Urban’s Board of Trustees plays a crucial role in overseeing the school. Yet, in a recent survey conducted by The Urban Legend, 89.6% of students are unaware of the board’s significance. The board works as a key component of Urban’s stability. Members convene monthly to help guide the head of school and ensure Urban’s financial health.
The board comprises Urban parents, alums, community members, and teacher and student representatives. These members volunteer their free time to support the school’s financial health and its continuation as an institution.
Board members’ key roles include supporting the head of school, delivering the new Performing Arts Community Center (PACC) and strategic planning. “[The board] is ultimately responsible for the fiduciary health and viability of the school,” Head of School Dan Miller said. “They set tuition and enrollment, are engaged in fundraising [and] consult on large-scale budgetary issues.”
The board stays informed about the Urban community, but their role does not focus on handling everyday operations. “It’s Dan’s job to run the school day-to-day. It’s not the board’s job to get in there and run the school,” said Carl Shannon, chair of the board.
“We have [a] solid double yellow line between our oversight and governance responsibility and … management and operations,” said Ruth Chang Hess, a member of the executive board committee. This oversight is called strategic planning and is a core part of the board’s role.
A healthy working relationship between the board and the head of school is essential for the school to operate smoothly. “Urban’s board has always been exceptionally supportive of me and of my predecessor,” Miller said.
The board helped fundraise for the PACC, something students will tangibly experience. “Some of us also helped with actually going out and meeting with people in the community to ask for gifts to … pay for the project,” Chang Hess said. As volunteers, these board members are uniquely situated to convince prospective donors of the merits of a donation.
“The board is composed of really thoughtful people that have broad skill sets. Some are in finance, some are in law and some are teachers,” said Mary Murphy, Urban science teacher and faculty representative on the board.
In the lead-up to the construction of the PACC, the board ensured they had a technical understanding of the process by strengthening a specialized subcommittee. “The board added members with experience in architectural design, real estate development, city planning, sustainability and geotechnical engineering to serve on the Buildings and Grounds Committee,” Chang Hess said.
Two students and two teacher representatives attend monthly meetings to give updates on life at Urban. “Last year around MOU, we did the cross-the-line activity with the board members,” Murphy said. Activities like these give the board a sense of life at Urban through the student lens.
The board’s interests go beyond the 2024-2025 school year. “We are trying to make the best decisions for Urban in terms of, ‘How do we sustain [it]? … How do we keep it going, not just for our kids, but for our kids’ kids?’” Chang Hess said.
The board maintains the Urban School’s mission and core values. “[We] are responsible for looking at [Urban’s mission] every few years and making sure that it’s still relevant,” Chang Hess said.
Although the opening of PACC is near, the board’s work is not finished. Their main goal for this year is to lay out the strategic plan for Urban’s next 10 years. This will not only ensure the financial health of the school but also safeguard Urban’s unique high school experience. Murphy said, “[Board members] care a ton and they put in a lot of time to make sure that the school continues to be Urban and not just any other high school.”
