The school board is switching to evening meetings on a trial basis, starting Wednesday. But this month's agenda contains little that is likely to draw a crowd -- day or night.
So if the meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the Francis Scott Key High School auditorium is well attended, it could be solely as a show of support for the new time.
Sex education often attracts parents to meetings. Even though the health curriculum is up for approval at the meeting, nothing in the proposed document has drawn any comments, said Gregory Eckles, director of curriculum.
One of the main reasons parents attend daytime school board meetings is to see their children get awards from the board, said Assistant Superintendent Gary Dunkleberger. But no such recognition is scheduled this month.
Still, he was optimistic. "I'm sure there will be a lot of people who will want to come out to this because it's the first evening meeting," he said.
But if no parents show up, board member Joseph D. Mish will not be discouraged.
"My reason for voting for night meetings is to make them accessible to the working public. Most people have day work," Mr. Mish said.
"I don't think a lack of coming out for one meeting demonstrates we ought to abandon night meetings," he said.
The board voted unanimously last month to try the new meeting time through May and then evaluate how it worked.
"Even if five people show up, we're set for four months," Mr. Mish said.
Members Ann M. Ballard and Carolyn Scott were skeptical. But Mr. Mish, Gary Bauer and C. Scott Stone, who worked hardest for the change, all supported a schedule in which the board sometimes would meet in the evenings.
Usually, the schedule will be to hold the business portion of the meeting -- bids, personnel and budget issues -- at 4 p.m., then break for dinner by about 5:30 p.m. and resume at 7:30 p.m. for curriculum issues, presentations and other reports that might be of more interest to parents.
This month only, the board will begin meeting at 3 p.m., with a budget workshop. Superintendent Brian Lockard will show the board his proposed 1995-1996 budget. Members will vote later this month, after two hearings at which the public may comment, on a final request to the Carroll County Commissioners.
By 4 p.m., the board will begin the business portion of its meeting, the way it would have done at 9 a.m. under the old schedule. Anyone from the public may comment at the beginning of the meeting.
The business agenda this month includes awarding the bid for Oklahoma Road Middle School, bids for purchases, budget transfers and other items.
The board probably will break by 5 p.m. for dinner, then resume at the auditorium by 7:30 for the evening portion of the meeting.
The first portion is a series of congratulations to staff who gave workshops or won awards, and proclamations declaring such things as African-American History Month.
Often, students are recognized during this portion, but none is scheduled this month.
Then comes the portion labeled "citizen participation," which in the past has taken anywhere from 30 seconds to two hours, depending on whether anyone from the public had something to say.
Dr. Dunkleberger said that the last time the board had a night meeting, last year, some parents complained that they couldn't attend to watch their child be recognized because the time conflicted with athletics or other events.
Mr. Stone said parents would have to set priorities. He said it was hypocritical for the school board to take students out of classes to recognize them for their achievement in those classes.
If the new schedule works, the board could continue the practice permanently.
"I don't have a preconceived notion of how many people will attend, but my feeling is it is an opportunity for people to attend," Mr. Stone said.
When he campaigned two years ago, Mr. Stone promised voters that he would advocate night meetings if elected. Mr. Mish was the only other member on the five-person panel who supported night meetings. They managed to get one night meeting approved last year.
With Mr. Bauer's election in November, Mr. Stone had a majority of night-meeting supporters, but said he talked to all the members before the vote.
Mrs. Ballard was the most skeptical, saying families have too much else to do at night.
"They just won't come," she said. "If you go to a PTA meeting [at night], they're lucky if they get 10 people out."
Mr. Stone had come armed with a page showing the meeting times of all 24 school boards in the state. Except for Carroll, Charles, St. Mary's and Worcester counties, the rest had meetings at least once a month that started in the early evening. Howard County begins its meetings at 4 p.m.
Several counties split the meetings, such as a portion in the afternoon and another portion in the evening, or one day meeting a month and one night meeting a month.