No matter how conscientious and well-intentioned they are, Trustees (and the Board as a whole) must continually guard against involvement in day-to-day school management.
When the Board allows its responsibilities to cross over into the school’s operating plane, it creates a major obstacle to building and upholding a healthy, harmonious Board-Head relationship.
Regardless of how well a school defines the Board’s various roles, members must understand to whom and to what the Board is truly responsible. The Board’s constituency is not comprised of the current students, parents, faculty, or administrators. Trustees must keep in mind that their charge is to maintain the institution’s essential character and integrity and ensure that it remains viable to serve the children of today’s students.
Within this clear mind-set, what then are the Board’s primary duties?
Let’s start with the top two.
The Board is responsible for preserving the trust.
As delineated in the school's original charter, the Board's duty to preserve the trust is both private and public. It is private when the Board’s obligations are to those who take part in the school’s program. However, it is also public in that the state has licensed the school to provide services under the charter’s stipulated conditions. In preserving the trust, the Board must always operate within the defined parameters of what fulfills “prudent man” guidelines. Fiscal integrity—present and future—is integral to this responsibility.
The Board’s second responsibility is to itself.
While operational authority is properly delegated to the school’s administration under the School Head’s direction, Trustees are legally responsible for the school, and all legal liabilities rest with the Board. As a result, to protect the school, the Board must protect itself collectively and its members individually.
Above and beyond the protections granted by federal and state government, the Board must obtain sufficient Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance coverage and include appropriate indemnification language in the Board bylaws. Some states have passed laws limiting the liability of volunteers, including Trustees, as has the federal government in the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997. Talk with your insurance broker about what risks your Board may be subject to in your particular state.
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The Board’s Other Major Responsibilities
Depending on the terms of the school’s charter, other responsibilities accrue to the Board—charges that are generally more moral than legal.
- A Board is responsible for supporting the headship as a position and for supporting the individual who holds that position during his or her tenure with the school.
- Although it does not serve students daily, a Board is, in a philosophical sense, responsible to them. The Board must also assure, as part of its trust, that the character and quality of the program and instruction remain consistent with the overall long-term commitment and mission of the school.
- A Board is responsible to the educational community in general, and to the private school community. Trustees should support collective efforts to preserve and promote private education and to provide financial support to the appropriate associations dedicated to that purpose.
- A religiously affiliated school may be responsible to its religious denomination.
Although the Board functions as an entity, Board members also have individual responsibilities.
- A Trustee is responsible to the Board itself. The obligations are (a) to support decisions made collectively, presenting a united front to the school community and setting aside any personal reservations; and (b) to help fulfill Board commitments (e.g., fundraising, committee participation).
- Individual Trustees are also responsible to the Board President. They must fulfill the assignments delegated to them and be willingly responsive to the President’s leadership and direction.
- Regardless of how a Trustee is selected, no Board member has a constituency outside the school itself. The Board serves the school. The special interests of any group cannot influence individual Trustees.
When Trustees understand, accept, and fulfill these responsibilities, many of the difficulties that might arise in performance of the Board’s role can be eliminated.
