BOARD’S EYE VIEW
BY JOSH NOSSITER
CONSEIL DE GESTION
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
2014–2015
Pauline Carmona
Consul Général de France
Honorary Chair
Gerard (Tex) Schenkkan
Chair
Adam Cioth, Chair Emeritus
Ronald Kahn, Vice Chair
Leigh Sata, Vice Chair
Vernon Goins, Secretary
Josh Nossiter, Treasurer
Stephane Ré
Attaché Culturel
Jean Paul Balajadia
Christian Bonomo
Clydene Bultman
John Cate
Orpheus S.L. Crutchfield
Stéphane de Bord
Stephan Forget
Judith Glickman
Vernon Goins
Paul Loeffler
David Low
Patrice Maheo
Usha Rajagopal
Leigh Sata
Amy Shenkan
Young Shin
Debbie Zachareas
CONSEIL HONORAIRE
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Martin Quinn, Chair
Judithe Bizot
Thomas E. Horn
REPRÉSEN TANTS DES PARENTS D’ÉLÈVES
PAREN TS’ ASSOCIATION
Victoria Erville
Lower School/Primaire
David Peters and Carol Salvagione
Middle School/Collège
Dan Feldman
High School/Lycée
It’s your Board. What is it up to?
The question is a hardy annual: just what does the Board of Trustees do? The topic has been tackled in this space be- fore, but a combination of natural turnover in
our families and authorial ineptitude
leaves some (or at least one, having
been asked recently) still seeking
answers. To which I say, seek on,
because instead of answering that
question let’s talk instead about what
the Board has done.
At the May meeting of the board
of trustees, we feted chair emeritus
Adam Cioth, who retires from the
board this year. Adam in turn
expressed his gratitude for the
mentorship of his predecessor Alan
Basbaum. Between them, current
chair Tex Schenkkan, Alan, and
Adam represent more than a quarter
century of board leadership. What
have we accomplished in their time?
Securing the Present
My eldest entered the French
American Maternelle at the end of
the eighties. In that era the school
had 400 or so students, with a tiny
high school in a leaky basement,
a middle school occupying mo-
bile homes in the parking lot, on a
UC at Buchanan and Waller. When
UC ended our lease to reclaim the
space, the school faced homeless-
ness in one of the world’s toughest
real estate markets. Under Alan’s
leadership, with head of school Jane
Camblin and key members of the
community, we forged an alliance
with Chinese American International
School, convinced the city of San
Francisco to back a municipal bond
issuance, secured major investors
like American Express, and acquired
the old Caltrans building at 150
Oak as our new home. We built a
gym, and turned derelict offices into
classrooms, labs, assembly spaces,
a theater, and art studios. We also
set the stage for a transformation
that sees us today not only securely
housed but nearly three times our
former size.
Although our physical foundations were now solid, financially the
school was on shakier ground. With
high expenses, a negligible endowment, and a slightly haphazard
system of financial controls, though
held in the highest esteem academically, French American was not our
auditor’s favorite client. First as treasurer and then as Alan’s successor,
Adam Cioth made financial security
a priority of the board. We built
reserves, increased the endowment,
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
