SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) is expecting nearly $46 million in fines from the state unless district officials move to make up thousands of hours of learning time lost when district employees and teachers went on strike.
According to a weekly update Friday from SCUSD, students lost around 2,400 minutes of learning time after the Sacramento City Teachers Association (SCTA) and SEIU 1021 went on an 8-day strike closing classes for thousands of SCUSD students.
The strike came amid stalled negotiations between the unions and the school district over contracts. The district and unions reached an agreement April 3 and students returned to class April 4.
According to SCUSD, California's Education Code requires public schools to be open for 180 days of instruction each year and sets a minimum number of instructional minutes for each grade level.
With 2,400 of those minutes gone district-wide, officials expect a $46 million fine from the state unless minutes are made up. District officials said in their update, that their team is working to find possible solutions.
"We are committed to finding the best possible solution with the least amount of further inconvenience to our families," the update said.
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