If this is your first year serving on a private-independent school Board of Trustees, familiarize yourself with the duties that you’ll be expected to handle during your tenure. To hit the ground running, make sure you do the following.
- Read the Board’s current planning and related documents (e.g., strategic plan, strategic financial plan, annual agenda) and understand your implicit role in helping the Board achieve the school’s stated goals.
- Examine the institution’s bylaws for their practical application to the life of the Board and the school.
- Study the Board’s policy manual.
- Review and understand the overall content of the administration’s policy manual so that its scope is apparent.
- Familiarize yourself with an overview of your school finances so that you become comfortable with your one-page (monthly or quarterly) operations budget summary, and with the annual budget-building and budget-approval process.
- Review a similar overview of the external affairs operation (development, marketing, parent/alumni/public relations, recruitment, enrollment management).
- Examine the Board committees and their charges and committee calendars (“due dates” for committee proposals to the full Board).
Having a strong comprehension of the school’s strategic plan/strategic financial plan is essential in your role as a Trustee. In these hard economic times, it may indeed prove critical! For a better understanding of ISM’s proven approach to strategic financial planning, you may want to attend our workshop, Strategic Financial Planning: Skills and Implementation, October 29-30.
Or you may be interested in The ISM Strategic Board Series, which includes The ISM Trustee Handbook, The Strategic Planning Book, and The Tuition Book. All will provide a solid foundation for your Board membership in the coming years.
