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Around 2,000 Northern Sacramento teachers reported to picket lines instead of their classrooms Wednesday morning, as strikes in two school districts continued. Public leaders, frustrated parents, exhausted classified employees and concerned students are calling for districts to cede to union demands, putting an end to the strikes.<\/p>\n
Leaders at both districts have put offers on the table that align with a neutral third-party\u2019s recommendation, saying that their proposals balance employee needs with fiscal reality. Teachers unions at both Twin Rivers and Natomas Unified School Districts are holding out for increased pay, improved health care benefits and smaller class sizes.<\/p>\n
Wednesday marks the fifth day of Twin Rivers United Educators\u2019 strike. No agreement emerged from four-hour negotiation sessions held Tuesday and Wednesday \u2014 meetings that Assemblymember Maggy Krell, D\u2011Sacramento, requested and attended. The district and the union will return to the table Thursday morning.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, kids are largely not receiving instruction or not attending school at all. Twin Rivers reported a relatively high attendance rate of 72% on the first day of its teachers strike, but parents and students have overwhelmingly reported poor school conditions.<\/p>\n
At Natomas, spokesperson Deidra Powell said that around 50% of students across the district attended school on Tuesday, the first day of the strike, and that the majority of classified employees, like food service workers and bus drivers, showed up for work.<\/p>\n
Krell has also called for Natomas Unified, which is facing the second day of its teachers strike, to honor \u201cfair and reasonable requests\u201d from its teachers union, including limiting overcrowded classrooms, providing competitive wages and ending its reliance on outside contractors.<\/p>\n
\u201cA fair and equitable collective bargaining agreement creates the working conditions our educators deserve, and the learning conditions our students need to succeed,\u201d the letter reads.<\/p>\n
The note was cosigned by Krell, Sacramento County Office of Education Trustee Mariana Corona Sabeniano and former state Sen. Dr. Richard Pan, but was sent by a California Teachers Association representative.<\/p>\n
There are no bargaining sessions scheduled for Natomas as of 2 p.m. Wednesday. The two sides have not met since Sunday.<\/p>\n
Parents, students urge end to strikes<\/p>\n
Many parents, concerned about the wellbeing of their children, and students, tired of being crammed into gyms and overcrowded classrooms, are calling on Twin Rivers leaders to meet the union\u2019s demands.<\/p>\n
Hundreds took to the Twin Rivers school board meeting Tuesday evening to urge an end to the strike. Several students echoed teachers\u2019 sentiments that what is good for educators is good for kids in the classroom. Other speakers called on the teachers union to make concessions.<\/p>\n
Senior Brooklyn Mountjoy described crowded, overwhelming conditions at Rio Linda High School that put her and other students with disabilities at risk. Mountjoy had an anxiety attack in the gym on the first day of the strike, a situation she said could have been prevented if accommodations outlined in her individualized education plan were provided as is legally required.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudents deserve classrooms that are properly staffed,\u201d she said. \u201cI know the strikes are disturbing, but sometimes people have to stand for what is right. Please remember when you negotiate, behind every contract there\u2019s a decision for students like me who have education problems and need safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keisha Woods, president of the district\u2019s union for classified employees, spoke to her members\u2019 exhaustion and frustration watching the strike stretch on.<\/p>\n
\u201c(California School Employees Association) members have been standing in the gap during the strike. They have been standing strong. They are tired and they are worried,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s been hard watching our colleagues, our friends, on the picket line. It\u2019s been heart-wrenching.\u201d<\/p>\n
She noted that classified employees were also struggling to keep up with their expenses and that they are seeking improved compensation and benefits as well.<\/p>\n
Community member Kelly Cooper criticized teachers for seeking higher compensation, comparing a mid-career Twin Rivers teacher\u2019s salary of about $95,000 to the median income in Del Paso Heights, which she calculated to be between $36,000 and $64,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason that this matters tonight is because while negotiations are happening, students are the ones losing classroom time,\u201d she said. \u201cFamilies in the district rely on schools not just for education but for stability, supervision and opportunity. Many parents cannot simply stay home or find child care when students are when schools are closed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most speakers supported the union and asked for the board to put a swift end to the strike by offering a contract in line with teachers\u2019 demands.<\/p>\n
The Natomas Teachers Association plans to rally at their district\u2019s board meeting Wednesday at 5 p.m.<\/p>\n
Leaders criticize state teachers union\u2019s involvement<\/p>\n
The strikes are a part of a statewide initiative organized by the California Teachers Association. In February, CTA President David Goldberg wrote that coordinated negotiation efforts across the state build structures that will power their campaign to \u201cprotect and strengthen school funding.\u201d The union has long criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom for what they call a loophole in providing minimum funding to California public schools.<\/p>\n
In the past several months, superintendents in large urban and suburban districts \u2014 including Natomas and Twin Rivers \u2014 have signed open letters to state legislators asking for more robust funding for schools, citing economic instability and labor disputes.<\/p>\n
But Twin Rivers and Natomas leaders will say that forcing these politics into local labor-employer relationships is wreaking havoc. A news release from Twin Rivers associates recent union wins in five urban school districts with significant financial troubles and layoffs.<\/p>\n
Natomas Board President Micah Grant said that the district has made a \u201creally good and sincere offer\u201d but that they can\u2019t match the union\u2019s \u201cmaximalist\u201d demands without abandoning programs for students. He chalks this up to California Teachers Association\u2019s statewide coordinated campaign to have districts bargain at the same time.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaximalist in the sense that their ask is overshadowing local realities,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re a small local government, right? We\u2019re not Congress, this isn\u2019t the state of California. This is Natomas Unified \u2014 we could walk this community in two hours. And so I think we really have an obligation to look at what every stakeholder is saying, including the people that call us every week and say, \u2018hey, what makes Natomas unique?\u2019 We want to hang on to those things.\u201d<\/p>\n
The local strikes have prompted conversations about California and the United States\u2019 prioritization of education, especially as the United States allied with Israel to launch joint strikes on Iran this month.<\/p>\n
In a somber comment at the end of a tense five-hour Twin Rivers board meeting Tuesday night, Trustee Basim Elkarra said that painful moments like these force a bigger question: \u201cWhat are our moral priorities as a society?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m angry we\u2019re going through a strike,\u201d he said. \u201cRight now our country is spending billions of dollars on war with Iran. On the first day of the war, we destroyed a school in Iran with over 150 massacred, mostly school girls. In a matter of weeks, the cost of missiles, military operations, and deployments will dwarf the entire budgets of school districts across the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cYet here at home, we are told there isn\u2019t enough money for people who educate our children. We\u2019re told to tighten our belts. We\u2019re told to make cuts. We\u2019re told simply there isn\u2019t enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when it comes to war, there\u2019s always enough. I think our families see this contradiction and I think our teachers feel it deeply. If we can spend billions on destroying things overseas, surely we can find resources to build minds here at home.\u201d<\/p>\n