STATE LABOR BOARD FINDS SAC CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT VIOLATED LAW IN FAILING TO FOLLOW HEALTH PLAN AGREEMENT
Sacramento, August 12, 2019–The California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) issued another complaint against the Sacramento City Unified School District because the District “failed and refused to meet and negotiate in good faith” with the Sacramento City Teachers Association (SCTA) and “also interfered with the rights of bargaining unit employees to be represented” by SCTA. You can view the complaint here.
Specifically, PERB detetermined that SCUSD and SCTA have a collective bargaining agreement that mandates “that any savings accomplished by making changes to the health plans would be applied, after negotiations, for the exclusive benefit of the bargaining unit.”
Contrary to that collective bargaining agreement which was negotiated in November 2017, PERB determined that: “On or about April 2, 2019, [SCUSD] implemented a new change or interpretation of Section 13.1 by refusing to negotiate and apply any such savings solely for the benefits of the bargaining unit.”
PERB also found that the SCUSD withheld significant information related to how it makes staffing decisions: “a compilation reflecting enrollment, staffing, and class size data, which is used by [SCUSD] to revise staff assignments and to evaluate the need for, and determine the extent of, certificated layoffs.”
Emails that have recently come to light, and as reported in the Sacramento Bee, from the State of California’s Fiscal Crisis Management and Assistance Team (FCMAT) have been sharply critical of the District’s fiscal mismanagement and lack of transparency, including potential Brown Act violations. Additional emails also show that the District misled the public about being on the brink of fiscal insolvency while keeping secret a $16 million budget mistake. The PERB rulings are consistent with FCMAT expressing “NO CONFIDENCE” in the District’s administration. You can view the actual emails here.
PERB’s initial determination originates from an unfair labor practice charge filed by SCTA in April 2019. SCUSD provided a written defense to the allegations. Upon review of both documents, PERB determined that SCTA’s charge has merit and issued the complaint. The issue will now go before a PERB administrative law judge.
This is the second complaint issued by PERB on the District’s illegal activity related to its refusal to honor its contract with SCTA related to health plan changes. PERB also issued a complaint on May 8, 2019, which you can view here.
“Once again, state officials have issued a complaint that alleges Sac City administrators violated the law,” said David Fisher, the President of the Sacramento City Teachers Association and a second grade teacher and parent of two students in the District. “We negotiated an agreement in which we agreed to work with the District to achieve health plan savings that would be used to lower class sizes and improve services to students. Instead, the District continues to unlawfully attempt to use those taxpayer dollars to cover up its fiscal mismanagement and bureaucratic bloat. It’s time that Superintendent Aguilar and Board President Ryan honor the contract and obey the law.”
