Sacramento City Unified needs independent leaders. Vote for these school board candidates

It is hard to be a Sacramento City Unified School District board member. The city’s influential teachers union casts a long shadow over school board elections, necessitating a level of vigilance from voters to elect independent leadership.

Just a few short years ago, the district was on the brink of insolvency, according to county education officials. Enrollment has dropped from more than 46,000 before the pandemic to under 40,000 in the latest count. Less than 30% of district students are meeting math standards, and less than 40% are at required reading proficiency.

Meanwhile, district teachers are among the best-compensated in the region. And yet the Sacramento City Teachers Association almost went on strike in 2017, staged a one-day strike in 2019 and carried out an eight-day strike last spring following prolonged pandemic school closures.

The union agreed to return to work after securing a 4% raise for teachers and a 25% pay hike for substitutes. Union leaders declared victory, but the raises led to a negative budget certification from the Sacramento County Office of Education. Dave Gordon, the county schools superintendent, said the salary increases would “significantly alter the projections” and make the district more likely to run out of money. But David Fisher, the president of the teachers union, dismissed Gordon and his analysis, calling for him to “step aside.”

In light of these events, voters should be skeptical when the union bankrolls candidates for the school board, which is supposed to negotiate with teachers and staff on behalf of the public. There are three union-backed candidates on the November ballot, all of whom repeat union talking points or are strikingly sympathetic to them. But the public should strive to elect school board members who are concerned about more than the interests of one labor group.

District Area 1

In District Area 1, which includes Land Park and South Land Park, The Bee endorses parent and lawyer Anna Molander Hermann. She has more knowledge of the district, its operations and its history than her opponent. Tara Jeane, who teaches at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School and is the union-backed candidate, is sincere. But Hermann’s views of district finances were more substantive and neutral, while Jeane sounds more like a union representative for a position that requires independence.

District Area 2

The Bee endorses incumbent Leticia Garcia, who has represented Area 2, including East Sacramento and River Park, since she was first elected four years ago. Garcia is a solid board member who understands district finances and the toll COVID has taken on students. She deserves to be reelected. Of the three union-backed candidates running in November, nonprofit director Jasjit Singh was the most partisan by far. He had little to say besides parroting Teachers Association talking points and didn’t seem to understand the intermediary role of a board member.

District Area 6

The Bee endorses incumbent Darrel Woo, who has represented the Pocket area on the school board since 2014. Woo is a veteran on a board that needs stability. His opponent, Taylor Kayatta, got most of his campaign contributions from the union and approaches issues accordingly. He cast doubt on previous audits of the district, which mirrors the union’s rhetoric.

Sacramento City Unified faces serious fiscal challenges and needs board members who are grounded in reality and willing to make tough choices for the good of students. Hermann, Garcia and Woo are the best choices to lead a responsible and independent school board.