Brenda Goff, specialist for student services for Bedford schools, expected several county principals to attend Thursday's school board meeting.

Maybe they had summer-break fever. Or maybe they didn't want to get involved with the touchy subject of student dress codes.

Jefferson Forest High School Principal Tony Francis was the token principal at the meeting to answer questions from the board.

"Nothing I like better than dress codes," he said, seemingly sardonically.

Goff presented to the board changes to the code of student conduct that a committee of principals had composed after discussions with their staffs.

The suggested change that raised the most discussion at the school board meeting was the one for the code to be changed so that "body piercing other than ears" will no longer be banned in schools.

The problem with the current rule against piercings, Francis said, is that some students, particularly females, pierce their noses and wear small studs.

"You miss half of them unless you're sitting there staring at the girls," he said.

"Some of them look like acne," agreed board member Bill Wiese.

That leaves principals having to deal with parents who complain about children being disciplined over piercings while other pierced students aren't even noticed.

Francis felt a principal's energy was better spent monitoring students wearing hats inside or shirts labeled with alcohol or tobacco slogans.

Board vice chairman David Black said he'd find it easier to lift the piercing prohibition if the board could come up with a way to require students to dress more modestly.

Francis told the board about the 3-by-5 rule, under which school officials use an index card to measure students' clothing. A tank top with a strap narrower than the two shorter sides of the card would be prohibited, as would shorts that didn't have at least a 5-inch inseam.

Black asked the student conduct committee to meet again and approve the 3-by-5 rule or a similar rule for all schools.

Board member Shirley McCabe asked that parents be included on the committee.

In other matters, Wiese asked that the board discuss steps toward building a new gym at Staunton River High School at a future meeting.