The Charles River School Inc

“The committee on trustees met on march 4 and april 8, 2024. The committee proposed the need for modifications to the by-laws regarding: 1) faculty rep term from 1-year term, with the potential to serve 3 terms, to one 2-year term; 2) replace all references in the by-laws to "parent association" to "community association" to reflect the new name for this organization recently voted on by the crs community; and, 3) removal of language that the board treasurer post a bond, if requested, for the reason that this is an outdated requirement that has not been utilized by the board in modern times. All 3 by-law amendments, if approved by the board, will be voted upon by the crs community at the annual meeting. A vote to approve the revisions by the full board followed and passed with 20 votes in favor.”

“According to the by laws of the school, membership in the school consists of the parents of the children enrolled in the school, the board of trustees, members of the educational staff and parent council.”

“According to the by laws, the members have the authority to elect the governing body.”

“The members have the authority to elect the governing body and approve ammendments to the by laws.”

“A. The audit and risk committee will conduct a preliminary review of the draft 990. The committee will be granted this authority by the full board and receive explicit training from an independent party on how to review the 990 to ensure objectivity and accuracy in the school's reporting. B. Once any edits or corrections have been made and reviewed by the committee or a designee on the committee, the committee will then recommend filing to the full board. C. The draft 990 will be included in the board materials as an appendix item and on the agenda for board members to ask any questions or concerns. A full vote will then be taken for approval. With approval by the full board, the filing will be made by december 31 or may 15 as needed.”

“All charles river school trustees, officers, directors, and employees (including those not included in the annual disclosure process) are subject to the school conflict of interest policy and must disclose any time when they have a financial, family, or organizational conflict. For purposes of the policy statement and compliance with the statement, a conflict of interest exists when direct or indirect personal interests are inconsistent with or interfere in any way with the best interests of the school. Such conflicts may arise out of (but are not limited to): business or financial relationships between the school and a covered party or their immediate family; investment relationships involving trustees or officers; employment relationships between the school and immediate family members of a covered party; or service to another organization at the request of the school where that organization provides compensation. Each year, the committee on trustees of the board of trustees asks all board members, directors, and officers to file a disclosure form indicating whether they have conflict. Each board member, director, and officer will sign a statement affirming they: a. Have received a copy of the conflicts of interest policy b. Have read and understand the policy c. Have agreed to comply with the policy”

“Compensation for charles river school officers including the head of school and chief financial officer as well as key employees relies on data from comparative schools of a similar size, location, mission, student population e.g. Pre-kindergarten through grade 8 and labor market survey data available from the association of independent schools new england (aisne). For the head of school, this process was directed by the executive committee of the board of trustees to ensure independence, objectivity, and avoid conflicts of interest. The committee engaged an executive search firm. The position description was revisited and proposed compensation aligned considering the financial health of school, candidate qualifications such as academic preparation and years of professional experience, demonstrated field leadership, and changes in the complexity of the role. In addition to survey data, prevailing market conditions were also considered. Once the leading candidate was identified, the executive committee of the board of trustees made a recommendation to the full board for the compensation package, sharing all data and compensation variables with the board. A full vote was undertaken by the board to ensure transparency and appropriate governance of the process. The process was documented in the minutes from the board and committee meetings so that the decision process, including comparability data used, was memorized. For other key employee positions, salaries are benchmarked utilizing aisne and other independent school compensation data is considered along with internal and external benchmarking with support from executive search firms as required. Reasonableness for all compensation is a primary consideration.”

“The school makes its governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements available to the public upon request and the form pc is filed with the division of public charities.”

“Procedures did not change from prior year.”