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GREENSBORO — When Elise Flakoll  attended her first Guilford County school board meeting this past week  she expected it to go a little late.

“I certainly thought I’d be out of there at 8:30 (p.m.) at the latest,” she said.

Flakoll left closer to midnight.  The school board didn’t hear an update on her issue, the investigation into illnesses reported at Oak Ridge Elementary School, until after 11 p.m. 

Flakoll got out earlier than some; the meeting itself didn’t end until after 2:30 a.m.

“I think it’s definitely a deterrent for people to show up and be involved more if they know a meeting is going to be that late and that long,” Flakoll said.

Five  of the last six  school board meetings have gone past midnight. 

Recent meetings’ agendas shed some light on why the meetings are running so long:

-- Updates on a regularly shifting budget crisis the likes of which hasn’t been seen in 30 years.

-- Mystery illnesses reported by students and staff at Oak Ridge.

-- A controversial proposal to donate, then sell a dilapidated former school.

-- An investigation into the athletics programs at Northern Guilford High School.

That said, some, including board members, question how effective the school board and  administrators can be when attempting to tackle complicated issues during marathon meetings.

As the board’s chairman, Alan Duncan  has the responsibility of directing meetings. Duncan said the recent run of late meetings is not ideal but necessary as the board works through complicated and time-sensitive issues.

For Duncan, that means allowing every board member to ask all the questions they have and express their thoughts.
“(Board members) are often trying to reflect publicly the thoughts that they have and care that they’re taking as we work through these issues,” Duncan said, adding he doesn’t want to cut that off.

Board member Darlene Garrett  said she is grateful Duncan isn’t heavier-handed when it comes to managing meetings. But the long meetings are a concern for her; she admits she doesn’t do her best thinking after midnight.

“The best thing that could happen is if we could police ourselves a little better and try to keep ourselves to a certain amount of time,” she said.

This current school board is by no means the first to burn the midnight oil. Anita Sharpe,  a board member for 14 years,  recalls — not so fondly — the long nights.

“That’s one of the reasons I decided not to run again,” she said. “I’ve gotten home at 3 a.m. before. I work.”

Sharpe decided to take a stand after several long meetings in early 2004 . She asked that the board not begin discussions of any topics after 10 p.m.  The motion was supported unanimously.

That decision, however, has never been followed, Sharpe noted. Board members have brought the rule up recently but it would require postponing issues, none of which recently have lent themselves to delay.

Duncan has made arrangements to accommodate the public and board members, moving issues with large public interest to earlier in the meeting and holding closed sessions at the end of meetings.

The arrangements are good in theory but Nancy Routh , a board member for more than six years  and a career educator in Guilford County before that, says what sounds good is often harder to accomplish in practice.

The board, Routh said, has a responsibility to keep the public informed. Sometimes that means adding discussions and reports to meetings that aren’t required. One such item is a report the board has been receiving each meeting since May  on an investigation into what might be making teachers and students ill at Oak Ridge Elementary.

The update, the one Flakoll was waiting to hear, took nearly 30 minutes  as the board heard from Dr. Ward Robinson,  the health department’s medical director and lead investigator on the issue, as well as the school system’s chief of operations, Leo Bobadilla.

“We do that type of thing so that we show people we’re not trying to bury stuff,” Routh said. “Does that mean meetings sometimes run long? Yes. Can we get a little cranky? Well, everybody turns into a pumpkin at some time.”

Those worn nerves have begun to show. Board member Jeff Belton  walked out abruptly during a closed session of the May 28  meeting taking place around 1 a.m. , saying he was frustrated with how late the meetings were going.

He apologized for his behavior during this week’s meeting.

The late nights are hard on school staff as well. Nora Carr,  Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green’s  chief of staff, said the long days can be hard on employees who already put in work weeks of 50 hours or more.

“Generally when meetings go very long, it’s challenging for staff, but at the same time I think everybody realizes that’s what it takes to get the job done,” she said.

Green  often tells staff to “sleep fast” after the meetings, Carr said.

One option the board could consider is having more meetings. The board meets regularly twice a month , not including specially called meetings, committee meetings and various community engagements. The board could opt to add another meeting but it’s an idea with little support from members.

“I would prefer to keep it to two meetings,” Garrett said.

Garrett and others said they would be willing to end a meeting before getting through an entire agenda if it were running late and meet again later. Others noted that there are seasons for late meetings — typically this time of year when budget discussions and planning for the next school year are taking place — and that it will pass.

Another option is to meet earlier in the day. But most board members have full-time jobs and already adjust their work schedules to meet board responsibilities.

As for Flakoll, the parent who attended her first meeting this week, she knows she’ll attend another meeting. She’ll just be better prepared.

“I think next time I’ll pack my dinner.”

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com