Historically, evaluation of the Board of Trustees has been either (a) non-existent or (b) accomplished via a generic form designed for use by any nonprofit Board. If the results were used at all, they formed the basis for a discussion at an annual retreat session—an exercise best described as corporate self-analysis that seldom led to diagnosis and prescription for reconfiguring Board structure and function (i.e., for Board development) over time.

Everyone — especially those of us who have spent any time in New Orleans and the Gulf region — is distressed by the soul-wrenching pictures and almost surreal stories emanating from the region devastated by hurricane Katrina. Many issues are now being debated concerning how relief efforts could have been enhanced, what could have been done to prevent the massive losses, and how disaster policies and actions can be improved in the future. The key question is: What can we learn from Katrina?

The Head Support and Evaluation Committee (HSEC) links the school's planning document (and Board agenda) to the School Head's plan. Once it is clear what the Head is being asked to do for the coming year, the question the committee must ask is: How can we support the Head to ensure success and thus the continued strategic motion of the school?

One challenge of sound fiscal stewardship is the necessity of balancing the needs of today with those of tomorrow. Endowment, by its nature, should serve your institution in perpetuity. Yet, how can you successfully preserve the intentions of those individuals who donate to the endowment fund to sustain programs and services across future generations of students, and not necessarily for the school's current needs?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was designed primarily to enable employees who change or lose their jobs to move seamlessly from one employer health plan to another. HIPAA mandated that health care providers issue a "portability certificate" to an employee covered under a health plan." This rule ensures that the employee (and other insured dependents) are covered under the new employer's health plan without any pre-existing condition restrictions or other waiting periods.

Your school may have limited or no cash reserves. The Board, Head, and Management Team understand that your buildings are depreciating, and a depreciation line in your school’s budget reflects this. A 1997 report, “A Foundation to Uphold,” identified $26 billion of deferred maintenance for institutions of higher education nationally. (This included $6 billion of urgent needs.) While ISM knows of no similar study for private-independent schools, ISM Consultants have visited many schools where a deferred maintenance backlog exists.