Amid rising rates of declining enrollment, FUHSD is increasing split campus teaching arrangements in an effort to avoid staff and course reductions. As part of this approach, some teachers are assigned to multiple campuses for the 2025-26 school year. FUHSD is taking targeted measures to ensure that educators can maintain a high standard of education for all students. 

This practice is not new. Split campus teaching falls under the district’s collective bargaining agreement, which allows teachers to work across schools. While it has become more common with enrollment trends, the method has been in place for at least two decades, with records showing how it was used in the early 2000s and 2010s as a way to manage staffing levels across campuses. 

Over the past seven years, FUHSD has experienced a steady decline in student numbers. Enrollment dropped nearly 5% in two years, resulting in fewer courses and smaller graduating class sizes. According to California Department of Education statistics, this trend is not unique to FUHSD — statewide pre-K through 12th grade enrollment dropped by 5.4% between 2015 and 2022 alone. 

While split-campus teaching helps the district maintain a wider range of course offerings with fewer students, it also changes the dynamics of staffing. Instead of hiring new teachers to cover small classes or electives, FUHSD relies on existing teachers to fill positions across campuses.

Teachers who split their time between campuses can meet logistical and emotional challenges. For example, managing lesson plans, transporting materials and maintaining availability for students at multiple schools may create stress. Former Lynbrook and current Monta Vista High School Chinese teacher Zoey Liu previously split her time between the two campuses, teaching Chinese part-time at each. Liu now works full-time at Monta Vista, ending her split-campus schedule.

“Balancing time between campuses makes it harder to connect with students the way I used to,” Liu said. “You want to give each class your best, but the schedule does not leave enough room for everything. An issue was the availability for students outside of class. Mentally, it was stressful to remember which school I was going to each day and carry materials back and forth.”

Splitting time between campuses may also make it harder for teachers to maintain the same routines and organization in each classroom. Coordinating travel between campuses can reduce the time available for preparation and grading, which may impact the ability to meet the diverse needs of students. For teachers like Lynbrook chemistry teacher Connie Leung, who started her new split campus position for the 2025-26 school year, this can create challenges in staying accessible and fully supporting students. 

“Any teacher who cares about their students is going to worry whether they can be fully present and supportive,” Leung said. “I’m trying to make my availability as clear as possible with signs on my door, but there are always students who can’t make tutorial hours, and I just don’t know what my availability will look like outside that time. As of right now, email and one-on-one meeting requests are how my students can reach me when I’m not physically present.” 

An October 2022 report from the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team for the Santa Clara County Office of Education found that Santa Clara County lost 12,299 students in the fall of 2021, a 4.85% decline from 2024. Losing 120 students, which is about 113 in daily attendance, reduces FUHSD’s revenue by about $1.36 million. County projections suggest some areas may see a 9% to 15% decline in school-age population from the 2025-26 to the 2031-32 school year.

“It’s part of how the district is ensuring that our teachers continue to have jobs, and that we don’t have to let go of any teachers,” Lynbrook principal Janice Chen said. “So I know it’s not easy. I know it’s not preferred, but I think that in the bigger picture, we are able to retain our best teachers here, and if you want to keep great teachers within our district, it is a viable solution for our school and district.”

Declining enrollment is rooted in broader social and economic changes. In Cupertino, the median home sale price reached $3.35 million in July, a significant increase from previous years. As housing in the area becomes more expensive, fewer families with children can afford to live in the district. Meanwhile, more young adults are delaying starting families due to financial strain, which leads to a smaller school-age population overall. 

Statewide, live births declined 3.2% over the most recent two years, and kindergarten represented only 7.7% of total TK-12 enrollment in the 2020-21 school year, the lowest share in a decade. Smaller kindergarten classes translate into lower high school enrollment, and these trends are forcing districts like FUHSD to rethink staffing. According to the Santa Clara County Office of Education enrollment.

Students are increasingly opting out of traditional FUHSD campuses in favor of alternative programs. For students, options like dual enrollment, Middle College and charter schools can offer flexible schedules and, in some cases, the ability to earn college credit while still in high school. Programs such as dual enrollment with local community colleges and the Middle College program at De Anza College allow students to take college-level courses while completing high school requirements, providing both academic challenge and scheduling flexibility. These alternatives may be contributing to enrollment declines at traditional campuses as students seek options better suited to their individual needs and goals. 

“I took dual enrollment because I wanted another experience,” senior Michael Lee said. “It wasn’t necessarily about meeting different people;  it was more about having an instructor with industry experience who could give insight on real-world applications of the technology, and actually getting to 3D-print things instead of just sitting in a classroom all day..”

Enrollment across FUHSD is projected to continue declining over the next several years. The district is actively assessing potential approaches to manage declining enrollment, including analyzing student population trends, evaluating program offerings and considering how facilities and staffing might be adapted to changing needs. 

“We’ve been here before, we’ve been higher, we’ve been lower, and we have plenty of students to operate school for the foreseeable future,” Superintendent Graham Clark said.