498,94358],"class_list":["post-214744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-natomas-teacher-strike","tag-natomas-unified-school-district","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news","tag-sacramento-area-strike","tag-teacher-negotiations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}