NTA LEADERS CAN MAKE PROMISES.
THEY CAN'T GUARANTEE RESULTS.
"Consider the West Contra Costa Unified School District. After a four-day strike in December, the United Teachers of Richmond announced it secured an 8% raise over two years and fully funded family health care plans. The only problem? The district doesn't have enough money and is now slashing jobs and programs to make up the difference."
Facts on Pay & Benefits:
Natomas teachers scored a huge win when the District’s benefits committee identified new health plans to offer educators, which they say gives teachers thousands of dollars in annual savings.
Natomas is right in the mix with surrounding Sacramento districts when it comes to pay. The average teacher makes around $90,000 plus benefits, and you can hit the top of the salary schedule in 20 years, roughly a decade sooner than in other districts in the region.
We need to heed warnings: Current NTA proposals would require big cuts to programs and potentially staffing in order to balance the local budget.
Regardless of where you stand in negotiations, the underlying financial reality remains: agreements do not eliminate structural deficits. If ongoing costs outpace ongoing revenue, reductions will have to follow. It isn’t hard to see what is happening in other school districts.
Another warning signal: There is so much uncertainty surrounding state revenues and potential adjustments to school funding in the near and long term. Why risk teacher cuts and larger class sizes? Shouldn’t we be more concerned about the risk of teachers losing jobs? Isn’t the writing on the wall?
Facts on Finances:
CTA's GAME
Natomas has unique needs which are specific to our kids and community. Our local needs should not be overshadowed by some statewide campaign.
While the California Teachers Association seeks a political win by pushing for local school districts to strike, it’s students and families who lose. CTA is unapologetic in their approach and openly boasting about it. Read the articles below:
“The confluence of labor unrest in so many school districts is not happenstance, but the result of a strategy orchestrated by the California Teachers Association, the unions’ politically powerful state operation. Looking ahead to this day, the association coordinated with the local chapters, aligning their contracts to expire at the same time last summer, which has led to the chorus of strike threats.”
"Teachers Hold California Children Hostage. The union coordinates strikes across the state, punishing children…The losers in this hostage-taking are students and parents."