"A no contest plea is essentially a guilty plea," said case prosecutor Deputy District Attorney Steve Fein. "He is essentially throwing himself at the mercy of the court."

Fein cites possible motivation to change the plea as either "a way to feel better about the charge because you are not admitting to it outright" or as a way of avoiding the charges being used as admission for a civil case, which could happen with a not guilty plea.

Marshall Schulman, Nichols' attorney, was unable to be reached for comment.

Saratoga High School Principal Kevin Skelly said he felt "very bad" after learning of the charge and change in plea. "He has betrayed a lot of people's trust. Obviously we made an error in hiring him."

Skelly said the district did a full background check before hiring Nichols, visiting the schools where he previously taught and talking with co-workers. "There was nothing faulty in his background check. I don't know anything that we could have done to prevent this. But we blew it. I feel bad that he was hired—we chose the wrong person."

Nichols was arrested on July 27 for allegedly making sexual advances toward a male student during two off-campus outings. Nichols had resigned from the school in March of 2002—giving as his reason the high cost of living in the area—and carried out his last day of school on June 30.

Nichols, now residing in his native Florida, has petitioned the court for a motion to not file as a sex offender, which would be mandated by the nature of the charge. Fein said the motion stipulates that it would be cruel and unusual punishment for Nichols to register as a sex offender.

As a listed sex offender, Nichols would be required to publicly register himself every year and every time he moves to a new state.

The sentencing and motion decision will be heard on March 14, 2003, at the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice. Sentencing for this type of case varies depending on the position of the accused, the action and the age of the minor. However, the presiding judge has indicated a sentence for Nichols that would include 150 hours of community service, three years of probation, psychological counseling and various fines and fees.