News from the Board

February 25, 2008

What Makes a Good Board of Trustees?

The members of the Board of Trustees of an independent school are entrusted with planning for the school’s future and securing the school’s long-term health. They employ a Head of School to execute the school’s mission, vision, and goals; so hiring, supporting, and evaluating the Head of School is arguably the Board’s most important job. What qualifications are important for members of such a Board?

Individual trustees must be capable of disciplined thought, and willing and able to plan creatively for the future, problem-solve, participate in teamwork, and keep the mission of the school at the forefront at all times. At times, Boards deal with difficult or confidential information. Trustees must be trusting and trustworthy, good communicators, and must be able to manage their emotions and reactions, keeping the school’s best interests at heart. But trustees must also be able to challenge other trustees’ perceptions or conclusions respectfully. Trustees must have the strength to weather the inevitable disagreements that arise among thoughtful people dealing with complex challenges. There are times when trustees must state their convictions, and times when they must gracefully accept the will of the majority.

Ideal Boards will boast trustees with “time, talent, and treasure” to give. Sought-after skills and experience include finance, strategic planning, communication, fundraising, ethics, and an understanding of organizational dynamics. Professionals from many fields can bring a wide variety of skills and knowledge to the Board; some trustees, however, have acquired essential skills without such formal professional education. The best Boards provide continuing education and development for their trustees through readings, conferences, and retreats, thus modeling life-long learning while increasing knowledge and effectiveness. Effective Boards also conduct an annual self-evaluation with an eye toward accountability and continual improvement.

There are some characteristics, however, that can threaten a Board’s teamwork. Big egos and personal agendas can result in a person being generally unable to put the needs of the school and its mission first. Trustees must not get involved in the day-to-day operations of the school, but rather focus on the school’s overall health and future. The Board of an independent school strives to ensure that the realization of their accomplishments will be enjoyed by generations of students to come.

Betsy Bigelow-Teller

December 17, 2007

Inside the Finance Committee: Finding The Balance

The official mission of the Prospect Sierra Finance Committee encompasses many tasks:

• To review the financial activity of the school;
• Manage and preserve the school’s resources;
• Monitor the financial health of the school in all dimensions;
• Interpret financial matters for the Board of Trustees;
• Present financial matters such as the budget and tuition levels for Board approval;
• Assess the investment portfolio and practices; and
• Study and approve audit procedures and independent auditor reports.

All of these tasks are carried out in a close working relationship with the Head of School and the business office. The Finance Committee also regularly works together with the Building and Grounds Committee.
Despite the importance of all of these official functions, the Finance Committee has evolved into a role that is perhaps even more crucial. Committee meetings are a forum for discussing, analyzing, and making recommendations about many of the most important aspects of the school’s mission and direction. How much should we pay our teachers and staff, and what benefits should we offer them? How do we compare to other schools, not only on tuition levels but salaries, program offerings, and overall efficiency? How much debt financing can we afford? Given the actions we take now, how will they play out over the next five or even ten years? How can we stay competitive, as affordable as possible, and still carry out our quality-driven mission? None of these are easy questions, but they all have very specific financial consequences, and the Finance Committee is one of the key places where these issues are explored.

The committee typically meets six to eight times a year, with much of the activity focused in the fall leading up to the budget and tuition-setting for the following school year, which must occur by late January. Committee members are drawn from the Board itself as well as the wider parent body, parents of alumni, and interested community members. The Prospect Sierra community is incredibly rich with talent and experience, and the Committee has benefited greatly from this. Current and past Committee members have included several corporate CFOs, health care industry professionals, corporate strategy consultants, leading practitioners in personal financial planning, Wall Street bankers and analysts, university professors, Silicon Valley executives, and experienced independent school administrators.

One of the many skills we have developed carefully over the years is benchmarking — gathering data from a wide range of resources to measure carefully where we stand against comparable schools in our region — and we seek diligently for areas of improvement. A major initiative for the school as a whole is the concept of financial sustainability; in an era of skyrocketing costs, the school must continue to be innovative in balancing its efforts to be affordable, viable over the long term, and faithful to our mission of quality education, community service, and nurturing the development of the whole child.

The Committee has also actively sought ways to communicate effectively with the broad school community. Committee members have been involved in such school-wide functions as the development of the school’s strategic plan and the facilities master plan. We issue an annual financial report letter in the fall Taking Flight publication. A special letter to the community concerning the tuition-setting process is sent out shortly before annual contracts are mailed. The committee has given a series of “Finance 101” talks, often in conjunction with the Parent Association, to provide detail about the budget process. We have also worked closely with the development and admissions offices to provide material for handouts and events that clearly spells out expectations about the costs and methods of financing a child’s education at our school.

Finding the right balance in school finances is never and easy task, but it is an engaging and challenging one, and the Finance Committee has worked hard to come up with the best set of tradeoffs. The healthy state of the school and high satisfaction level of school families is probably the best leading indicator that we are headed in the right direction. As always, we welcome your comments and feedback as we continue to try to build a better school and stronger institution.

Jim Pickrel
Chair, Finance Committee

November 26, 2007

Buildings and Grounds

Question: What do these campus improvements share? A remodeled storage room into a much needed Tapscott conference room; the installation of 196 solar panels on the Tapscott roof, a newly renovated staff kitchen at Avis funded by the Parent Association, and voluntary seismic upgrades to Tapscott classrooms and multipurpose room.

Answer: These are examples of recent projects prioritized, recommended, and managed by the Buildings and Grounds Committee.

Created in 2003, the Buildings and Grounds Committee is the newest of the Board of Trustees’ four standing committees. Our charge is to provide oversight and expertise to ensure the continued wellbeing of our school’s largest financial assets — our buildings and land. We reference the Facilities Master Plan and Strategic Plan as the guiding documents of our work. As an advisory committee, we report our findings and recommendations to the Business Office, Finance Committee, and the Board, but we do not make final decisions on any construction projects or their finances.

We are fortunate to have serving on the committee parents Diarro Foster, Ann Skartvedt, Chris Tong, Donna Moriguchi Schneider, Eben Twombly, and myself. The administrators and staff include Katherine Dinh, Sheila Puckett, Nina Cohen/Gwen Rino, Steve Harrington, Suzan Kaufmann, Peggy Snyder, and Wendy Horng Brawer. Together the Buildings and Grounds Committee works diligently to maintain and enhance the physical spaces in which our children learn and grow every day at Prospect Sierra School.

Joanie Kibbey
Chair, Buildings and Grounds Committee

September 17, 2007

From the Board Chair

I am delighted to welcome you all to another year at Prospect Sierra. In the first three weeks of school, we’ve enjoyed lovely celebrations starting with the ribbon cutting of the new Founders Center for the Arts at Avis, and the heart-warming all-school Convocation ceremony at Tapscott. As we enter this new era with Katherine Dinh at the helm, the Board of Trustees assures you that our position as a preeminent K–8 independent school continues to shine brightly.

The main responsibility of the Board is to uphold the mission of the school, which we do primarily through setting policy to ensure the long-term health of Prospect Sierra. We are hard at work with several specific goals for this year: our priority is to support and facilitate the transition of Katherine as our new Head of School; focus on and address issues around sustainability; complete our first Capital Campaign; and continue to develop and oversee the implementation of our 2004–2009 Strategic Plan. We evaluate our progress annually.

Trustees are selected for their commitment to the vision of the school; their philanthropic gifts of time, talent, and treasure; and as representatives of our diverse Prospect Sierra community. The Board of Trustees enthusiastically welcomes three new members to the Board: Susan Berger (Josh, 3BT), Richard Garcia (Alejandro, 1JK; Joaquin, 2B), and Bob Fricker (grandparent of Sonya, 2A). These new members bring their multitude of talents and wisdom to our Board. This year, our Board consists of 16 members; 11 of whom are current Prospect Sierra parents, three alumni parents, and two who are grandparents of elementary students and who also happen to be former heads of schools. As Head of School, Katherine serves as an ex-officio member. In addition, we have two regular guests attending our monthly meetings: Suzan Kaufmann, our Business Manager, and Wendy Horng Brawer, our Director of Development. Judy Ortman has diligently supported the Board through recording the minutes of the meetings and all other Board-related administrative tasks.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we thank you for your support with our school’s successes and eagerly look forward to continuing our partnership with you, especially in this important year of transitions. I am heartened by the adoption of the Mosaic curriculum (ask your child!), which underscores the emphasis Prospect Sierra places on the importance of personal ethics in conjunction with academic excellence. By working together; relying on each other; being respectful, honest, and fair; and by creating a place where every personal connection is meaningful, we can make a difference. As always, we welcome all conversations with you.

Donna Moriguchi Schneider
Chair of the Board of Trustees