Emotions ran high during Monday night's St. Joseph School Board meeting as educators, parents and school administrators heard stories of why some school boundaries shouldn't change.

Brian Shindorf of the St. Joseph School District told an overflow crowd, Monday night, that he and his staff had talked with parents on the phone and in person. He heard touching stories and valid reasons, but the hard decisions of where to finalize redistricting borders had to be made in the end.

It will mean that nearly 1,400 St. Joseph students will attend a different school next year. Monday night, the St. Joseph School Board approved the plan that will draw new lines for all St. Joseph elementary schools.

The new plan was re-drawn some 25 times this past week as groups of students in one neighborhood were switched to a new school with the click of a mouse. Shindorf says the task was agonizing and they tried to disrupt as few students and families as possible.

Dr. Melody Smith says it was important to make the needed boundary changes now because kids want to see their new schools and meet their new teachers. and the school year is running out.

The board also approved higher tuition for Hillyard Technical students and the agreement with the YMCA and Interserve to take over the before and after school programs that are conducted at the student's schools.