The chairwoman of the Wake County school board and the chairman of the county commissioners have exchanged tense words over the last few months.

It started, publicly, with Gurley's comment when it became clear that Gill would become the new school board chairwoman: "You think communications between the board of commissioners and the school board have been bad, you just wait."

Gill snapped back, through a reporter, that she wasn't backing down from Tony Gurley.

So I thought a therapeutic intervention aimed at these top leaders might be in order.

In case you haven't seen the TV show, an intervention involves an outsider confronting people in crisis, forcing them to face up to their problems.

The screaming and sobbing that ensues makes for great TV.

But of course, I'm not on TV. And when I met with Gill and Gurley, they informed me that they are not in crisis.

In fact, they said, they are not really fighting at all.

We sat down, the three of us, last Monday afternoon before the commissioners' regular meeting in Gurley's office.

The meeting itself was something of a watershed. Although the two have faced off, er, met with one another numerous times over the last several years, it has always been in an official setting -- joint meetings of their boards, for example.

As Gill told me before the meeting, "We do not run in the same circles."

They also come from different perspectives. While Gurley has moderated some as chairman of the commissioners, he is a conservative at heart. Gill is ... not.

One of the ads in Gurley's last campaign focused on his role of reining in school spending.

Gill said her job is funding the educational needs of the kids and the facilities. "If I think they've got the money, and I do, then I'm going to ask for it," she said.

Another example: Their interpretation of the school bond issue approved by voters earlier this year.

Gill saw it as an affirmation of the system's move to year-round schools. Gurley believes voters would have balked had they known year-round conversion would be mandatory.

But the real difference between these two is in the very jobs they hold. In his office, on a polished, clutterless desk, Gurley tapped a manual that sets out the duties of commissioners vs. school board members.

"Versus" seems to be implicit in the very structure of the relationship. One controls the schools but not the money. The other controls the money but not the schools.

Gill noted: "When there's a shortage of money ..."

Gurley: "Or an excess of students ..."

Gill: "... there's always going to be friction."

Oh, Lord, I thought, now they're finishing each other's sentences.

What I found in Gurley's office were two principled politicians trying to do their best in two of the most thankless jobs in county government. In retrospect, Gill said, she wishes she had responded more diplomatically to Gurley's original comment.

Gurley stressed their common goal. "It's the right of each individual to get a quality education," he said.

Gill nodded emphatically.

So much for the intervention. Kum ba yah, anyone?

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