Missed education during Sacramento teacher strike could cost $46 million, district says

The eight-day strike that shut down the Sacramento City Unified School District could end up costing schools more than $46 million unless leaders can strike a deal to make up for the lost learning time, district officials announced Friday.

In a bulletin to parents, the district said that students missed about 2,400 minutes of learning as a result of the labor dispute that shuttered classrooms.

State education laws require schools to provide 180 days of instruction and a minimum number of minutes based on grade level. Failure to make up the shortages will result in what the district said would amount to “significant financial penalties.”

“We know that you’re anxious to plan for summer and to learn how our district will make up the eight days of lost instructional time due to the labor strike,” the district said. “Our team is collaborating on this matter with our labor partners beginning today to find a responsible solution that will have the least impact on our families.”

By way of comparison, a 2019 strike in Oakland cost about $1 million per day. The first day of a strike in Los Angeles in 2019 cost about $15 million — part of a dispute that wound up costing the district roughly $151 million in lost revenue.

Teachers and classified staff in the Sacramento district serving more than 40,000 students began a strike on March 23, citing issues related to teacher staffing, pay and health and safety protocols. The stalemate dragged on until Sunday when district and union officials said an agreement had been reached between the district, the classified employee union SEIU Local 1021 and the Sacramento City Teachers Association.

While the agreement put kids back in class Monday, the problem to resolve now is how to make up the lost time.

The state of California requires districts to provide a minimum of 180 days of instruction, and levees heavy financial penalties on districts that fail to meet the requirement. The Sacramento district has a 181-day school year, meaning there’s already little margin for missed education days.

There are a few options: The district could extend the school year past its scheduled last day of school on June 16 or add instructional minutes to its school days. Additionally, the district could apply for a waiver from the California Department of Education, though that’s a tall order since an employee strike doesn’t normally meet the conditions for a waiver.

On top of that, extending the school year by a week is no small task — in this case, into late June. Any change in the district calendar must be negotiated with unions because it would affect employee work schedules.

“We are committed to finding the best possible solution with the least amount of further inconvenience to our families,” the district said.

This story was originally published April 9, 2022 at 11:39 AM.