Reply #106: Here's the other part that is of major concern

[Eloriel]

I spent some time -- a fairly short time, actually -- serving on the board of a small non-profit where the board members were all firmly under the control of the organization's Executive Director. She "recruited" them, she okayed them (or sabotaged their candidacy for the board), she manipulated and controlled them AND all the board meetings as well.

That ain't the way it's spoze to be, folks. And it was not only ugly, not only impossible to get ANYthing done that didn't have the personal stamp of approval of the Exec Dir (who was against change of any kind and a major control freak to boot), but it was a gross miscarriage of fiduciary responsibility for the board members.

In case it needs to be said, the Exec Dir is supposed to REPORT TO the Board of Directors, not direct them. Everything that happens, including how the money is spent, is ultimately the board's responsibility -- or they'd better know why.

The situation at hand raises big questions in my mind as to how independent this Board is. If they're functioning as a special committee reporting to Bev and doing Bev's bidding, I'd say that's a huge problem.

I'm also not entirely comfortable with the way "the Board" is being used in a personnel matter -- the gory details now made public issue aside. Normally, hiring and firing of staff are at the discretion of the Exec Dir. -- tho they may require board approval. In this case, it seems like the board has taken all responsibility for the matter out of the hands of the Exec Dir. Odd, isn't it? Here we have questions (or at least I do) about the true functioning of this particular board, but suddenly they're ALL about responsibility in one matter alone: terminating someone for cause. Is the Exec Dir hiding behind her board when it's convenient?

I would hope these board members would do some serious research about what are their responsibilities as board members, how boards are supposed to function, etc. Perhaps even get some legal advice.

I left the board I was on that I found so incompetent and screwed up in part because I was concerned about my own legal liability (and partly because it was an exercise in futility at best).