History of Board Governance Issues

[Catch-22]

Member of the class of ’09 here. I have never made a donation to the Academy. When I heard about the Mariposa debacle, I knew there was no way I could fund a school that would just waste my money. If the situation changes, I would be happy to contribute. So the Catch-22 is, how does the school elicit more financial support from parents & alumni, if, like me, they require it to first show that it is financially stable?

I would love if someone asked a question like this at the upcoming meeting (I live out of town).

Also thanks BeenThere for the historical context.

[libra68]

Catch-22, a good question. I see it this way. I think the Board can easily provide the details to its “five-year plan toward sustainability.” That would show exactly when we will achieve a balanced budget. Non-profits do this all the time. Why can’t the Academy?

Then, I think the trustees need to make a gesture of good faith toward restoring the endowment.

Why couldn’t all the trustees of the past 20 years make a collective pledge to meet the $30 million Charged with Promise Campaign? Other donors’ gifts would put us way over the top, a win for Jeff Morgan and a wonderful success for the Academy’s first big campaign.

And then I think they should make a collective pledge to give 1/10 of their net worth to the Academy in their wills.

If I saw these simple steps, I would happily double my gift to the Campaign. And I think a lot of others would too.

[What the?]

Libra68,

Is your post a joke? Seriously, you want people to pledge 1/10 of their net worth to AA in their wills? All the trustees for the last 20 years need to pledge to cover The Charged By Promise Campaign?

Let me get this straight, the BOD under Andy Watson has mismanaged the endowment for the last 20 years and you expect people to cover those horrible decisions and move on? Keep the leadership at AA in place so they can waste away the entire endowment?

Will the teachers, with real concerns, be able to keep their jobs under your plan? Is Andy going to let teachers come to him with concerns without the threat of firing? Will the parents who started questioning the leadership of AA no longer be labeled perpetual complainers? Will parents be able to bring concerns to the administration without being blown off?

This has to be a joke, what am I missing???

[Serpico]

I totally get your skepticism, “What the?” Seems like a real stretch.

But I think that Libra68 has a point: if the trustees were men and women of honor, they would recognize their responsibility to repair the damage done to the endowment.

I don’t know how many total have served in the last 20 years. But I think a collective pledge to make the $30 million target for “Charged with Promise” campaign would be doable.

As for bequests, lots of trustees at good independent schools do this – maybe not 1/10 of net worth, but a sizeable amount. If I’m not mistaken, it’s the single biggest source of endowment growth.

[’92 Alum]

Dear Mr. Logan,
Thank you for your post above. I come from a military family too. And what my father always taught me was that good leaders lead from up front. They are the first to sacrifice when sacrifice is called for.
I’ve read Mr. Hibbett’s letter very carefully. And what shocks me is that neither the trustees nor Mr. Watson have the slightest idea of what leadership means.
Fat paychecks when the budget is in the red? Taking two raises while asking employees to take a salary freeze? No willingness to step up and be held accountability in the face of Mr. Hibbett’s reasonable questions?
I see no disrespect for the Academy in the comments at this post. Instead I see deep disappointment in its leadership, plain and simple.
Respectfully,
An alumnus from ’92

[BeenThere]

Dear libra68 and What the? I appreciate your spirited debate on this topic.

First I must offer some clarification on the actual hierarchy that should be in place. What the?’s statement about “the BOD under Andy Watson” is actually a reversal of the actual legal structure. Andy Watson should be the only employee hired by the trustees. So, in fact, Mr. Watson reports to them. He is then entrusted with running the educational mission, and on this matter, he seems to have done a good job. He reports to the trustees, not the other way around. They have the larger financial picture as part of their responsibilities. So, in a properly managed organization, Mr. Watson would not prescribe his own salary, nor would he have authority over investments and strategic planning. And, he certainly should not be determining the rate of spending from the endowment. This, in a properly managed institution, is the responsibility of the board. The spend rate is the actual problem here, perhaps subject of a different post.

Second, I would add that libra68’s idea is not really out of line. People do not, or at least should not, join boards of trustees without significant consideration. They are entrusted with the current operations and future success of an organization. They have financial accountability, and fiduciary responsibility, as part of their charge. The Academy is the victim of decades of fiscal mismanagement. If Mr. Morgan has savvy as the lead fundraiser for the institution, an appeal to EVERY SINGLE FORMER TRUSTEE has either happened or is on the table.

So, it is well within reason to ask former and current trustees to “bail out” an organization that should now be a shining star in the constellation of independent schools, but is, instead, a meteorite plummeting toward some uncertain fate in the dusty soil of New Mexico

[ClassOf19]

Thus it’s time to clean house. Period. No more losses, no more incompetence, no more embezzlement between two embedded individuals raping the school in broad daylight.

[What the?]

Thank you “Been There” for enlightening me. I appreciate it very much. So, Libra68 is absolutely correct. My questions regarding the leadership still stand.

[Step up folks]

Board meeting with faculty and staff:
I wish board members would do some fact-checking prior to making broad statements.

One that I just checked was that Dallas, Houston, San Antonio have a lower cost of living than Albuquerque. Not so only housing is cheaper in Dallas. Utilities, transporation, groceries, health care are significantly more.

money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/

If this fact is not conveyed accurately, what else is?

[tanzimat]

Thanks, step-up-folks. I wondered the same thing, and you are right. The trustee’s statement about cost of living just isn’t true.
Also, the hemming-and-hawing about multiple clerical errors in entering Andy’s salary was, well – how can I be charitable? – odd, to say the very least.
One thing is without doubt – it’s time to fire our auditing firm.
And then nothing said about an amended Form 990? Serious errors have now been publicly admitted by the trustees. If no amendment is made, then the Academy and the trustees are in real trouble with the IRS.

[Pay to play]

Mr. Logan, please think.

[Chimayo]

Dear Trustees,

There are lots more questions to answer in Mr. Hibbett’s original letter. In your letter of Feb 11, Mr. Honegger, you state that “we expect our information sharing to grow organically over the coming weeks and months…”

Will you kindly explain what that means? The questions aren’t complicated. The letter was thoughtfully written, and backed up by data. Clearly his parent group took a lot of time to present to you a thorough diagnosis of the Academy’s ills.

Don’t you feel any obligation to answer the questions? If “organically” means “we will run the clock until the end of the school year,” well, then ask yourselves: is this really the example of responsible trusteeship that you want to show the world?

[Author]

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