The Birch Wathen Lenox School

“The organization has its form 990 prepared by an outside accounting firm. After the form 990 is prepared, the head of school & cfo will review the tax return. The form 990 will then be circulated electronically for review by the executive committee and if approved, will go to the board for approval.”

“The school has a written conflict of interest policy that applies to all interested persons which includes any member of the board of trustees ("board"), any person with board delegated powers, any officer or any employee of the school who has a direct or indirect "financial interest or "non-financial interest." a conflict of interest arises when an outside business relationship of the board member, officer or employee may interfere with that person's responsibility to the school, or have the potential to affect that person's judgment or performance with respect to a school matter. In connection with any actual or possible conflict of interest, the interested person must disclose the existence of his financial or non-financial relationship in the proposed transaction or arrangement to the board delegated committee. In the case of an employee, the employee should notify the designated member of the conflict of interest committee, who will consult with the school's attorneys or auditors to review the facts before bringing the issue to such committee. After exercising due diligence, the committee will determine, by a majority vote of disinterested directors, whether the school can obtain a more advantageous transaction or arrangement with reasonable efforts from a person or entity that would not give rise to a conflict of interest, or whether it is in the school's best interest to choose the proposed arrangement described in the disclosure. If the board has reasonable cause to believe that a person has failed to disclose actual possible conflicts of interest, it will inform that person an opportunity to explain the alleged failure to disclose. If, after hearing the response and making such further investigation as may be warranted under the circumstances, the board determines that the person has in fact failed to disclose an actual or possible conflict of interest, it will, with the advice of counsel, take whatever action is deemed appropriate. The school reqularly and consistently monitors and enforces compliance with the conflict of interest policy.”

“The head of school's compensation is determined by the compensation committee and approved by the board. Salaries of comparable institutions are used as a tool for comparison. There is a written contract provided to the head of school. This process was last undertaken in february 2024. The cfo's annual salary was determined by the head of school and approved by the executive committee. All salaries are approved by the board in the overall budget process. The head of school uses comparable data from other schools along with the cfo's work load to determine their salary level.”

“The school makes its form 1023, form 990, governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements available to the public upon request.”

“Write off of uncollectible pledges -20,000.”

“The school has a executive committee that assumes responsibility for oversight of the audit of its financial statements and selection of an independent accountant. This process has not changed from the prior year.”