When a Story is Suspect....

Readers send me all kinds of information about private schools. Some of it is gossip. Some proves to be factual.  My own sources alert me to other private school happenings.  As a result, I tend to take most of what I read with the proverbial grain of salt. What is the real truth?

RLS pays board member's firm millions for architecture is a story one of my readers sent. My reaction to this article? Somebody must have had an ax to grind because all of the information in the article is available to the general public anyway. That's because every not-for-profit organization must file a tax return called a Form 990. It is available to you and me on sites such as Foundation Center's Form 990 Finder. The school in question is private. So how it conducts its business is an internal matter. Assuming that decisions were made and properly documented in the board's minutes, then how the school spends its money is up to the board. Another point is that the headmaster's compensation sounds excessive when you see $3.5 million. Then you realize that compensation is actually 7 years aggregate compensation. Pebble Beach is an expensive community in which to live. $500k a year for cash salary, benefits including housing and retirement doesn't strike me as excessive given the local conditions.

As I said, when the story is suspect... What do you think? Am I wrong?