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. 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 plan for all staff and their families, bonus payments, and additional paid days of professional development. Here is an overview of the proposed compensation increases that the District has offered to SCTA.

On Tuesday, 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. Here is how it would work.

You can read the District’s actual proposal to SCTA here.

Q. SCTA says the district has a staffing crisis. Isn’t that true?

A: Yes, we have a staffing crisis, but so do most other school districts in the state. This problem predated these negotiations and will exist after this contract is settled. Public schools, and especially SCUSD, do not have sufficient qualified teachers and substitutes entering the profession to fill vacant positions. For evidence, see this CalMatters article, Short-term fixes won’t really solve California’s teacher shortage, and this Learning Policy Institute report, Teacher Shortages During the Pandemic: How California Districts Are Responding.

In the State of California alone, there are currently over 11,200 job postings for certificated employees. SCUSD is experiencing a hiring crisis that is impacting districts across our region, state and nation. Despite offering the most generous total compensation in the region, SCUSD is still struggling to attract qualified teachers and substitutes to fill vacant positions.

The district has made an offer to SCTA that squarely addresses this staffing crisis, with recruitment bonus incentives and increases in compensation to strengthen retention. The district hopes to work together with SCTA to recruit and retain talented staff in our district.

Q. Does the District proposal include a $10,000 pay cut?

A: No. The District is not proposing to cut salaries. SCUSD is proposing to cover 100% of a Kaiser health care plan for all SCTA-represented staff and all of their immediate family members. If some teachers want to remain in a more expensive HealthNet health care plan they can, and the district will cover the costs up to the same level as the Kaiser plan. In addition, the district has proposed to pay 80 percent (80%) of the cost difference between the cost of a Kaiser health plan and the cost of a HealthNet plan for one year for employees who are currently enrolled in HealthNet that choose to continue HealthNet coverage.

Q. Did the district’s negotiators stay at the bargaining table on March 22? SCTA says the district’s negotiators didn’t show up.

A: The assertion that the district’s negotiators did not show up or stay at the bargaining table is false. Following a mediation session that went late into the night on Monday, March 21, the SCUSD negotiations team continued meeting with two state appointed mediators who were facilitating talks between the two parties throughout the day on Tuesday, March 22.

Here is the schedule of meetings that were scheduled and occurred over the last 48 hours, which can be verified by the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).

Monday, March 21

• The district offered to meet with SCTA at 9:00 a.m. At SCTA’s request, the meeting was scheduled at 2:30 p.m.
• Starting at 2:30 p.m. the district’s negotiations team met in a joint session with SCTA and two state-appointed mediators for over an hour.
• The mediation continued, with both parties meeting with the mediators the rest of the afternoon and into the evening in shuttle negotiations between the district and SCTA.
• The mediation ended shortly after 10:00 p.m.

Tuesday, March 22

• The district’s negotiations team offered to be available to continue meeting as early as 9:00 a.m.
• The mediators joined a meeting with the district at 11:30 a.m.
• For the remainder of the afternoon and into the evening, the mediators conducted a series of meetings with the district and SCTA via shuttle negotiations.
• Around 8:30 p.m. the district learned through media reports that SCTA concluded the mediation.
• The mediators concluded their meeting with the district negotiations team at 8:36 p.m.

On Tuesday evening the district’s negotiating team offered to meet with SCTA on Wednesday, March 23, and reiterated the offer to meet on Wednesday morning. The district’s negotiations team remains ready to continue negotiations with SCTA.

Q.  SCTA says the district’s negotiations team is unprepared and cannot make decisions. Is this true?

A: This is not true. The district is represented at the negotiating table by experienced professional negotiators  with expertise in bargaining labor agreements on behalf of school districts and public agencies. They are bargaining in good faith and come prepared at each session to discuss the issues. The district’s bargaining team has successfully reached agreements on MOUs with a number of the district’s labor partners, including with SCTA, SEIU, Teamsters, and UPE.

Q:  How long have the parties been negotiating a successor agreement?

A: The District and SCTA sunshined their respective initial proposals for a 2019-2022 successor contract in early 2019. This was well before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

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