What Do Boards Do?

Before I started serving on the Board, I often wondered what exactly occurred in those meetings and what the Board actually did to run the school. Here's one view, from the Solomon Schechter Day School Association:

The board is the guardian of the school’s mission. It is the responsibility of the board to ensure that the mission is appropriate, relevant and vital to our school community. The board monitors the success of the school in fulfilling its mission and by establishing policies reflective of the mission. The following principles lay forth the responsibilities of the board. The board and the head work in partnership in fulfilling these principles.

1. Authority and fiduciary responsibility is vested in the board as a whole.
2. The board defines a clear statement of the school’s mission.
3. The board reviews the mission on a regular basis.
4. The Board relates to faculty, staff, students, parents, and the community according to the ethical standards of Judaism. It seeks out Jewish knowledge to inform its practice.
5. The Board is guided by the realization that it holds the school in trust for future generations of Jews and that a fundamental purpose of the school is the Jewish education of parents, children and staff.
6. The Board in its policy making and practices reflects the fact that the school operates within the parameters set forth by Jewish law (halakhah) as interpreted by the Conservative Movement, Conservative Jewish practice, and the Rabbi or Rabbis chosen by the school as its rabbinic advisor(s),i.e., mara(marei) d’atra.
7. The board reviews and maintains by-laws, and establishes policies and practices consistent with the mission on recommendation of the head and pertinent committees.
8. The board is accountable for the financial well-being of the school, including capital assets, operating budgets, fundraising and endowments.
9. The board provides and secures financial support necessary to ensure the continued strength and viability of the school.
10. The board and administration are partners in the well being of the school. While the focus of the board’s energy is on policy and the administration implements policy, in a healthy, creative partnership, the Board and administration share ideas in appropriate ways with each other and together deliberate about the future directions of the school.
11. The board selects, supports and nurtures the head.
12. A committee of the board conducts a written annual evaluation of the performance of the head and works with the head to establish goals for the following year.
13. The board evaluates itself annually and establishes goals for the following year.
14. The board establishes a strategic plan for the school.
15. The board works to ensure all its members are actively involved in the work of the board and its committees.
16. The composition of the board reflects a balance of expertise and perspectives needed to achieve the mission of the school.
17. The board is actively involved in its own education and in ongoing leadership development.
18. The board keeps full and accurate records of its meetings, committees and policies.
19. The board assures compliance with applicable laws and regulations and minimizes exposure to legal action.