Wenatchee High School certificated staff have voted 51-48 saying they want their daily preparation period back. This was lost with the modified block schedule in effect this year, as not all classes meet each day, leaving some educators teaching for nearly seven hours straight.

“The current schedule is a variance from our contract with the Wenatchee School District,” Wenatchee Education Association President Kris Cameron said this morning. Secondary teachers are required to have a daily prep period, according to the teacher’s union current contract with the district.

“I respect the vote, I respect the process of the vote, and while it was not the outcome that I was hopeful would happen, that’s ok,” said Principal Bob Celebrezze, who noted that going back to last year’s schedule is not an option he prefers.

Last school year, certificated high school staff voted to allow the modified block schedule, creating a memorandum of understanding to waiver from the contract language. But that memorandum of understanding is set to expire in August.

An opinion poll of the teachers about the lack of a prep period was conducted Jan. 26, but the vote was split, Cameron said. The teacher’s union then had to get involved for an official record with a secret ballot vote, which was conducted on Feb. 2 and 3.

“I think what this all came down to … is that teachers were very willing to experiment with a different schedule … [but] the loss of a daily prep was more than they could do — it was too much for many staff,” Cameron said. “Teaching is busier and more hectic than ever … so, what we’re hearing is that for a lot of teachers, the day they don’t have a prep is their longest day.”

Celebrezze will now start working on a new schedule, and while he said he hasn’t lost sleep over it, a major factor he is foreseeing is the state’s implementation of Core 24. Another problem is that juniors have already started registering for classes next year, which was based on the modified block schedule, Celebrezze said.

A new daily schedule has to be established before the end of the school year, but last year’s schedule is not an option Celebrezze is considering. “We don’t have to panic, we just have to think it through — be thoughtful,” he said.

“I hope that the students and the community around Wenatchee High School know how many teachers are willing to work even harder for the sake of improving student learning,” Cameron said, adding that it came out “loud and clear” that WHS staffers had students at heart when making this decision.

“We (the union) want to support the staff at Wenatchee High School in finding innovative ways to do their jobs better, so in that regard, if they feel there is a way to do their jobs better that varies from our contract, then we want to support that innovation,” Cameron said. “As a union, we really want to support innovation, but we just want to make sure it’s done in a way that doesn’t put unreasonable demands on our members. We have no interest in being nay-sayers for the sake of being nay-sayers.”