It's widely accepted as best practice for independent schools to maintain three percent of the total cost of replacing the physical plant in a separate budget called PPRRSM (provision for plant replacement, renewal and s
2 min read
CEO Notebook
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Boards and Trustees
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Governance
One of the greatest challenges of any nonprofit board is to ensure that its conversations are both generative and strategic. Frustratingly, boards too often get mired in committee work. As a consequence, the full board s
3 min read
"The bean counters are taking over the world!" A school faculty member posted this on Twitter, the implication being that the "numbers people" were influencing too many decisions at his school. I don't know a single busi
3 min read
CEO Notebook
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Boards and Trustees
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Compliance
It's often been said that the only constant is change. As we enter another school year, this cliché is spot-on.
3 min read
CEO Notebook
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Communication
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Enrollment
"What keeps you up at night?" I get that question fairly often, including very recently from a head of school who I consider a thought leader within the profession. You might identify with my response of late. It covers
3 min read
The next time a prospective parent checks out your school, there's a good chance they'll do it from their phone or tablet computer. Whether they're waiting in line at the grocery store or sitting at a café, and wh
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As business officers know too well, there really is no such thing as downtime anymore in independent schools. The summer is busy with wrapping up the prior school year and preparing for the one ahead. NBOA is no differen
2 min read
CEO Notebook
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Boards and Trustees
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Governance
With the busiest part of the school year behind most of us, I invite you to consider your school's Board of Trustees in the context of the NBOA Board of Directors. Our Board is probably similar to yours in some ways, yet
3 min read
As your school year winds down, your professional association's planning for next year is already ramping up. Last week, members of the NBOA staff assembled in Washington, D.C., to identify and plan the vast array of NBO
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It's been a spring of heavy travel, and at each independent school I visit the topic of technology invariably arises. The questions go something like this: What role should technology play in our delivery of preK–1
3 min read
CEO Notebook
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Culture
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Human Resources
For more than 15 years I've been thinking about the role of the CFO, especially as it relates to educational institutions, vis-à-vis my professional positions at NBOA and NACUBO. Is it just me or is the CFO gettin
2 min read
Without shame or apology I admit that I'm a change addict. I firmly believe that any organization, program or resource can be made better. "No status quo," in fact, is a mantra I developed with my friend and colleague Gr
3 min read
CEO Notebook
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Boards and Trustees
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Leadership
Last year during the NBOA Business Officer Institute, a business officer approached me and said, "My head of school does not want me to attend trustee meetings." My stunned response: "That's a problem." I would conjectur
2 min read
Awesome, simply awesome. Days after the 2015 NBOA Annual Meeting, I'm still feeling the energy of the 1,000-plus independent school leaders who joined us in Boston, and especially the hundreds who heard "Excellence by De
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I anticipate many wonderful moments at NBOA's 2015 Annual Meeting next week, not least among them the unveiling of the definitive narrative of the profession. "By the Numbers and Beyond: Independent School Business Opera
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CEO Notebook
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Cash Management
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Leadership
One of my favorite programs during the NBOA Annual Meeting is the NBOA Awards Lunch. The only national recognition program of its kind, this wonderful event doesn't just recognize individual achievement in independent sc
3 min read
CEO Notebook
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Boards and Trustees
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Planning
I was recently asked to share the biggest change I’ve observed in the business officer profession since 2010, when I became NBOA’s chief executive. My immediate thought was how your role has been elevated wel
2 min read
I've always enjoyed end-of-the-year lists of the top songs, most fascinating people and major news events that will be forever associated with the last 12 months. For my final CEO Notebook of the year, I've decided to re
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CEO Notebook
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Communication
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Enrollment
My first administrative role in education was in student affairs at The Ohio State University. As an undergraduate, I had enjoyed an incredible four-year residential experience, and I wanted to work in a profession that
3 min read
CEO Notebook
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Human Resources
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Planning
Last week, more than 30 business officers from across the country gathered to discuss the issues of greatest importance among their peers at NBOA's Conference on the Business Office (COBO). "This event symbolizes the nat
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