Board of Trustees -- Price of Admission

[Anonymous]

I thought it was Lowell.

[Anonymous]

I was thinking GDS because OP said

prides itself on being multicultural and diverse, including socioeconomically diverse. You will often hear people describe the school as down-to-earth and not at all snobby

and that screams GDS to me! It would certainly be the most interesting choice...

[Anonymous]

It's not Beauvoir - one of the posts referenced a male head of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was thinking GDS because OP said

prides itself on being multicultural and diverse, including socioeconomically diverse. You will often hear people describe the school as down-to-earth and not at all snobby

and that screams GDS to me! It would certainly be the most interesting choice...

It's not GDS. I would guess St. Patrick's, as it has a male head of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was thinking GDS because OP said

prides itself on being multicultural and diverse, including socioeconomically diverse. You will often hear people describe the school as down-to-earth and not at all snobby

and that screams GDS to me! It would certainly be the most interesting choice...

It's not GDS. I would guess St. Patrick's, as it has a male head of school.

St. Pats is many things, good and bad. But multicultural and diverse and down-to-earth do not immediately spring to mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not Beauvoir - one of the posts referenced a male head of school.

It's also not down-to-earth.

[Anonymous]

male head of school.....aha! SHERIDAN.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC's school prides itself on being multicultural and diverse, including socioeconomically diverse. You will often hear people describe the school as down-to-earth and not at all snobby. HOWEVER, the school's board just sent out its annual letter soliciting nominations of people to serve as trustee, and in addition to seeking certain skill sets, the letter makes it very clear that only those with the ability and willingness to donate large sums to all fundraising efforts are wanted. So those of us at the school who are "socioeconomically" diverse are not welcomed in this capacity. On the one hand, I can hardly imagine why people would seek a position that requires such a great amount of time and responsibility ... but quite frankly, the notion that one must basically pay for the "privilege" rather disgusts me and negates the atmosphere of egalitarianism supposedly in existence.

Do these solicitations really accomplish anything?

They do the same thing at Beauvoir, though year in and year out, it seems the fix is in for the Stepford of the Year or the ones who have sucked up most successfully over the course of the year . . .

[Anonymous]

The boards of private schools operate like those at your church, or your historic district group- they need interested people who want to see the entity succeed. All of these schools need people on the board who can raise money - they may be good fundraisers who are able to raise money that way. Or they may be wealthy individuals with will donate their own money instead of having to beg others for it.

Either way, I don't see how this is such a shock or a big deal. I get these letters from all types of organizations - not just my child's school. It's easy to point fingers at those who are on the board but, until you've done it, don't criticize. I do not want to call my child's classmates or my neighbors or complete strangers to ask for money. Raising money is no fun - particularly in this economy. It's probably in the best interest of the school to get board members who can donate a lot of their own money now, because they may find it hard to get it from other sources this year.

If the school were to ignore the fact that they need trustees who can either raise or donate money, you'd likely see your tuition increase even more than it does each year.

[Anonymous]

I agree w/ the poster who said it is more like "put your money where your mouth is." There are plenty of other ways to get your message heard in terms of what the school is doing or its direction for the future if you do not want/can't meet the criteria the school has set for being a board member. I've worked for non-profits, too, and what PPs have said about this being the norm for boards is pretty true. THe are two reasons people get invited to be on boards: pull in terms of $$$ and/or pull in terms of who they know who will be able to give $$$.

By being a vocal parent about your concerns (whether it is this or something else) you have a LOT of power, regardless of which private school you are at. THe schools know it is their job not only to make the kids happy, but to make parents happy, too. Perhaps you could suggest that the board include a new type of member...call them "Parent Rep" or whatever... but have a different set of criteria for them to meet.

The board has to essentially write out a 'job description' for potential board members and if others at your school are upset about the board makeup or recruitment process there is something you can do about it.

Talk to other parents about it in private, get a sense for what others are feeling, then if it seems you have others who feel the same way, bring it up at a parent meeting so it's on the record. Find out what has to happen next -- getting signatures or whatever your school's usual procedure is.

I can pretty much guarantee that if you can show strong parent support for something like that, the school will try to do something about it.

And again, this is regardless of the school -- from the "big 3" to smaller or lesser-known schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:8:49 here. PP, you are right that I should not have used the word "hateful" to describe the OP's words. It was an unconsidered word used at the last minute after I became a bit too upset about having to defend my DC's school against what I firmly believe is a misperception by the OP. I apologize to the OP for using the word "hateful" to describe his/her words..I can tell that OP is truly feeling hurt by his/her belief about what the letter implied, and that is really a shame.

However, I reiterate that the OP is wrong about those who are "socioeconomically diverse" not being welcomed as Trustees.

Having apologized, I again urge the OP to express their views to other parents at the school or the Head of the School in hopes of resolving the conflict. If no one at the school knows how you perceived that letter and how you feel about it, then no resolution is possible.

At least one school has trustees or governing board that might be socioeconomically diverse only in level of high income - maybe 600,000 being a floor - so they are the low. Read the bios. No teachers without wealthy spouses.

[Anonymous]

Private school trustees' duties include not only fundraising but also overseeing the financial viability of the school, the selection of the head of school, setting tuition rates, deciding on new capital building campaigns, and approving broad curriculum initiatives. One would expect trustees of the private schools in this area to largely be from wealthy households because that is the largest subgroup of parents at Washington region schools. Having a proven fundraising record at the school as a trustee selection criterian, even if only one of many, seems redundant.

[Anonymous]

Schools need wealthy and powerful board members. They don't need volunteer leaders on the board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Schools need wealthy and powerful board members. They don't need volunteer leaders on the board.

Yes, but must they also be such Stepfords or if male, feckless?