*Room Temperature and Enclosure Temperature (What are the Limits for the Room?)

[Coluber42]

FWIW, long detailed posts are *way* better at getting useful answers to your questions than short, uninformative ones.
I'm sure others will weigh in, but here are my two cents:

1) Any thoughts on sliding vs. hinged doors? I've heard/read people both.

In a classroom setting, I would think the most important concern is getting whichever will be least likely to be left open. Same goes for whatever locks or latches are required to keep the snake from pushing it open, that could get forgotten. Get whatever you think looks foolproof and forget-proof for your kids.

2) Any thoughts on florescent vs. LED lighting? I've heard/read people both.

The snake doesn't actually need the lights - they'd just be for you to see better. LED's are more efficient, smaller, can't really break, etc. They're not really a necessity anyway though.

Temperature and Humidity-
For the t-Stat I will invest in a Herpstat that can manage at least 2 devices. I'll pick up an 80 watt RBI RHP and heat tape (just to be safe). I'll also pick up a hygrometer, and two digital thermometers.
Questions-
1) The equipment listed above will indeed address the issue the woman spoke of and the initial experience that Coluber42 had correct? I just want to be as certain as possible before taking on this responsibility.*Quotes of each at the bottom of this post.

You can use a cheap digital thermometer of the type that shows the temperature inside and outside your house, either with a wired probe or with a separate piece that transmits to the main unit. They cost under $20 and have hygrometers too.

2) Once all of this equipment is dialed in to produce the right conditions, what is a safe amount of time to leave the snake alone? (I suppose answers may be contingent on what I continue to learn about the ambient temperatures of my room though.)

It's hard to imagine that your room will get too cold for the above listed equipment to maintain the temperature, unless they drain the plumbing and turn the heat off completely over spring break or something... are freezing pipes even an issue in SF? Humidity might be harder to maintain if you're gone for a week, but that would depend on your external humidity.

3) How difficult is it dial the equipment (particularly the Herpstat), and once I do is it more or less set forever if I use the pulse and not the dimming mode, or will it need regular adjustments as the seasons change? (Students and I will however keep a detailed temperature and humidity log of the snakes enclosure-all part of the great experience this snake will make to my classroom).

Most likely, once it's set up, the thermostat will take care of it. That's what it's for. Keep an eye on it just to make sure nothing funny is going on, but you shouldn't need to adjust anything once it's set up.

4) If I do end up with a AP T8, what should I expect to do to maintain humidity levels? At the Vivarium I went to they spray twice a day but they are in wooden enclosures.
5) Is providing a humid hide with moist sphagnum moss sufficient for a ball python over weekends? In general?

That will depend on the ambient humidity in your classroom, and on the temperature differential between the cage and the room (since cooler air doesn't hold as much moisture). You might not have to do much at all, or you might have to put some moist moss in there, or mist periodically. The humidity will be more stable when the doors stay closed (duhh), so putting in some sphagnum moss will probably be totally fine over the weekends, even long ones.

Snake-
I am still leaning heavily towards a normal (or inexpensive morph) of a ball python based on my limited experience handling them and corn snakes. I also prefer their appearance. However, I do appreciate that corn snakes are more easier feeders, more active during the day (which could be nice for students when simply watching it) and generally hardier. As such I am still open to a corn snake but would really want to find an extremely chill one when it comes to handling like the snake that SamSimon described.

One reason to go with a ball python over a corn snake is that a corn that freaks out and decides to run for the hills is very fast and fairly skinny (even a larger adult), and could disappear into tiny dark holes before you know it. An adult ball python that freaks out and tries to run isn't as fast and can't fit into as many small spaces. Anyone handling the snake needs to be calm and gentle obviously, but it does seem to me that an adult ball python may be less likely to get irretrievably lost if things go haywire (and even a chill one could panic given enough commotion).

Question-
1) I would just like to hear your thoughts on this matter though I appreciate you may be just a little biased

Corns are wonderful, too. I miss mine every day.