Twin Rivers superintendent steps down as teachers strike looms
Twin Rivers Unified School District superintendent Steve Martinez announced his impending resignation at a board meeting Thursday night. His last day will be Oct. 31.
Martinez, who has been with the district for 13 years, delivered the news of his resignation as the teachers union, Twin Rivers United Educators, readies to strike. The union, like many others in California this year, is seeking higher wages, fully-paid health benefits and smaller class sizes.
The two parties have not come to a resolution after a two-day fact-finding session, in which a neutral panel reviews contract disputes. The earliest a strike could be authorized is early March, according to a California Teachers Association representative.
At the same special meeting, the Twin Rivers Unified board approved an emergency set of guidelines should teachers authorize a work stoppage. The resolution includes the authorization to hire substitute teachers at a rate of up to $600 per day.
TRUE President Brittoni Ward criticized the special meeting and the resolution, saying that district leaders should have spent that time meeting with the unit for negotiations.
“These educators are here sacrificing another night to prioritize settling this contract in order to avert a strike, but clearly that is not the priority of the district,” Ward said, through tears. “Steve Martinez’s priority is instead to call a special board meeting that would bring scabs to cross picket lines anticipating and preparing for a looming strike instead of meeting our members at the table to avoid one.”
Minutes later, board President Christine Jeffries announced that Martinez would step down from his position come November, news that she said would likely make teachers in the audience happy.
“Dr. Martinez assumed leadership of the district in 2013, at a time when Twin Rivers faced extraordinary financial and academic challenges,” she said. “Under his leadership, and through collective work of our educators, staff, families and community partners, this district has experienced one of the most significant transformations in California public education.”
Jefferson went on to say that Martinez helped guide the district through $169 million in debt and the threat of state receivership. Under his leadership, the district saw its graduation rate boom from 76% in 2013 to 92% last year.
Martinez said that he will remain “fully engaged” through the end of his tenure.
“The challenges and milestones before us will be resolved during my tenure,” Martinez said in a statement. “I owe that to our students, our staff, and our community. The next superintendent will inherit a district positioned on stable ground with strong relationships, institutional knowledge, and the strategic runway to succeed from day one.”
Twin Rivers serves about 25,000 students in northern Sacramento and Sacramento County. Its high schools include Foothill, Grant, Highlands and Rio Linda.
