The John Burroughs School Board of Trustees consists of current parents and alumni. The presidents of the Parents Council and Alumni Association, as well as the chair of the Investment Committee, automatically serve as ex officio members.
The Board's main duties are to protect the overall mission and philosophy of the school, to support the head of school to implement this mission, to ensure the long-term financial stability of the school and to set the policies within which it functions.
Trustees meet as a whole six times a year. During those meetings, the trustees are briefed on the status of key school issues—from the school budget to the outlook for admission to the status of college applications. They are kept abreast of student and faculty developments, achievements and concerns. Faculty presentations, drawing from all aspects of school life, are a common agenda item.
The Board uses a committee structure. Subject to full Board approval, the Board president and head of school assign all trustees to a minimum of two committees and propose an agenda for each committee. Some committees invite non-board members, including faculty, to serve. Current committees are Building & Grounds, Development, Diversity & Education, Executive, Finance, Investment and Tuition Aid.
One of the distinguishing strengths of Burroughs is that many of the trustees have children enrolled in the school. Through day-to-day contact with their children and their children's friends and regular exchanges with faculty members, they have an excellent means for hearing the concerns of the students and faculty, which help guide their deliberations and actions on behalf of the school.
