This morning teachers in the Sacramento Unified School District are set to go on strike.
40,000 students will remain home the district's schools will be closed after talks between the union and the district broke down last night.
A release from SCTA said contract negotiations broke off at 8:15 p.m. "We understand that many in our community will ask whether they can volunteer to keep schools open. Unfortunately, fingerprinting is required for volunteers and the short window of time is not enough to approve volunteer clearances," a letter from the school district last week read. Sports and extracurricular activities will be reportedly put on hold as the strike goes forward, and after-school care programs will have limited operating hours that will no longer be available during regular school district schedules.
The district officially declared an impasse in negations with SCTA in December of last year over COVID-related issues, with the struggle to reach an agreement starting last summer. With the strike officially going forward, unions say the district is currently short 250 teachers, 100 substitutes and an additional 400 classified staffing positions for jobs such as school bus drivers, custodians and instructional aides.