I am signing the petition because I agree with the points #2 and #3. I would second Clementine Tufts comments regarding point #1 in that the fundraising issue is extremely important, but does not necessarily need to become a contractual clause for the Board members.
C
Clementine Tufts
5 years ago
Hello,
Though I am in complete agreement with the second and third points regarding the Treuebonus and the volunteer fee, I think the first point requires further development.
I think that the common practice in American independent schools of relying on fundraising for the institution to remain viable is ultimately an unsustainable organizational strategy that inevitably leads to increased costs in a race to offer nicer and nicer things for the segment of the population that has no limit to what they can spend on school. Just because it’s the way most independent schools have made it this far doesn’t mean that it’s working. As far as I know, these independent schools are becoming so costly that some local independent schools also partner with financial service providers to offer educational loans... for elementary and high school. Personally, that is not the trajectory i want to follow. I also think that a development officer with the experience and CONTACTS to set up a profitable development operation would cost the school at the least 150k/year, maybe more, including salary and benefits. If we found someone with less experience, I would anticipate it taking a couple more years for the position to pay for itself. Either way, we need to investigate the market norm and not just assume that if we hire someone the position will automatically start increasing our capital. It might take some time.
I do agree that the board should make a top priority of coming up with clearly defined fundraising goals with an ACTIONABLE tactical plan.
HOWEVER, I hope the GISB Board does not set a “Give or Get” policy for board participation. My hope for the board is that the members put their active attention, skills, and creativity to helping GISB achieve its goals and overcome challenges. And while generally many board positions serve as feathers to put in one’s cap, a Give or Get policy, almost ensures that these positions, in part, become rewards for donating money or
A
Anonymous
5 years ago
Sign anonymously?
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Robin Reyes
5 years ago
I think most comments have well addressed the principal idea of the letter. I haven't checked the governance matter, but if Christoph Lange's comment about the volunteer fee belonging to the parent's assn and not being governed by the board hold, then I think that distinction is a very important point to include in the letter.
In a broader discussion, perhaps not part of the letter, I think Stephan Rottach has many valid comments. Now I don't keep up to date on all the correspondences, but I think only recall a couple of times a new site search or the facilities being mentioned. I have a tremendous appreciation that the school exists here in BOS in the first place, but I have no doubt that the principal mission has been to serve Germans here on a limited stint. We were at the German School in Mexico City, which is into its 120th+ year, 3 campuses and over 3,000 students. The school there found a balance and decided to become an anchor school and a premier school in the community. It plays a very important role in helping Germans who are there on temporary assignment, but by opening up to the community at large, they have been able to grow, maintain stability, build amazing facilities, sports programs, etc... while maintaining a top level of education. In order to accomplish any of this, a vision for GISB's growth need to be iterated upon, and definitely all the comments about a professional development officer brought into action.
A
Alexandra Gross
5 years ago
Hi Michael - Thank you for getting this important discussion rolling. Especially in this time of social distancing, one often can feel "out of the loop" - but this concise summary proved to us that we are not alone in our bewilderment.
Hi Stephan - Your analogy is spot on, and your questions deserving of deeper discussion. If I do my math correctly, worst case scenario, GISB will have a $300K deficit after the PPP loan is taken into account. There's also a very, very high likelihood that much more Federal aid will be coming down the pike.
Perhaps it's just me, but when I read the board's email, my gut instinct was, "Why didn't they talk to Century Bank about securing a $300K low-interest loan? Did the GISB reach out to the German government for a loan or short-term subsidy?"
**I'd love to hear other people's thoughts and creative ideas on raising funds?**
C
Christoph Lange
5 years ago
Featured
Regarding fundraising, I think they underestimate the potential. However, for them to be successful, it would require changes in the governance structure and transparency.
Regarding the volunteer fee, I was surprised. I always thought that the volunteer fee was money that belonged to the parent association and not to the board. I was surprised to see that the board gets to decide this. It would be important to keep these things separate.
L
Liz Mellyn
5 years ago
I want to echo Rinat's expression of gratitude to Michael for initiating this discussion. I agree with many of the sentiments articulated here though I would like to offer some alternative views as well. For example, I too was startled by celebrations around the ~$19k fundraising net gain, which is minuscule in comparison to what other independent schools raise on a yearly basis. When my family came to the GISB 2.5 years ago I seem to remember that the Board said it would hire a development person who would be in charge of fundraising. As an American who went to a New England boarding school and teaches at a university I was shocked that the GISB hadn't filled such a position. I remain thus. Such a hire is not administrative creep but rather an essential component of American independent school education in the New England educational ecosystem especially--take some time to look up the endowments of independent secondary schools around us. You'll be astounded. I would prefer the hire of a professional development person--a good one will warrant the investment within a year--rather than requiring that board members meet fundraising benchmarks. I wouldn't want such a requirement to limit board participation or the type of people who might seek the post. Much more than Europeans, I gather, Americans rely a great deal on development officers who specialize in grant writing and private fundraising to finance a large portion of secondary and tertiary education from operating budgets, to programs, to campus and physical plant upgrades and renovations. As one of our board member candidates said this fall: "no money, no mission." Our community is very particular so alumni development will take time to get off the ground. It's essential but it's not the only way of raising money! The Board must make fundraising a central focus of its work.
S
Spencer R McGrath
5 years ago
Featured
I agree the fundraising efforts should be more central focus of the Board of Trustees.
S
Stephan Rottach
5 years ago
Thank you for taking the initiative and putting this together, much appreciated!
In any type of business it is almost a standard to try the utmost in times the business goes sideways to reduce cost as best you can. Then, you’re also trying to increase prices to your customers.
While I see a lot of effort being put into the price increase on customer side, I see little to no effort spent on the reduction of cost.
E.g., I know they have 15 employees in administrative functions alone. What are their tasks, can anything be combined or organized differently?
Did negotiations start with the landlord to reduce rent?
Have they ever considered to change location in order to get more „bank for the buck“?
Has the fact that being in a building w/o providing adequate sports areas or a mensa ever been addressed as a fundamental disadvantage in terms of competitiveness against other schools?
Has the customer base been analyzed, i.e., where do the customers (students) come from?
Is it sufficient to only build on Germans being sent over for a certain period of time or should the customer base be widened, i.e. attracting also more „locals“?
R
Rinat Sergeev
5 years ago
Featured
Great comment!
Indeed, an increase of tuition leads to an increase of the lowest 50% of the tuition amount that a family in need has to pay regardless of the financial aid. At least, this measure should have been compensated by a higher financial aid allowance...
S
Savina jaeger
5 years ago
Featured
Given the pandemic impact, why the tuition needs to be increased? Would it be possible to add a paragraph regarding not changing the tuition?
R
Rinat Sergeev
5 years ago
Featured
Hope, it is a beginning of a great and fruitful discussion of the future of GISB, the community we want to build, and the leadership we want to have.
Great start! Thanks, Mike!
I am signing the petition because I agree with the points #2 and #3. I would second Clementine Tufts comments regarding point #1 in that the fundraising issue is extremely important, but does not necessarily need to become a contractual clause for the Board members.
Hello, Though I am in complete agreement with the second and third points regarding the Treuebonus and the volunteer fee, I think the first point requires further development. I think that the common practice in American independent schools of relying on fundraising for the institution to remain viable is ultimately an unsustainable organizational strategy that inevitably leads to increased costs in a race to offer nicer and nicer things for the segment of the population that has no limit to what they can spend on school. Just because it’s the way most independent schools have made it this far doesn’t mean that it’s working. As far as I know, these independent schools are becoming so costly that some local independent schools also partner with financial service providers to offer educational loans... for elementary and high school. Personally, that is not the trajectory i want to follow. I also think that a development officer with the experience and CONTACTS to set up a profitable development operation would cost the school at the least 150k/year, maybe more, including salary and benefits. If we found someone with less experience, I would anticipate it taking a couple more years for the position to pay for itself. Either way, we need to investigate the market norm and not just assume that if we hire someone the position will automatically start increasing our capital. It might take some time. I do agree that the board should make a top priority of coming up with clearly defined fundraising goals with an ACTIONABLE tactical plan. HOWEVER, I hope the GISB Board does not set a “Give or Get” policy for board participation. My hope for the board is that the members put their active attention, skills, and creativity to helping GISB achieve its goals and overcome challenges. And while generally many board positions serve as feathers to put in one’s cap, a Give or Get policy, almost ensures that these positions, in part, become rewards for donating money or
Sign anonymously?
I think most comments have well addressed the principal idea of the letter. I haven't checked the governance matter, but if Christoph Lange's comment about the volunteer fee belonging to the parent's assn and not being governed by the board hold, then I think that distinction is a very important point to include in the letter. In a broader discussion, perhaps not part of the letter, I think Stephan Rottach has many valid comments. Now I don't keep up to date on all the correspondences, but I think only recall a couple of times a new site search or the facilities being mentioned. I have a tremendous appreciation that the school exists here in BOS in the first place, but I have no doubt that the principal mission has been to serve Germans here on a limited stint. We were at the German School in Mexico City, which is into its 120th+ year, 3 campuses and over 3,000 students. The school there found a balance and decided to become an anchor school and a premier school in the community. It plays a very important role in helping Germans who are there on temporary assignment, but by opening up to the community at large, they have been able to grow, maintain stability, build amazing facilities, sports programs, etc... while maintaining a top level of education. In order to accomplish any of this, a vision for GISB's growth need to be iterated upon, and definitely all the comments about a professional development officer brought into action.
Hi Michael - Thank you for getting this important discussion rolling. Especially in this time of social distancing, one often can feel "out of the loop" - but this concise summary proved to us that we are not alone in our bewilderment. Hi Stephan - Your analogy is spot on, and your questions deserving of deeper discussion. If I do my math correctly, worst case scenario, GISB will have a $300K deficit after the PPP loan is taken into account. There's also a very, very high likelihood that much more Federal aid will be coming down the pike. Perhaps it's just me, but when I read the board's email, my gut instinct was, "Why didn't they talk to Century Bank about securing a $300K low-interest loan? Did the GISB reach out to the German government for a loan or short-term subsidy?" **I'd love to hear other people's thoughts and creative ideas on raising funds?**
Regarding fundraising, I think they underestimate the potential. However, for them to be successful, it would require changes in the governance structure and transparency. Regarding the volunteer fee, I was surprised. I always thought that the volunteer fee was money that belonged to the parent association and not to the board. I was surprised to see that the board gets to decide this. It would be important to keep these things separate.
I want to echo Rinat's expression of gratitude to Michael for initiating this discussion. I agree with many of the sentiments articulated here though I would like to offer some alternative views as well. For example, I too was startled by celebrations around the ~$19k fundraising net gain, which is minuscule in comparison to what other independent schools raise on a yearly basis. When my family came to the GISB 2.5 years ago I seem to remember that the Board said it would hire a development person who would be in charge of fundraising. As an American who went to a New England boarding school and teaches at a university I was shocked that the GISB hadn't filled such a position. I remain thus. Such a hire is not administrative creep but rather an essential component of American independent school education in the New England educational ecosystem especially--take some time to look up the endowments of independent secondary schools around us. You'll be astounded. I would prefer the hire of a professional development person--a good one will warrant the investment within a year--rather than requiring that board members meet fundraising benchmarks. I wouldn't want such a requirement to limit board participation or the type of people who might seek the post. Much more than Europeans, I gather, Americans rely a great deal on development officers who specialize in grant writing and private fundraising to finance a large portion of secondary and tertiary education from operating budgets, to programs, to campus and physical plant upgrades and renovations. As one of our board member candidates said this fall: "no money, no mission." Our community is very particular so alumni development will take time to get off the ground. It's essential but it's not the only way of raising money! The Board must make fundraising a central focus of its work.
I agree the fundraising efforts should be more central focus of the Board of Trustees.
Thank you for taking the initiative and putting this together, much appreciated! In any type of business it is almost a standard to try the utmost in times the business goes sideways to reduce cost as best you can. Then, you’re also trying to increase prices to your customers. While I see a lot of effort being put into the price increase on customer side, I see little to no effort spent on the reduction of cost. E.g., I know they have 15 employees in administrative functions alone. What are their tasks, can anything be combined or organized differently? Did negotiations start with the landlord to reduce rent? Have they ever considered to change location in order to get more „bank for the buck“? Has the fact that being in a building w/o providing adequate sports areas or a mensa ever been addressed as a fundamental disadvantage in terms of competitiveness against other schools? Has the customer base been analyzed, i.e., where do the customers (students) come from? Is it sufficient to only build on Germans being sent over for a certain period of time or should the customer base be widened, i.e. attracting also more „locals“?
Great comment! Indeed, an increase of tuition leads to an increase of the lowest 50% of the tuition amount that a family in need has to pay regardless of the financial aid. At least, this measure should have been compensated by a higher financial aid allowance...
Given the pandemic impact, why the tuition needs to be increased? Would it be possible to add a paragraph regarding not changing the tuition?
Hope, it is a beginning of a great and fruitful discussion of the future of GISB, the community we want to build, and the leadership we want to have. Great start! Thanks, Mike!