Tuition deliberations have been known to drag on for hours for the UNC Board of Governors.
Today, though, the tuition discussion at the board's budget and finance committee was relatively brief -- a little over an hour.
So it came as a bit of a surprise when one member, Peaches Blank, in talking about her opposition to the second year of a two-year increase, mentioned that she had recently "participated in the three-hour conference call, so what I am about to say won't be news to everyone, and certainly not to the president."
It was news to Dome, because the board's conference call was not noticed to the news media, as the state's open meetings law requires of public bodies.
So naturally, we inquired about the conference call. UNC spokeswoman Joni Worthington said it wasn't a board meeting, but instead a three-hour block of availability with the UNC system's finance staff. Board members were given an opportunity to call in with their questions, Worthington said.
"Most people indicated they had the information they needed and would not be calling in," Worthington said. "I'm quite confident there was never anything close to a quorum of the board."
She said fewer than five people called. David Young, chairman of the board's budget and finance committee, said he was not on the call but three, maybe four members of the board, were. The board has 32 voting members.
Last year, the board held a retreat and did not give notice to the media. UNC's attorney said the event was an informal gathering and no business or deliberations were conducted.
