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The union says it’s been negotiating with the district since February. But the district says talks haven’t been consistent and negotiations picked back up in Sept.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Tensions are growing in Natomas, where teachers and families rallied outside district headquarters demanding higher pay and more affordable health benefits.
More than a hundred people filled the sidewalk Wednesday evening, holding signs and chanting for change. Some teachers say they are struggling to stay in the classroom.
“People are fired up. We can’t wait. We are done waiting,” said Nico Vaccaro, president of the Natomas Teachers Association.
The union says it’s been negotiating with the district since February. But the district says talks haven’t been consistent and negotiations picked back up in September.
The Natomas Teachers’ Association (NTA) says they are asking for a 4.5 percent raise in the first year and 4 percent in the second, along with fully funded health coverage. Vaccaro said the district’s counteroffer was “a fraction” of that.
“If you’re taking a family plan, you are paying 50 percent out of pocket each month,” Vaccaro said. “And that’s really unsustainable for a lot of our members.”
Some teachers say they have had to take on second jobs just to make ends meet.
The union says the pay gap makes it harder to attract and keep educators. NTA estimates a teacher with five years of experience and family medical coverage earns about $27,000 less per year in Natomas compared to Sacramento City Unified School District.
That gap, they say, has contributed to a staffing shortage, leaving hundreds of students without a permanent, qualified teacher for some or all of the school year.
Parents are also frustrated.
“There’s a lot of retention and turnover problems in Natomas,” said parent Leng Lai, whose wife teaches in the district. “Perhaps if the teachers were paid competitive wages, they would have an easier time hiring people and keeping people.”
The Natomas Unified School District says it’s still negotiating and that the process takes time.
“Right now we are actively negotiating,” said Deidra Powell, the district’s executive director of communications and family engagement. “This is very very normal process. It’s a part of the collective bargaining process. And so we value passionate teachers who want to make sure that we know what their interests are.”
Powell said the district has been fiscally conservative as it navigates inflation and national teacher shortages.
“We want to make sure that any decision we make, we are not going to have to pay for it later,” Powell said. “There is a teaching shortage in the United States of America. It’s even as significant or even more in the state of California.”
District officials say they are confident an agreement will be reached, though there’s no timeline yet. The teachers’ association says they will keep showing up until their demands are met.
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