Parents, students urge Duval board to keep magnet bus service and 8-period schedule

Hundreds of students, parents and teachers pressed the Duval County School Board on Feb. 4 to preserve magnet transportation and the district’s eight-period block schedule, saying proposed cuts would curtail access to magnet programs, extracurriculars and elective classes that many said are crucial for college admissions and student well‑being.

During the meeting’s public-comment period, more than 40 speakers were allotted one minute each; dozens used that time to describe how changes to bus service and a move to seven periods would affect their families and students at magnet schools such as Stanton, Paxton, Wolfson, Douglas Anderson and Wilson. "This change would strip every single IB student of their only chosen elective," said Cody Begay, a Wolfson freshman. "It would be completely naive to think about a change as it eliminates any…