Personally, I find it's position quite useful, and would hate to see it changed.

When I check in to the forums, I hit the "New Posts" button, to read recent posts, and then I hit the "Mark Forums Read", when I leave.

I don't think I'm alone in doing this, and it's probably why it's included in the template your using, in that format.

The alternative to marking forums read, is to scroll to the bottom of the home page. Rather inconvenient in my view, compared to the way it's set up now.