NBOA has spent the last couple of years transforming full board meetings, thereby changing the work of the full board and moving it dramatically and consistently into the direction of generative discussion. A key element of this process has been instituting a "member scan" at the start of each board meeting—before reviewing the agenda, voting upon new business or making any committee motions. Clearly, this positioning makes the member scan a priority.
The scan allows every member of the board to share an issue related to their school, profession or independent school community. The key is that they must do this within two minutes. Collectively, our member scan provides a "pulse check" of business and operational issues for independent schools across the country in less than 45 minutes. This information helps inform the board's priorities and helps the NBOA staff identify issues of importance to the membership. Moreover, it ensures that every member of the NBOA Board has a chance to speak at the top of the meeting. If you appreciate group dynamics, you probably already know that once a person speaks in a meeting, he or she is much more engaged in subsequent discussions throughout.
Recently, the NBOA Board of Directors held its fall meeting and conducted the first member scan of the year. Here is some of what we heard:
- Head of school transitions are occurring with a high rate of frequency—among schools large and small, day and boarding, in every region of the country. Business officers play an essential role during these transitions and are very often key to steadying the ship financially and among faculty and administration.
- The building boom continues. If you think technology has dramatically mitigated pressure for independent schools to invest in bricks and mortar, think again. According to our scan, many schools are engaged in capital campaigns, identifying non-exempt financing vehicles and breaking ground on performing arts centers, dining halls and STEM academic buildings.
- A surprising number of schools are experiencing enrollment shortfalls, demanding attention from business officers and other leaders to manage budget and resource allocations.
- Schools are concerned about several federal regulatory and compliance issues that will rise to the fore in this academic year. These include FASB changes to financial reporting, new salary requirements for non-exempt employees and compliance issues related to the Affordable Care Act.
Needless to say, NBOA takes the member scan seriously. Not only does your national association strive to identity and recognize the issues of critical importance to member schools, but we work to develop programs and resources that help each and every member school manage and address them. The NBOA Board is critical in this process.
My question to you: How does your school tap the knowledge of its board of trustees in ways that keep the full board at 30,000 feet—and thus able to identify broad issues before they become problems? A member scan may be just what your school's board needs to be strategic, generative and engaged.
