Nearly 30% of Academy District 20 high school teachers have called off of work Friday as part of a “sick out” over proposed schedule changes announced in early February that would impact their workloads.

The “sick out” has prompted the district to cancel classes for its high school students, spokesperson Allison Cortez said. 

“With such significant absence rates, we are unable to properly fill enough positions with guest staff to safely operate our high schools,” the district told parents in an email late Thursday.

The message came after several teachers spoke at a packed Thursday evening board meeting about the increased workload they’d see if a long-foreshadowed scheduling change was put in place, one which superintendent Thomas Gregory announced in a Feb. 2 letter to the community. The changes would be implemented in the fall of 2022, the letter said. 

The change, according to the letter, would increase the full teaching load for high school teachers to twelve course sections per year with an eight-block schedule. Currently, teachers teach eleven per year.

“The high school teachers at Academy School District have been asked to teach an additional class next year for no additional compensation,” Amy VerDuft, math teacher and Academy Education Association organizer, said in a text message. “This new schedule will add 9% more work to a teacher’s already heavy workload.”

“We have asked our school board to reconsider this new schedule as it is not in the best interest of students if teachers do not have the time or energy to do an adequate job,” she added.

Gregory said in the statement that while the change was introduced in the spring of 2020 “during a time of significant budget reductions” as a “cost saving measure,” the decision to implement it in the fall of 2022 was made as a means of “increasing course offerings, reducing class sizes, and extending the master schedule.”

“I have heard questions and concerns expressed by some instructional staff and I understand the challenges, fears, and struggles of moving from teaching eleven sections to twelve sections per year,” he wrote. “However, as we implement a system that is focused on doing what is best for our students, I am convinced we can find a balance with what is best for teachers also.  Flexibility, creativity, and taking a balanced approach to finding solutions is essential.”

Several community members also spoke about a controversial policy change surrounding medical treatment board member Aaron Salt presented earlier this month.

That policy change would prohibit staff from providing medical treatment, opinions, or advice without parental or guardian consent unless a student is in an emergency, The Gazette previously reported. 

After a discussion about the perceived vagueness of the language in the measure, the board agreed to postpone the vote pending further discussion.

The Gazette’s Hugh Johnson contributed to this report

Academy School District 20 is monitoring a “sick out” scheduled Feb. 18, 2021, among high school teachers over a schedule change set to be implemented in the fall of 2022. (Image via Google Maps.)

Image via Google Maps.