Sac City Educators Approve Strike by 97.2% Margin

Approximately 80% of educators participated in the vote, with 97.2% of those who voted approving the strike authorization.

         We have been in bargaining with the District for over one year; the first bargaining session was held on October 11, 2016.

        The District’s has refused our efforts to make Sac City the Destination District for California. These proposals include ensuring that every classroom has a credentialed teacher, lowering class sizes, increasing the number of school nurses and psychologists, enabling all students to take classes in arts, music and physical education, implementing a bottom-up restorative practices culture, expanding the Parent Teacher Home Visit project, and fully resourcing the district’s early intervention and special ed program.

     Sac City currently has more than 100 vacancies among certificated teachers, approximately 10 times higher than surrounding districts like Elk Grove and San Juan.

     The District is in the best financial position in its history.  In the last four years, revenues have increased by 51%, while the District reserve fund has soared by 320% to $81 million.  During the same time period, the District has increased the number of administrators by 32% and recently agreed to a 14 to 20% pay hike for administrators.  The Sac City superintendent is the highest paid school administrator in the region.

    On October 2, 2017, a fact-finding hearing was held, the next step of the bargaining process.  Within thirty days of the hearing, a three-person fact-finding panel–one representative from the Association, one representative from the District, and a neutral chairperson appointed by the California Public Employee Relations Board–will issue a non-binding recommendation, which either party can accept or reject.  Once the non-binding recommendation has been released, the Association has the right to strike.  The recommendation is expected on or about November 1st.

     “The Sac City Board of Education shouldn’t need a fact-finding panel to explain that if you want to be the Destination District for California, an increased number of high paid administrators and a soaring reserve fund are not the investments today’s students and educators need and deserve,” said Sac City 2nd grade teacher David Fisher, who is president of SCTA and a parent of two Sac City students. “The District is more focused on hiring administrators and building up an enormous reserve, rather than making sure our students can thrive.”