Santa Barbara Unified to Consider Bringing Back 7th Period to Junior Highs

Santa Barbara Unified teachers are pushing for longer days at the junior highs to make room for more electives, especially for kids who need extra support.

On Tuesday, February 10, the school board will hold a discussion to consider an additional course period “to address diverse student needs,” according to the district. 

Multilingual learners and students with disabilities usually must take supplemental classes, squeezing electives out of their school day. 

Adding a 7th period back to the junior high schedule — it was cut 20 years ago —  would increase access to arts and music for these students, teachers argue. 

If students want to take an elective and don’t have time in their regular schedule, they can do so before or after school, explained York Shingle, president of the Santa Barbara Teachers Association (SBTA). 

But that “is not very interesting to a junior high kid, and also depends on their family having the ability to get them there early or have them stay late,” he said. “And so there’s an equity issue there.”

Teachers proposed the schedule changes during ongoing contract negotiations with the school district. 

“Our students always come first, so we’re prioritizing the needs of our students and families before requesting a salary increase this year,” Shingle said.

Shingle said that the union has long been told that a seven-period day should be a discussion for the bargaining table, citing past talks with the district. 

However, the district claims that it is not a mandatory bargaining subject. Because changes to students’ schedules do not directly affect teacher working conditions, they do not belong in a labor contract, it says. 

Right now, the district is also “currently working to address a substantial budget deficit,” it said in a statement. It’s “considering reductions,” it continued, “even before accounting for potential cost increases from ongoing labor negotiations.” 

The estimated cost to add the extra period to the junior high bell schedule is $1.87 million.

But an additional period is something that performing arts and music teachers have been advocating for for years, as their numbers have dwindled. 

Rich Lashua, Santa Barbara Unified’s last remaining full-time performing arts teacher at the junior high level, told the Independent in 2024 that several arts programs across the district were “in a real crisis.”

It’s been difficult for elective teachers to grow their programs, Shingle said. Instead, they seem to be shrinking. There used to be two Spanish teachers at La Colina Junior High, Shingle said, but now there is only one. 

When Shingle was a student at San Marcos High School a little more than 20 years ago, their marching band was huge, he added. “Now it’s much smaller because there’s just less of a pipeline for kids to take a variety of music classes in junior high to prepare for high school.”  

Adding another course period would make electives more accessible for all students, he said. 

“It opens up more electives, even for students who don’t need those additional supports,” he said. “And so what we would be able to do is build out a more robust elective program and more robust elective offerings” — things such as video production and sewing. 

If the board does approve a schedule change, any effects on working conditions for teachers will be negotiated with SBTA, according to the district. “The District remains fully committed to its legal obligation to negotiate the impacts of any decisions that affect teacher working conditions,” it said. 

Current Status of Negotiations 

The Santa Barbara Teachers Association and the district are in re-opener negotiations for their three-year contract, which expires in June 2027. 

Teachers brought multiple proposals to the bargaining table, beyond just schedule changes. That included proposals to lower counselor case loads, add teacher-librarian support in elementary schools, and increase elementary school teachers’ prep times. 

However, the district countered these proposals, citing the “cost impacts of each article” and a “prioritization of any budget increases to employee wages.”

While the union asked for a $3,000 raise, what the district brought to the table is a flat wage increase of $1,000 to all steps on the salary schedule and increasing educators’ hourly rates by 10 percent. 

Their next negotiation session is February 23. 

Next School Board Meeting 

The school board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday at 720 Santa Barbara Street.

The public is invited to provide feedback by emailing dist_board@sbunified.org or offering public comment at the meeting.