How much are Sacramento City teachers paid? As strike continues, here’s the salary range
As Sacramento City Unified School District teachers and staff complete the second day of an open-ended strike, union concerns about ineffective leadership, staff shortages and COVID-19 protocols continue. And it’s also highlighting the pay rate of educators in the district.
The strike is led by more than 4,000 Sacramento teachers and staff, and members of the Sacramento City Teachers Association and SEIU Local 1021, the union that represents the district’s classified staff like bus drivers and custodians, according to a union news release. There have not been contract talks, nor are any scheduled as of Thursday.
One of the main financial challenges the district faces is the cost of its employee benefits package, according to a 2019 state audit.
According to the Policy Analysis for California Education in a case study of the district’s budget challenges: “As compared with neighboring districts, SCUSD spends far more on health care and a smaller share of its budget on salaries for pupil support personnel, teachers, classified instructional staff, and office staff. Many stakeholders agree that the greatest fiscal challenge in SCUSD is the high cost of health care.”
The financially troubled district in December proposed cuts to health care benefits, an unpaid furlough day and a 1% salary reduction. Since then, the district has offered employees a 2% wage increase and a number of one-time pay incentives.
Here’s how much Sacramento City Unified teachers make, according to the district’s salary schedules:
Sacramento teacher salaries
In 2021 to 2022, salaries for K-12 and preschool teachers ranged from approximately $48,000 to $102,000, with the exception of two schools where educators can receive higher pay. Individual salaries depend on college degrees and units completed. The data is based on a 183-day work calendar.
Todd Maddison, research director at Transparent California, the state’s public pay and pension data source, said that the maximum range of salaries does not account for bonuses, overtime or 401K contributions.
This school year’s salaries remained similar to the salaries for 2020 to 2021. In 2020, the average pay for teachers at Sacramento City Unified was about $82,000.
The Sacramento Bee previously reported that the district and union have been unable to agree on a successor contract on salary and benefits since the last one expired in 2019.
This story was originally published March 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM.