The Hidden Burden of Leadership
By Angie Copetillo
For many heads of school, financial leadership is the least familiar and least rewarding aspect of the calling. Numbers and budgets rarely stir the soul the way teaching, mentoring, and shaping culture do. Yet this hidden burden rests heavily on the shoulders of school leaders. The health of a school’s finances quietly but importantly determines whether the mission can be sustained. Stability, longevity, and the flourishing of students and teachers all hinge on decisions that often feel more dutiful than inspiring. While no one answers the call to classical Christian education to manage spreadsheets, every leader knows the truth: without a steady financial footing, the work we cherish most cannot endure.
Consider this concise field guide from our Accreditation Playbook, Standard 7: Finance and Facilities. It outlines five practices that strengthen steady schools, and five pitfalls that quietly erode them. Each item includes a concrete action you can take this quarter. You don’t need to tackle everything at once. These best practices take time to develop. Instead, choose the next faithful step, build the habit, and let steady, unglamorous work bear fruit over time.
Five Best Practices
1) Plan beyond the year.
Build a rolling 3-year financial plan and review it monthly against budget-to-actuals. Refresh assumptions each quarter (enrollment, aid, compensation, and inflation).
Try this next: Add a 12–36 month cashflow tab and schedule a 45-minute monthly numbers huddle.
2) Price with integrity; pursue accessibility.
Set tuition to cover operations (aim for ≥95% of expenses) with a margin for reserves. Use need-based aid with clear criteria; avoid ad-hoc discounts.
Try this next: Calculate the true cost to educate per division and map a 2–3 year road map if there’s a gap.
3) Invest in people on purpose.
Adopt a compensation philosophy, one that is fair, competitive, and sustainable with a clear structure that values growth, supports retention, and aligns with the mission. Then fund it. Budget predictable professional development (target 2–3% of payroll). Staff to strategy, not habit.
Try this next: Share a one-page compensation overview with faculty and protect a professional development line item.
4) Build real reserves.
Target 3–4 months of operating expenses (≈30% of annual revenue). Budget monthly transfers. Keep reserves unrestricted and separate.
Try this next: Open a dedicated reserve account and automate a monthly transfer.
5) Measure what matters—simply.
Use a one-page dashboard: cash runway and annual low point, receivables aging, enrollment vs. capacity, tuition collection rate, fundraising progress, debt service/covenants. Review with the board quarterly.
Try this next: Finalize a dashboard template and lock board review dates for the year.
Five Pitfalls
1) Plugging operations with fundraising.
Annual giving should enhance the mission, not cover tuition shortfalls.
Avoid it by: Resetting tuition and costs so that operations stand on their own.
2) Underpricing the program.
“Affordability” that masks true costs invites instability.
Avoid it by: Pairing clear value and price with dignifying, criteria-based aid.
3) Blurry governance.
Unclear lanes make oversight reactive.
Avoid it by: Writing a one-page chart clarifying who does what. One simple example is the RACI chart: Responsible – the person who does the work; Accountable – the person who makes the final decision; Consulted – people who give input; Informed – people who need to be kept in the loop
4) Compensation drift.
Stagnant pay and thin professional development drive turnover.
Avoid it by: Setting a market target and a 2–3 year plan to reach it.
5) Premature endowment.
Locking funds too early can starve present priorities.
Avoid it by: Prioritizing operational stability and reserves first.
Here’s how this hidden work takes shape in practice. Leaders gather around a single page, reading the same gauges, naming the same realities, and planning together. The lowest cash month isn’t a shock but a shared conversation. Tuition reflects the true cost of education. Aid is offered with clarity, not improvisation. Unofficial discounts disappear. A reserve account grows steadily, one transfer at a time. Roles are clearly defined so governance provides guardrails, not guesswork. None of it is dramatic—but this is what steady financial leadership looks like.
If you need help building these habits, you don’t have to do it alone. Cohorts like Keith Nix’s Finance Cohort or gatherings such as the SCL Symposiums in February and March provide opportunities to learn from peers, test your plans, and receive steady encouragement. There’s no fanfare here—just quiet, disciplined support for the hardest and least celebrated part of leadership. Do this work faithfully, and the fruit will be felt everywhere: teachers will breathe easier, parents’ trust will grow, and students will learn in a school that will still be here when it matters most.
