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From the FREEP
How Does the SRV Board Choose Trustees?
Every spring, members of the SRV corporation (which includes other parents and guardians, all staff employed by the school and the Board of Trustees) vote on a slate of candidates nominated to serve on the SRV board. People often wonder how that slate of candidates is assembled; if you're one of them, please read on...
According to the SRV bylaws, nominations to the board of trustees can be made only by the Nominating Committee. Our nominating committee is known as the Committee on Trustees, though if you've been around a while you may remember it as the Committee on Directors. When we updated our bylaws last year, we replaced the term "directors" with "trustees" since the board's role is fiduciary and not administrative in nature. The Nominating Committee, or COT, is one of the few standing board committees whose existence is required by our bylaws. The committee currently consists of four SRV trustees: Jim Kozub, Craig Hodges, Deborah Fineberg and Cindy Young, and is responsible for the nomination, education, and evaluation of board members. For most people, the first responsibility holds the most interest: how does the committee find potential board members? What are we looking for? If someone wants to be considered for trusteeship, what should they be doing?
First, the best way for the COT to find potential trustees is via the potential trustee's work on other school committees. The chairs of those committees, usually themselves trustees, take note when a committee member demonstrates qualities that would help create a strong board. Those qualities are many, but some of the "non-negotiables" that the COT looks for are as follows:
- Well-developed understanding of progressive education and of SRV's mission.
- Ability to work effectively with a variety of people, including the Head of School.
- Ability to remain calm and reflective in times of crisis and/or pressure.
In sum, to quote independent school board consultant John Littleford, "The most important trait to seek in trustee prospects is wisdom, wisdom and wisdom!"
The COT meets frequently, on a year round basis, to address the three parts of our job. Evaluating fellow community members for trustee potential is a delicate endeavor, and one that we try to undertake respectfully, thoroughly, and confidentially. Please understand that this limits our ability to respond to questions about why specific people were or were not nominated, though we are always happy to expand on the characteristics of good trustees. People interested in trusteeship are invited to get involved at SRV. Join a committee and participate. If you're not sure what opportunities exist for volunteering, contact any member of the COT and we'll be glad to connect you with the appropriate committee chair. And as always, if you have a question or concern, please use one of our established procedures for bringing issues to the board:
- Contact any board member with your concern
- Address a letter to the board
- Contact board president Craig Hodges and ask to address the board at a monthly meeting.
We invite you to join us the evening of March 12 as the COT and the SRV Community Organization partner to present a discussion of board communication.
