DISCUSSIONS, RECORDS, MINUTES, AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Board members are entrusted with the strategic, fiduciary, and spiritual governance of the School as a ministry of Christ. While they may draw from their expertise and experience, they do not represent any constituency of the School, nor current students or alumni, nor current or past parents, nor administrators or teachers. Board members are held to a higher standard to support the School’s Christian mission: to serve Christ. Therefore, board members must consider how the School can best follow Christ as well as how it can protect and steward resources ranging from personnel and talent, to reputation and good will, from facilities to capital, to intellectual property.
BROAD DISCUSSIONS BUT ONE VOICE
The Board must govern the School with clarity and purpose, speaking with one voice to guide the ministry effectively through the challenges and opportunities it faces. That is not to say that trustees always agree with each other or with the decisions of the administration. However, those conflicts should be resolved within the appropriate confines of board and committee discussions before the Board acts as a whole. No single trustee holds any authority, but the Board, acting as a whole, establishes policy and manages the employment of its sole employee, the Head of School.
Since the School’s governance requires that the Board act as one, the minutes of its wide-ranging deliberations are not shared with other constituencies of the School. SCS is a private association; a ministry focused on educating children, not a public organization. Discussions may include some personal information or plans. Therefore, in several ways, its governing body differs from an elected school board at a public school. The Board does conduct regular training and self-evaluation, and its adherence to its bylaws and legal requirements, as well as its effective functioning, are periodically reviewed along with many other aspects of the School in accreditation and re-accreditation reviews.
CONTACTING THE BOARD
In most circumstances, the Head of School and administrators can answer specific questions regarding administrative practices, protocols, and procedures. However, from time to time individuals within the SCS community may want to communicate directly with the Board of Trustees on a matter of strategic importance or the behavior of the Head of School, issues that fall within the purview of the Board of Trustees. Recalling that the Board delegates to the Chair, the role of serving as its spokesperson, such queries or concerns should be directed to the Chair in writing.