The Board of Trustees and Individual Trustees
The members of the Board of Trustees are so named because they hold the mission and identity of the school in trust. Legally, the Board holds the school and its Jesuit identity in trust for the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus, per the Sustaining Agreement. As such each Trustee and all Trustees hold primary responsibility for knowing deeply and thoroughly the character of Jesuit high schools and Jesuit education.
The Board of Trustees is the governing, policy-making body of the school. It is headed by the Chair and organized into committees, each with a Chair and a Charter that describes its responsibilities. The Chairs of all standing committees form the Executive Committee of the Board, which is chaired by the Board Chair. Its officers – a Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary – are elected each year by the full Board. These positions and roles are described in the Bylaws.
The Board is responsible for assisting the school by translating the school's mission and values into policy, notably the Strategic Plan, for an extended period into the school's future. The Board's policy must ensure as a first priority the Jesuit, Catholic and Interfaith character of the school. This policy must also ensure the financial health of the school, its repute in the community, and its spirit of service to those families whose children enroll in the school and to the wider community.
The work of the Board is done largely by the committees which normally report in writing and sometimes orally at regular Board meetings. The committees are responsible for assisting the Board to fulfill its policy role by completing work unique to the Board, e.g., approving an annual budget for the school.
Trustees are expected to provide leadership to the school in contributing to the Annual Fund and Capital Campaigns as they are mounted.
In addition, the Board has adopted the following principles from the NAIS Trustee Handbook – the first group for the Board as a whole, the second for individual Trustees.
NAIS Principles of Good Practice for Boards of Trustees
The Board and the President/head of school work in partnership in fulfilling these principles:
1. The Board adopts a clear statement of the school's mission, vision and strategic goals, and establishes policies and plans consistent with this statement.
2. The Board reviews and maintains appropriate Bylaws that conform to legal requirements, including duties of loyalty, duty and care.
3. The Board assures that the school and the Board operate in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, minimizing exposure to legal action. The Board creates a conflict of interest policy that is reviewed with and signed by individual Trustees annually.
4. The Board accepts accountability for both the financial stability and the financial future of the institution, engaging in strategic financial planning, assuming primary responsibility for the preservation of capital assets and endowments, overseeing operating budgets, and participating in fundraising.
5. The Board selects, supports, nurtures, evaluates and sets appropriate compensation for the President/head of school.
6. The Board recognizes that its primary work and focus are long-range and strategic.
7. The Board undertakes formal strategic planning on a periodic basis, sets annual goals related to the plan, and conducts annual written evaluations for the school, the President/head of school, and the Board itself.
8. The Board keeps full and accurate records of its meetings, committees and policies and communicates its decisions widely, while keepings its deliberations confidential.
9. Board composition reflects the strategic expertise, resources and perspectives (past, present, future) needed to achieve the mission and strategic objectives of the school.
10. The Board works to ensure all its members are actively involved in the work of the Board and its committees.
11. As leaders of the school community, the Board engages proactively with the President/head of school in cultivating and maintaining good relations with school constituents, as well as the broader community, and exhibits best practices relevant to equity and justice.
12. The Board is committed to a program of professional development that includes annual new-Trustee orientation, ongoing Trustee education and evaluation, and Board-leadership succession planning.
NAIS Principles of Good Practice for Individual School Trustees:
1. A Trustee actively supports and promotes the school's mission, vision, strategic goals and policy positions.
2. A Trustee is knowledgeable about the school's mission and goals, including its commitment to equity and justice, and represents them appropriately and accurately within the community.
3. A Trustee stays fully informed about current operations and issues by attending meetings regularly, coming to meetings well prepared, and participating fully in all matters.
4. The Board sets policy and focuses on long-range and strategic issues. An individual Trustee does not become involved directly in specific management, personnel, or curricular issues.
5. A Trustee takes care to separate the interests of the school from the specific needs of a particular child or constituency.
6. A Trustee accepts and supports Board decisions. Once a decision has been made, the Board speaks with one voice.
7. A Trustee keeps all Board deliberations confidential.
8. A Trustee guards against conflict of interest, whether personal or business related.
9. A Trustee has the responsibility to support the school and its President/head and to demonstrate that support within the community.
10. Authority is vested in the Board as a whole. A Trustee who learns of an issue of importance to the school has the obligation to bring it to the President/head of school, or to the Board Chair, and must refrain from responding to the situation individually.
11. A Trustee contributes to the development program of the school, including strategic planning for development, financial support and active involvement in annual and capital giving.
12. Each Trustee, not just the Treasurer and Finance Committee, has fiduciary responsibility to the school for sound financial management.
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