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Carlsbad Unified approves two‑school extended‑day kindergarten pilot amid teacher concerns
Summary
Trustees directed staff to proceed with a two‑school extended‑day kindergarten pilot at Jefferson and Hope for 2025‑26, approving the plan 4‑to‑1. Staff cited survey support (about 64% of families) and outlined additional costs and a task force for implementation and evaluation.
The Carlsbad Unified School District Board of Trustees voted 4‑to‑1 to direct staff to implement a two‑school extended‑day kindergarten pilot in the 2025‑26 school year at Jefferson and Hope elementary schools.
Staff said the recommendation was based on parent and staff surveys and site capacity. "Overall 64% of families expressed support for an extended day kindergarten program," Director Kim Fuentes told the board, and staff recommended Jefferson and Hope as pilot sites because of capacity, demographic representation and instructional leadership.
Staff outlined pilot costs and logistics: the primary recurring expense is an additional campus monitor at each site so teachers have a duty‑free lunch; there will also be material costs for full class sets of tactile instructional materials, potential additional one‑on‑one aide cost for students with IEPs and limited physical space at some schools. Director Fuentes said the district will convene a kindergarten task force to develop schedules, evaluation metrics and an intradistrict one‑for‑one transfer window for participating students.
Trustees and staff discussed class‑size implications and bargaining issues. Trustees were told class‑size adjustments and any related compensation matters would be negotiated with the teachers' association (CUDA) as bargaining items. Board members emphasized the pilot's limited scope and the plan to evaluate student outcomes before any wider rollout.
Public commenters, including parents and teachers, voiced both strong community support and concerns from some kindergarten teachers about staffing and class sizes. The motion to proceed with a two‑school pilot passed 4‑to‑1.
