After the roof collapse of the Blacksburg High School gym, clearly there would be need for some re-shuffling.  The high school was declared unsafe, so it was definite that another location would have to be found for the high schoolers.

The recent decision to put the students in the Blacksburg Middle School has caused some obvious adjustments.  Many at a cost.

The high school students are going to class in a shift after the middle school ends.  That means from 2:00 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.  For one thing, the students’ entire schedules are turned upside-down.  What about after school jobs?  Sorry.  What about extra-curriculars?  If I were a senior trying to get recruited for a sport…I would be panicking.  Let alone the fact that my senior year is no longer about high school domination, I don’t have a high school to dominate.

Other serious issues have been the fact that the middle school is not equipped for many extra-curricular classes.  Like photography and auto shop for instance.  I guess that’s just a sacrifice of the situation. 

Scott, one of our reporters, did a story on the bus drivers today.  They not only have to do the regular shifts of taking the middle schoolers to school and back, they now have to take the high schoolers to school and back.  And that’s not including the elementary school.  The bus drivers are being payed by the hour for an eight-hour shift.  There was no indication of overtime pay.  Another reporter was trying to find out what is happening to the cafeteria employees, clearly they must be out of a job.  These are all issues that stem from one roof collapse.  Amazing.

But I guess as hard as this situation is for the students to adapt to…at least they get to sleep in.