The Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) has reached agreements with SCTA and with SEIU Local 1021 that end the strike. The agreement with SEIU and SCTA were reached following negotiations sessions throughout the weekend.

“In achieving these agreements with SCTA and SEIU we did all that we could to demonstrate how highly we value our employees who will return to schools tomorrow to provide the care and support that our students deserve,” said SCUSD Superintendent Jorge A. Aguilar. “The agreements balance the needs of students and employees through the use of one-time funds and ongoing spending that we hope to manage successfully in the near future. The agreement with SCTA also includes a framework for achieving health care savings by defining how they are defined and applied to bring equitable learning opportunities for our students. The shared commitment to use these savings to invest in students is something we should celebrate.

“Now, we must focus on healing. In addition to the trauma of the strike, our district joins everyone in our community and across the nation in profound heartache for the victims of senseless and tragic gun violence in downtown Sacramento last night. The events that  unfolded in the midst of ongoing negotiations serves as a reminder that we have a role in working to prevent tragedies such as these. Schools serve as safe havens and centers of emotional and mental health support for many students. This tragedy underscores the importance of the return of our students and staff on Monday, and I look forward to welcoming our students back.”

“We are overjoyed that our students can return to school tomorrow,” said SCUSD Board of Education President Christina Pritchett. “We value and respect our district staff who provide critical supports for our students and the agreements reached with SCTA and SEIU are as generous as possible within the realistic fiscal constraints of our district’s budget. The fact remains that education in California is underfunded. Our district’s staffing shortage is ongoing, and we need more staff to fully meet our students’ needs. We are ready to work with our labor partners to advocate for investments in public education, and hope that projected state revenues dedicated to increasing the Local Control Funding Formula will materialize. Additional resources will allow our district to offer additional fair and competitive compensation for employees while also responsibly planning for economic uncertainty. We are committed to keep our community informed about the reality of our district budget outlook.

“Now, we must turn our focus to making the most of the rest of this very hard year, and we are ready to work with our labor partners to build for the future in service of our students.” 

Here is an overview of the agreement with SCTA:

Employee compensation

• Ongoing 4% salary increase starting in the 2021-22 school year.

• 3% one-time stipend for 2019-2020, pro-rated for part-time employees;
• 3% one-time stipend for 2020-2021, pro-rated for part-time employees;
• One time payment of $1,250 in 2021-22 for every full-time SCTA-represented employee, and a pro-rated amount for part-time employees.

Increased Compensation for Substitute Teachers

• Increase substitute teacher daily rate by 25% for substitutes who filled in for absent teachers during the 2021-22 school year.
• Additional 14 days of sick leave for substitute teachers who test positive, are  experiencing COVID symptoms, or are required to quarantine.

Additional Professional Development

• 3 additional paid days for professional learning in the 2022-23 school year. The professional learning will include anti-racist training, and content related to Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) and Universal Design for Learning.

Health Coverage

• The district will continue to provide 100% paid health coverage through Kaiser and a mutually agreed upon alternative plan or plans. The current alternative plan is HealthNet.
• The district and SCTA will research provider pools and/or additional benefit provider options to increase benefit plan choices for employees, and will reach agreement on or before August 31, 2022 or any other mutually agreed upon date on any additional plans that offer equivalent level of value as the HealthNet plan.
• In the event that health plan changes are agreed to and  savings are achieved, the savings will be applied to fund additional positions that support the district’s MTSS framework for providing equitable learning for all students.

Withdrawal of pending unfair practice charges and grievances

• SCTA agrees to withdraw a grievance and all of its pending unfair practice charges filed with the Public Employment Relations Board.

​​Here is an overview of the district’s agreement with SEIU:

Employee Compensation

• 4% ongoing salary increase, effective July 1, 2021
• $3,000 one-time stipend for 2020-21
• $3,000 one-time stipend for 2021-22
• $1,000 one-time retention stipend for current employees for the 2021-22 school year
• Wage reopener for the 2022-2023 school year
• $238 increase in Longevity Pay effective July 1, 2022

By offering equal dollar amount stipends to SEIU, instead of percentage-based stipends which was proposed to SCTA, the district is providing hourly paid employees significantly more money than what they would receive from a stipend based on a salary percentage stipend. These dollar-amount stipends reflect the district’s commitment to equity and social justice for all employees.

The agreement also included a package of incentives specifically aimed at recruiting and retaining Bus Drivers.

• Special Salary Adjustment committee to discuss how to recruit and retain bus drivers.
• $2,000 Retention Bonus for current bus drivers for the 2022-23 school year.
• $2,000 Recruitment and Signing Bonus for new bus drivers who complete the SCUSD training program for bus drivers for the 2022-23 school year.
• $2,000 Recruitment and Signing Bonus for SEIU members who refer a new bus driver who provides service to the district in the 2022-23 school year.
• $5,000 signing bonus for new bus driver employees who are fully licensed to drive a bus. In order to receive the signing bonus, the employee must provide service to the District for the entire 2022-23 school year.

The agreement with SEIU also included several provisions to improve SEIU members’ working conditions, including:

• Continue 100% district paid health premiums for all eligible SEIU members and their dependents up to the Kaiser active rates
• Enhance dental and vision benefits to premier coverage plans
• Provide safety shoes for nutrition services staff
• Increase by $30 the amount allocated for safety shoes for transportation staff
• A classification and compensation study for all SEIU classifications
• Increase the minimum hours for bus attendants
• Increase the number of 8 hour bus routes
• Reduction from 3 years to 18 months that an employee will have to wait to receive credit for professional growth.

The SCUSD Board of Education will vote to ratify the agreements reached with SCTA and SEIU at an upcoming Board meeting.