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Teachers, union and parents urge Natomas Unified to prioritize staffing and pay amid vacancies
Summary
Union representatives and dozens of teachers and parents told the board that staff shortages and low pay are leaving classes short-staffed and special-education students underserved; speakers cited more than 60 resignations over the summer, multiple vacancies and asked the district to redirect funds to frontline employees.
Trustees heard sustained public pressure to prioritize teacher retention, higher wages and more special-education staffing. At the start of the meeting an NTA representative said the district faced a staffing emergency: “This is a crisis,” she told the board, and listed staffing figures — “this summer alone, we had 60 plus educators resign” and reported “15 vacant instructional aid positions and 29 certificated full time vacancies” as of Sept. 30. The speaker urged the board to stop investing in outside consultants and instead “reprioritize NUSD for the betterment of your families, students and teachers.”
Multiple public commenters during the general-comment period supported that call. A teacher who identified herself on the agenda and in remarks as Jeff (introduced on the docket as Jeff Ryan) said the district “lag[s] behind just about everyone in the region” on total compensation and called for the board to push district negotiators to close the gap. Parents and special-education staff described large caseloads and limited after-school supports; one parent urged the board to consider part-time psychologists or contractors because site psychologists are “drowning.” The board took no immediate bargaining action during the meeting; members recorded the comments as part of public input and continued with scheduled item votes.
