The forum's main purpose was to let parents and students give Balboni advice on how to better schedule the school day. Balboni has to make a recommendation to the St. Johns County School Board at its meeting Tuesday in order for the changes to be made for the 1997-98 school year. He invited parents to attend the meeting and tell the board their concerns before the vote. The reason is we need that extra hour between the schedule for elementary schools and secondary schools. The issue at the high school level is more of a time schedule than a bus schedule issue.
Students miss afternoon classes when they participate in outside activities.
The issue at the elementary school level is, in some areas, students arriving late for classes in the morning, or having to leave early so the buses can make the second run for the secondary schools. Whether the elementary or the secondary schools start first, there will be some problems, Balboni said. But that didn't seem to bother Sheckels, a junior at St. Augustine High School, who plays baseball and football and also works a part-time job. An example he gave was the St. Augustine High School baseball team, which has missed 34 classes this semester to make its games. The reason given by Moranda was that St. Augustine's later schedule is in conflict with other high schools around the state.