Quick Take
Aptos High School will continue to have a seven-period schedule as opposed to a six-period schedule for the 2025-26 school year after teachers raised concerns that layoffs and district attempts to lower costs put the seven-period schedule at risk. Teachers union president Nelly Vaquera-Boggs said teachers were assured they’ll keep the seven-period schedule for the upcoming year.
After weeks of uncertainty and advocacy, Aptos High School teachers say they’ve received assurances from district officials that the school will keep its seven-period schedule for the upcoming school year.
Teachers had decried what they said were plans by Pajaro Valley Unified School District to switch to a six-period schedule from seven periods a day after the district’s governing board approved layoffs last month due to declining enrollment. Educators said the change would limit the number of elective courses students can take – so at board meetings and during two rallies last week, they demanded the district keep the seven-period schedule.
Teachers union president Nelly Vaquera-Boggs said district officials confirmed with educators that they intend to keep the seven-period schedule at Aptos High for the upcoming year but will continue to talk with school community members about staffing and costs for future years as the district continues to wrestle with budget challenges.
“This is what solidarity looks like when we’re fighting for the schools and the programs that our students deserve,” Vaquera-Boggs told Lookout on Friday.
Teachers had their first meeting with Superintendent Heather Contreras on Monday afternoon to discuss the schedule for the upcoming school year. Contreras plans to meet with Aptos High families on Thursday.
However, teachers said they remain uncertain about how exactly the district will manage to retain the seven-period schedule given plans for widespread layoffs, including at Aptos High.
Last month, the district’s governing board approved layoffs for about 60 full-time-equivalent positions across the district, of which 46.3 full-time-equivalent positions are for teachers and certificated staff. The district employs 2,379 employees: 1,116 are classified staff and 1,263 have teaching credentials. Aptos High teachers said nine of those full-time-equivalent teacher layoffs would affect their school and make it impossible to keep the seven-period schedule.
Aptos High English language specialist Andrew Ghiglia said he felt that Monday’s teacher meeting with Contreras went well and that he feels more reassured that the district will maintain the seven-period schedule despite the layoffs. He said teachers received verbal assurances that the school will have enough staff to continue with the seven-period day.
“The uncertainty was that we just didn’t know, and we still technically don’t know, how many positions we’re losing and how many positions we’re being allotted to fund our site next year with full-time positions,” he said.
In a statement last week, Contreras said the district didn’t yet have precise numbers for layoffs at school sites. She said PVUSD would be organizing discussions with Aptos High’s teachers and families to talk about the school’s seven-period schedule.
In an emailed statement Monday, district officials didn’t directly confirm that they had agreed to keep the seven-period schedule, instead saying that said a final decision about the future of the schedule will be made by a team that includes school staff.
Vaquera-Boggs emphasized that the district has to work with the teachers on any changes to the schedule because their contract requires that changing it has to be done through negotiations.
Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.