Policymaking.

I haven't been writing of late, primarily because I've been spending an inordinate amount of time working on a variety of Kadima policy issues. This is nitty gritty stuff; the kinds of thing that the folks at ISM and PEJE get worked up about. And while these matters don't directly involve what happens in the classroom, they do concern the efficient and professional running of the school. These kinds of things differentiate a school from being a Mom and Pop place, and being a professional organization.

I've been focused on two major documents. The first is a revision of the school's bylaws, which are somewhat out of date. They work, but they need revision. Pam Teitelbaum, our VP of Governance, has been leading a committee to revise these documents, and while we are close, we are simply not there, yet. Unfortunately, the whole process has revealed some disturbing fault lines between aspects of our leadership, but we're overcoming them. It just takes some time. Everyone realizes that our bylaws serve as our constitution, so we can't ram through changes. But coming to consensus is not always possible, and that's difficult.

I've also been working with our Finance Committee, under the able leadership of our VP of Finance, Brett Grauman, to develop policies and procedures regarding school contracting, conflicts of interests and similar issues. Again, this stuff is legalistic (and while I am a lawyer, I am an employment lawyer for management, not a corporate lawyer), and it takes time to develop. But we've got a great team working on it, and it is something that's necessary as we move forward in the school's development.

I am also in the process of assembling two critically important Committees for the school: the Nominating Committee, which finds and vets people to serve on our Board, and the Tuition Assistance Committee, which does the critical work of trying to make our school available to everyone.

At the same time as all of this is going on, our ACOM (Advancement Committee) under Rabbi Jay Strear's leadership, is working to find the means to support the school. We're in the middle of Annual Giving, and we've had great results thus far. But the need for fundraising is acute, and in a difficult economy, charitable giving is what collapses first. Also, Mr. Cohen and the Admissions Team is working very hard to improve our recruitment and get more students.

All of this is difficult, hard, but sorely necessary. But it can interfere with blog posting...