The lengthy meetings of the school board of Pittsburgh Public Schools brought one of its grades down, but the board still managed to hold on to a B- overall from an education advocacy group.

The group, A+ Schools, Tuesday announced its second report card for the school year, giving the board the same overall grade as last time. The grades are based on six meetings monitored by 31 volunteers in the A+ Schools Board Watch program.

The "excessively long" meetings -- some lasting more than four hours -- gave the board a low score for time management, bringing its grade for focus and mission from a B- to a C, said Carey Harris, executive director of A+ Schools.

The board also lost ground in conduct, which went from a B down to a B-.

The board's grades did not improve in any area. The grades were steady in role clarity at C+, competency at B- and transparency at B+.

Since beginning Board Watch about a year ago, A+ Schools has made a variety of recommendations. Some, such as assigning a staff member to greet visitors, have been followed. Others, such as holding public hearings after the agenda review meeting, have not.

This time, A+ Schools again recommended the school board find a way to clarify and resolve recurring issues at its meetings.

"Right now, the school board spends too much time rehashing many of the same issues. Not only does this waste time, it also creates a negative and counterproductive atmosphere," Ms. Harris said.

On the first report card given in March last year, the board earned a C+ overall. The three following report cards have all had an overall grade of B-.

More information is available at www.aplusschools.org.

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