How Sacramento families are preparing for another school strike: ‘A lot of growing angst’

Thousands of Sacramento parents learned this week that their children’s teachers, bus drivers, school lunch staff plan to strike on Wednesday, potentially marking the second labor dispute to disrupt class in four years.

That has families again making decisions on how to manage their plans around a strike in the Sacramento City Unified School District.

Some say they won’t cross the picket line. They say they’ll only head to campuses to deliver donuts and coffee to teachers and school employees, who they say have long been struggling to run classrooms effectively with a teacher shortage.

Other parents say a strike so soon after the pandemic shut down campuses only makes their schedules more challenging.

Sacramento City Teachers Association and SEIU Local 1021, which represent teachers and classified staff respectively, said there has been no progress in their months-long negotiations with Sacramento City Unified School District.

The district late Friday announced that it plans to shut schools if the strike occurs, meaning parents will not be able to bring their children to campus.

“We remain committed to do all that we can to avert a strike and expect to continue successor contract negotiations on Monday in an attempt to reach an agreement with SCTA,” Superintendent Jorge Aguilar said.

“This is a painful and difficult decision to make, especially when our students have experienced so much trauma and disruption to their learning over the last two years and recognize the ripple effect that school closures have on our entire community,” he said.

The unions say they are at odds over teacher staffing shortages and what they describe as a cut in educators’ take-home pay. The district counters that it can’t offer proposed employment incentives until the unions accept contract agreements.

Kelly Stout, a single parent, said her daughter has spent many days in various classrooms at Washington Elementary when her teacher was out sick. The staffing shortage, she said, is affecting everyone.

“When you look at the strike itself, I don’t think what the teachers are fighting for is anything out of what they should be fighting for,” she said. “We need to work at being an attractive place to work. We will lose the talent we have to other districts. What will that look like for our kids’ future?”

Katie Smith, a parent of three students in the district, said she supports the strike because of what she describes as “deep systemic issues in this district, the number of children who are not getting an adequate education and the disparity between the schools and which kids are getting access to support.”

With the strike just days away, Smith’s husband plans to take the day off to watch their children. If the strike lasts longer than one day, they will alternate taking days off from work.

Sacramento parents plan babysitting collective

Cyd Jaghory, a parent of two, has worked these types of arrangements before.

During the last strike in 2019, she reached out to other A.M. Winn Elementary School parents who supported the strike to coordinate a babysitting collective. It helped working parents manage the disruption.

“There has been a lot of growing angst,” Jaghory said. “We recognize that not everyone can take a day off of work. We extended invitations to those that we know, while still respecting other point of views.”

But plans for the first day of the strike may not go as seamlessly for other parents. They have to navigate work schedules and child care.

Parents shared concerns about how long the strike will last, which coincides with parent teacher conferences at several schools. The two unions did not announce an end date.

Many parents lamented that their children will miss instructional time and activities if the strike is not averted.

Renee Webster-Hawkins, a parent of two students in the district, said her junior is designing a solar boat which will be placed in a race at Rancho Seco in May.

“They have begun designing the hull and ribs,” Webster-Hawkins. “Missing any instructional time between now and then will upend the scope and sequence of the instructional unit.”

Smith said that she was dismayed many parents took to social media, Facebook groups in particular, to complain about their children missing field trips due to the strike.

“We have kids in our district that didn’t even have access to field trips before the pandemic,” she said. “I believe that the board and superintendent need to actually come to the table (not just give platitudes) and talk with the teachers, get to know their constituents better and start working toward equity and meeting in the middle to find solutions for all students, not just the ones the system was designed to serve. I have seen teachers bend over backwards to make adjustments for, advocate for and support students and family through the pandemic. We can support them now.”

Transferring to other districts

Mo Kashmiri, who works for SEIU Local 1021, said he will join teachers on the strike line with his son.

“Without a strike we can’t even fill our positions,” he said on Facebook. “We don’t have enough subs, teachers, bus drivers, food service, or support staff. “

One parent said she’s likely giving up on the school district because of the latest labor dispute.

The Sacramento Bee interviewed Desiree Throckmorton in October as she grew frustrated when she was unable to tour Sacramento City Unified high schools for her eighth grade daughter due to COVID-19 protocols. Now, she said, keeping her daughter in the district is, “very unappealing.”

“This strike business is the nail in coffin for me,” Throckmorton said. “I know we have to figure out the best place for our daughter as a family so we are not 100% sure where she will start in the fall.

“I am so sad for the students who don’t have the means to consider other school districts.”

This story was originally published March 19, 2022 at 5:25 AM.