Sacramento City Unified School District Provides Updated Negotiations Frequently Asked Questions – March 24

Press release

Sacramento, CA – The following are answers to frequently asked questions about the current labor negotiations between the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) and the Sacramento City Teachers Association (SCTA).

 

Q. SCTA says that they are waiting on the District to resume negotiations. Did the district walk away from the bargaining table?

A. No, the district remains ready and willing to continue negotiations. The mediated negotiations process ended on the evening of Tuesday, March 22 and since then SCTA has not responded to the district’s repeated offers to continue good faith negotiations. See offers to continue negotiations dated March 22 and March 23.

Q. SEIU says that the District has refused to meet to negotiate with their union until March 30. Why is this?

A. March 30 is the date that SEIU requested to meet with the district’s negotiators. The district has agreed to meet with SEIU on this date, per SEIU’s request. SCUSD’s negotiators have communicated to SEIU that the district’s negotiation team is willing to meet with SEIU on any earlier date they prefer.

Q. Are SCUSD schools closed during the strike?

A. No, SCUSD’s schools are open as work days and employees are expected to report for duty. During the strike SCUSD schools are closed only for student instruction because there are not enough staff to provide safe supervision. Employees are still expected to be at work. Some student services will continue to be provided such as nutrition services, COVID testing and COVID vaccination clinics.

Q: How does compensation for teachers in SCUSD compare to compensation for teachers at other districts in our area?

A: Total compensation for SCUSD teachers is the highest in Sacramento County, and among the highest in the region and the state. Here are fast facts about compensation for SCUSD-represented employees. Additional detail about SCUSD teacher compensation is provided in the tables below.

ACHIEVING SHARED GOALS IN SERVICE OF OUR STUDENTS In negotiations with SCTA, the district is offering: On top of already providing the highest compensation in the region, the District is offering to pay: 100% of health care coverage for ALL SCTA-represented employees AND their families, AND a raise, AND a one-time bonus , AND additional paid professional development days. 100% PAID COVERAGE • Premium health care coverage through Kaiser for all employees and all immediate family members • Option to chose other plans - district will pay up to Kaiser level • Most generous health benefit in the region • $250 per month in-lieu of coverage for employees that already have health coverage PAY INCREASE • Ongoing 2% salary increase • Increase starts 2021-22 school year • Builds on compensation that is already the highest in the region ONE TIME BONUSES • 2% One-time stipend for 2021-2022 • 1% One-time stipend for 2020-2021 • 1% One-time stipend for 2019-2020 • $2,000 Signing Bonus for new Employees MORE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT • 3 paid days for professional learning • Increases salary additional 1.65% for 2022-23

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CERTIFICATED SALARIES AND BENEFITS, 2020-21 TOTAL COMPENSATION: COMPUTED AVERAGE SALARY PLUS AVERAGE DISTRICT CONTRIBUTION FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE BENEFITS Table 15 AVERAGE HEALTH AND WELFARE BENEFIT CONTRIBUTION DISTRICT NAME RANK COMPUTED AVERAGE SALARY TOTAL COMPENSATION SACRAMENTO CITY UNIFIED STATEWIDE UNIFIED AVERAGE STOCKTON CITY UNIFIED ROCKLIN UNIFIED ELK GROVE UNIFIED REGION 12 UNIFIED AVERAGE SAN JUAN UNIFIED COMPARATIVE GROUP AVERAGE LODI UNIFIED TWIN RIVERS UNIFIED FOLSOM-CORDOVA UNIFIED CENTER JOINT UNIFIED WASHINGTON UNIFIED NATOMAS UNIFIED DAVIS JOINT UNIFIED WOODLAND JOINT UNIFIED RIVER DELTA JOINT UNIFIED 106,797 100,112 98,579 97,371 95,442 95,118 94,060 92,604 91,952 91,681 90,429 88,622 85,596 85,214 84,165 80,550 68,070 83,404 85,154 78,580 88,507 80,979 80,098 78,226 79,057 78,335 80,769 80,585 76,929 75,826 75,993 74,547 73,100 59,963 23,393 14,958 19,999 8,864 14,463 15,020 15,834 13,547 13,617 10,912 9,844 11,693 9,770 9,221 9,618 7,450 8,107 The statewide, comparative group, and regional averages shown for health and welfare benefits do not reflect "Other" benefits. The average scheduled salary is determined by dividing the total salary schedule cost by the total FTE. The average indicated represents scheduled salaries only. Copyright 2022, School Services of California, Inc. 1/21/2022

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CERTIFICATED SALARIES AND BENEFITS, 2020-21 MAXIMUM DISTRICT CONTRIBUTION TO HEALTH AND WELFARE BENEFITS Table 10 MAXIMUM MAXIMUM MAXIMUM DENTAL VISION MAXIMUM LIFE MAXIMUM OTHER CAFETERIA MEDICAL CONTRIBUTION CONTRIBUTION CONTRIBUTION CONTRIBUTION CONTRIBUTION AMOUNT RANK (FAMILY OR COMPOSITE) (IF ANY) (IF ANY) (IF ANY) (IF ANY) (IF ANY) DISTRICT NAME 262 13 33,697 24,444 22,195 2,087 1,668 240 710 91 212 19,711 34 19,081 0 19,081 1,494 545 18,922 189 1,544 1,494 1,291 1,129 2,124 1,389 126 200 3,330 SACRAMENTO CITY UNIFIED LODI UNIFIED SAN JUAN UNIFIED REGION 12 UNIFIED AVERAGE STOCKTON CITY UNIFIED STATEWIDE UNIFIED AVERAGE COMPARATIVE GROUP AVERAGE ELK GROVE UNIFIED CENTER JOINT UNIFIED TWIN RIVERS UNIFIED NATOMAS UNIFIED DAVIS JOINT UNIFIED WASHINGTON UNIFIED FOLSOM-CORDOVA UNIFIED ROCKLIN UNIFIED RIVER DELTA JOINT UNIFIED WOODLAND JOINT UNIFIED 238 240 16,972 16,427 15,840 15,264 13,476 12,245 11,617 0 366 1,447 800 785 10,800 10,176 8,448 7,440 10,176 8,448 7,440 Maximum district contributions for health benefits may be potentially over- or understated. Although the J-90 form did ask the districts if there is a maximum contribution, the districts may not have considered this issue in their responses. Maximum contributions to "Other" benefits are not additive and, therefore, this table reflects only one maximum contribution for this category of benefits. Copyright 2022, School Services of California, Inc. 1/21/2022

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CERTIFICATED SALARIES AND BENEFITS, 2020-21 COMPUTED AVERAGE SALARY AMOUNT WITH PER DIEM AMOUNTS WITH PLACEMENT STATISTICS AT STEP 10 AND ABOVE Table 7 COMPUTED AVERAGE RANK SALARY PER DIEM RANK PER DIEM AMOUNT PERCENT FTE AT OR ABOVE STEP 10 PERCENT FTE AT OR ABOVE STEP 10 IN LAST COLUMN DISTRICT NAME ROCKLIN UNIFIED STATEWIDE UNIFIED AVERAGE SACRAMENTO CITY UNIFIED ELK GROVE UNIFIED TWIN RIVERS UNIFIED FOLSOM-CORDOVA UNIFIED REGION 12 UNIFIED AVERAGE COMPARATIVE GROUP AVERAGE STOCKTON CITY UNIFIED LODI UNIFIED SAN JUAN UNIFIED CENTER JOINT UNIFIED NATOMAS UNIFIED WASHINGTON UNIFIED DAVIS JOINT UNIFIED WOODLAND JOINT UNIFIED RIVER DELTA JOINT UNIFIED 88,507 85,154 83,404 80,979 80,769 80,585 80,098 79,057 78,580 78,335 78,226 76,929 75,993 75,826 74,547 73,100 59,963 475.84 461.04 455.76 440.10 434.24 437.96 435.02 428.22 420.21 423.44 420.57 418.09 415.26 412.10 405.14 397.28 327.67 75.08% 66.90% 69.60% 70.84% 67.44% 67.69% 65.83% 64.11% 60.14% 61.23% 58.60% 67.35% 52.76% 60.70% 66.12% 58.38% 44.10% 58.46% 45.69% 57.07% 53.25% 45.00% 57.69% 50.78% 46.14% 33.02% 35.90% 46.82% 52.89% 42.26% 45.54% 49.14% 46.20% 27.51% The computed average salary is determined by dividing the total salary schedule cost by the total FTE. The average indicated represents scheduled salaries only. The percent FTE at step 10 or above is calculated by taking the total FTE at and above step 10 divided by the total FTE on the salary schedule. Percent FTE at or above step 10 in the last column is calculated by taking the total FTE at or above this point in the last column divided by the total FTE on the salary schedule. Copyright 2022, School Services of California, Inc. 1/21/2022

Q. Teachers say they are striking because SCUSD has a staffing crisis and that many students do not have a regular teacher in the classroom. What is the district doing to resolve the staffing crisis?

A.  The district’s current offer to SCTA would help address the staffing crisis, with recruitment bonus incentives and increases in compensation to strengthen retention. We want to reach an agreement with SCTA, and urge SCTA to end the strike, so we can work together to address our district’s staffing problem.

Since 2017, the  district has taken meaningful steps to address understaffing by trying to hire staff earlier, proposing additional compensation, maintaining competitive benefits, compressing the salary schedule, and allowing unlimited years of experience credit for transfer teachers. This makes SCUSD more competitive in the educational job market.

The district’s previous COVID-related proposals, which SCTA did not agree to, would work toward alleviating some staffing issues and toward compensating employees for their extra workload. These proposals included:

The lack of agreement over these COVID-related issues has prevented staff from benefiting from extra pay for taking on extra work related to COVID. Without an agreement, the district cannot assign district training specialists who usually work at the district office to cover classes when there is a vacancy at a school site.

Q:   SCTA has said that the district has a lot of new state and federal money that should go to ongoing teacher compensation. Why does the district oppose this idea?

A: The district cannot make ongoing financial commitments with one-time money. The district has received COVID-relief funds from the state and federal governments in the form of one-time funding designed to address pressing student needs as a result of the pandemic. We cannot spend one-time money on ongoing financial commitments like salaries and benefits. That would be like committing to pay rent that is higher than your salary based on the fact that you received a one-time bonus.The SCUSD Board has taken responsible and fiscally sound steps toward correcting district’s the longstanding structural budget imbalances. They have approved a policy to not use one-time funds for ongoing expenditures. They have also adopted a goal to maintain a prudent and fiscally sound reserve for contingencies.

Q. What proposals has the district offered to SCTA?

A. The district has offered a good faith proposal that gives SCTA-represented employees a reasonable raise, fully paid health coverage for all staff and their families, bonus payments, and additional paid days of professional development. You can read the proposal that the District presented to SCTA on Monday, March 21 here, and the following is an overview of the proposed compensation increases that the District has offered to SCTA.

ACHIEVING SHARED GOALS IN SERVICE OF OUR STUDENTS In negotiations with SCTA, the district is offering: On top of already providing the highest compensation in the region, the District is offering to pay: 100% of health care coverage for ALL SCTA-represented employees AND their families, AND a raise, AND a one-time bonus , AND additional paid professional development days. • 100% PAY INCREASE ONE TIME BONUSES MORE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PAID COVERAGE Ongoing 2% salary increase • Increase starts 2021-22 school year • Builds on compensation that is already the highest in the region Premium health care coverage through Kaiser for all employees and all immediate family members Option to chose other plans - district will pay up to Kaiser level . Most generous health benefit in the region $250 per month in-lieu of coverage for employees that already have health coverage 2% One-time stipend for 2021-2022 • 1% One-time stipend for 2020-2021 • 1% One-time stipend for 2019-2020 $2,000 Signing Bonus for new employees • 3 paid days for professional learning • Increases salary additional 1.65% for 2022-23 Sacramento City UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

On Tuesday, March 22, the district presented an enhanced proposal that includes all of the employee compensation increases offered to SCTA described above, plus a proposal to pay for one year 80 percent (80%) of the cost difference between the cost of a Kaiser health plan and the cost of a HealthNet plan for those employees currently enrolled in HealthNet that choose to continue HealthNet coverage. You can read the District’s enhanced proposal to SCTA here, Here is how it would work.

SCUSD UPDATED PROPOSAL TO SCTA ON HEALTH BENEFITS H” Health Net KAISER PERMANENTER Total Cost of Health Net Plan For one year the district will pay 80% of the cost difference Total Cost of Kaiser Plan District will cover 100% of cost for staff and their families - - + - Zero out of pocket cost for Kaiser Plan District will pay up to Kaiser level H” Health Net Sacramento City UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT Sacramento City UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT KAISER PERMANENTE

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