Do Independent School Boards Need Radical Transparency?

The July 2023 Boardroom Insider leads article makes the case for radical transparency for governing boards. Ralph Ward argues that the default mode for boards should be total disclosure of information, with restrictions being the exception only in extraordinary situations. While Ward writes for a corporate audience where organizations have investors and owners/shareholders, unlike private, independent schools without "members in the corporation," we often hear the same call for transparency in our sector.

Openness and disclosure between owners (investors and shareholders) should be the legal norm; after all, the boards of those organizations govern on behalf of those who own the business. A private, independent school has no owners or shareholders (members in the corporation), only stakeholders whose entitlement to boardroom information is much more limited. Ward's case for radical transparency may apply in the corporate sector, but calls for such sharing in the independent school space reflect a misunderstanding of (or lack of agreement with) the differing theories of governance.