The Fessenden School

“The board of trustees receives an electronic copy of the form 990, 990-t and any other related and required filings, as filed, before the filing deadline. Before filing, members of management review the returns for accuracy and completeness. At a later date after the filing of the returns, the school's audit committee along with members of school's management review the returns along with the results of the audit. The results of the year-end audit, review of the form 990, and any findings, changes or areas of concern are communicated to the board at the first board meeting of the fiscal year so appropriate corrective action, if any, can be taken.”

“The conflict of interest policy is distributed annually by the clerk or assistant clerk of the school to the board of trustees, officers and senior administrative staff as they are the individuals who make decisions on the school's behalf. Each person covered by the policy shall be required to promptly complete the disclosure form and return the completed form to the clerk or assistant clerk by the assigned deadline. The assistant clerk shall review the completed forms and promptly provide to the audit committee and the president a copy of any form that discloses an actual or potential conflict of interest or any other matter that warrants review by that committee. The audit committee shall determine whether any dislcosed matter is of such significance that it merits review and approval by a disinterested majority of the exective committee; provided that, in the event a disclosed matter involves a member of the audit committee, the president shall refer the matter directly to the executive committee. A matter referred to the executive committee may be decided by that committee or further referred to the full board.”

“The organization issues salary letters containing the details of the compensation package for all new officers, top management and key employees. The initial process for hiring officers, top management and key employees usually involves an independent search committee and consultants who identify candidates based upon the required skills, experience, etc., set forth by the organization. The pool of candidates will then be interviewed by a committee of board members and other top management. During this process, the consultants, board and top management also determine the compensation based upon the level of position, experience of candidate, the marketplace, demographics and comparing data with similar organizations and positions. The years following the hire of an officer, top management or key employee involve a review process that includes an evaluation utilizing comparability data. Unless there are significant changes to the original duties assigned for the position or other factors that may warrant a change in compensation, increases are in the range voted by the board for all employees of the organization. The process of determining compensation for the head of school (ceo) is more in depth. Each spring, an electronic survey about the head of school's performance is sent to all members of the board of trustees. The president of the board of trustees and the chair of the committee on trustees review the survey results, and the board president will hold a meeting with the head of school to discuss the survey results and the head's performance. This meeting then leads to the establishment of the head's goals for the upcoming year. Each january, the board of trustees votes on a salary pool increase for employees for the upcoming fiscal year. In general, annual salary increases for the head of school are in alignment with increases for employees of the organization. The head of school holds a multi-year employment agreement that includes salary and compensation details. The head of school's employment agreement can be amended at any time at the discretion of the board of trustees. In anticipation of the conclusion of a multi-year employment agreement, the board of trustees reviews the performance of the head of school and determines whether to extend the head's leadership by offering a new employment agreement. The president of the board works with the chief financial officer to draft the employment agreement that is then offered to the head of school. When an employment agreement is offered and executed by both parties, it is then forwarded to the chief financial officer.”

“The organization makes its governing documents, conflict of interest policy, form 990, and financial statements available to the public upon request for the same period of disclosure as set forth in section 6104(d). All documents are available to be viewed on-site as well. In addition, the form 990 without schedule b is available via candid (formerly known as guidestar) and the massachusetts attorney general's website.”