After four days and about 40 hours of testimony, a grievance hearing for William Fleming High School Principal Susan Willis still has not ended.

Roanoke Schools Superintendent Rita Bishop on Saturday evening said the hearing will resume Thursday and Friday. What was supposed to be a two-day, closed-door hearing is now expected to take at least six days.

"It's difficult," Bishop said. "It's arduous. I am just looking forward to moving the district on."

According to a state department of education investigation, Willis was the ringleader in a schedule-manipulating scandal that kept dozens of students from taking state-mandated Standards of Learning tests, a plot that may have been initiated to help the high school meet federal and state benchmarks.

Willis last week said she planned to refute the state's report. A source close to Willis said she will pay the costs of holding the hearing at Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center. Bishop said she is unsure if the hearing will continue at Hotel Roanoke next week or at another location.

The three-member panel, which listened to testimony and asked questions during the hearing, will be tasked with preparing a recommendation for the Roanoke School Board within 30 days of the hearing's conclusion. Ultimately, the board will determine whether Willis has a future as a city schools employee.

Four other Fleming administrators involved in the scandal are no longer employed at the school. Assistant Principal William Downie and special education department Chairwoman Brenda Hairston retired; guidance coordinator Keith Smith was demoted to a position teaching gym at James Madison Middle School; and Michael Hill, a second assistant principal, left the division to take another job. Hill announced his plans to leave prior to the state probe.

The school year starts Sept. 8 for Roanoke students. Classes at Fleming will be held in a new, $57 million facility with retired administrator Doris Ennis at the helm on an interim basis.