As announced at the Annual Consultative General Assembly held on 28 May 2002, the Governing Board of the International School of Geneva is requesting a special referendum in order to determine the will of the community at large on its continued mandate.

The Governing Board recognises the tension that currently exists within the school community. The underlying causes are varied and complex. Some have to do with the size of the Foundation, others with the challenge of future expansion; still others stem from attempts to bring accountability into the management structure of the institution. Communication received from teaching staff indicates a general malaise and feeling of hostility towards the school leadership. The Board is aware that there are some members of the staff that feel they have not been treated respectfully or fairly.

The Board has attempted to govern the school with integrity and fairness. Despite efforts to increase dialogue and improve communication between all sections of the community, the Board along with the Director General and Foundation Management is still criticised for its perceived lack of transparency and lack of representation. As a result, the Board has been impeded in its ability to improve educational quality and move forward with the implementation of its short and long range-planning program for the community. Most importantly, students and their parents are left on the sidelines to witness a school that is polarised and paralysed. Some members of the school community, although clearly not all members, are emphatically calling for an immediate change of the Board as well as the Director General.

The Board met on 27 May 2002 and came to the conclusion that in the current climate, it is virtually impossible for the Board to govern as it was elected to do, or for the Director General to manage as instructed by the Board. As announced at the Consultative General Assembly held on 28 May, the Board unanimously voted to organise this referendum in order to validate the confidence of the school community regarding the policies and plans of the Governing Board. The Board established that it must receive a majority of positive votes in an election with at least 1,200 total votes cast to confirm its alignment with the views of the community.

This referendum will follow the basic rules and procedures used in postal voting for Board members. It will be conducted under the direction of a notary, a neutral third party.

All individuals entitled to vote in Governing Board elections are included in the referendum: this means: both parents of children within the Foundation, all staff members (if they have not already voted as a parent), and alumni who are registered with the Alumni Association. Ballots must be postmarked by 17 June 2002. Votes received by 24 June will be tabulated and results announced not later than 26 June 2002.

In the event of a majority vote of no support for the initiatives and policies of the Governing Board, or if the 1,200 vote quorum is not achieved, the current elected board members will resign. The Board members elected in May 2002, co-opted members and members appointed by the Cantonal and Federal authorities and the U.N. might remain in office or resign as they wish. A new Board will be constituted through a special election that will be held under the aegis of the Swiss Federal Department of the Interior, as provided by the Charter of the Foundation.

On behalf of the Governing Board, I encourage every member of the community to participate in the election and to let their voice be heard. Our sincere hope is that the referendum will end the current paralysis by either giving the Board a clear mandate to complete a wide range of critical actions and improvements, or clear the way for others to take on the complex challenges of the Foundation. Whatever the final result, I assure you that the Foundation and its students will continue to enjoy our complete loyalty and devotion.

Sincerely,

John Boggs

Chairman of the Governing Board

International School of Geneva

The Governing Board is responsible for ensuring adherence to the objective of the Foundation `to serve the International community and those committed to the concept of international education be they members of the international or local community`. Its role is distinguished from the Management role – the Director General and Senior Staff (i.e. Director for Finance, the Head of Human Resources, the Head of Admissions, the Campus Principals and the School Directors) who run the daily activities of the school.

The current impasse is an artifact of Ecolint's unique composition. Our population is composed of multiple social communities that are multinational and multilingual and are set within a complex local and political culture. Each community has its own version of what an ideal international school should be and each community makes its own demands of the institution.

To make all the different communities focus on what they all have in common, i.e.

1. The quality of education, and
2. The future of the Foundation.

The Board has operated in the last months with these two objectives in mind and has set its plans for the future coherently with them.

The Governing Board has reviewed and approved:

• The Campus Development Groups' regulations
• The Child Welfare Policy
• The Conflict of Interest Policy.

The Governing Board has established sub-committees to review changes within the Foundation or to handle specific projects:

• The CCT Negotiating Team to renegotiate the CCT Agreement with the Staff Association
• The Task Force on Governance to study and propose a future structure for the Foundation
• The Educational Committee to launch a study on Special Needs support and assessment
• The Task Force on Fundraising to launch a campaign to raise funds for the 4^th campus (SFr. 10 million promised).

The Governing Board has reviewed and approved the implementation of a long term Foundation Plan to improve the existing facilities and build new ones in line with the academic programs. Examples are:

• La Chât - extension of the primary school, building a sports center, purchase of the "Deblue" land
• LGB - renovating the Ancien Bâtiment, doubling the surface of the sports center
• Pregny – complete and equip the multimedia center.

Focus on educational quality

Educational quality is paramount – and must be measured and continuously improved

The Governing Board has developed with the Director General the following educational standards to be reviewed with Management, faculty and parents for their input to be implemented throughout the Foundation. The intent is to be in line with the best practices of International Schools:

• 100% written class objectives
• 100% syllabus in all secondary classes
• Homework – regularly given, corrected and returned
• 100% reference text books used (exceptions are justified by professional assessments)
• Students' evaluation of their learning experience
• Adequate standard level of material is defined and delivered
• 100% of teachers are formally evaluated every 2 years
• 100% of teachers with at least 2 professional development experiences every 2 years (i.e. training, assignment, courses)
• Faculty evaluation measures in place
• Parental input

The Board will continue to work on the initiatives and programs outlined in this document to the best of its ability as responsible professionals and individuals who contend honestly with the many challenges facing the Foundation. The initiatives and plans voted by this referendum will represent a commitment for the current and future Board members to implement them.

The Board will ask the Federal Department of the Interior (who according to our charter operates as the supervising authority of the Foundation) to provide Ecolint with a new Board. Some of the major current initiatives (e.g. 4^th campus) will be put on hold waiting for the new Board to make a decision on them. The timings of the initiatives will have to be reviewed accordingly.

Chers Parents, chers membres de la Communauté de l'Ecole Internationale,

Le 26 février 2002 une Assemblée Générale Consultative Extraordinaire avait été convoquée à notre initiative, appuyée par 439 signatures.

A cette occasion notre Comité avait mis en évidence :

• un manque d'éthique et de transparence dans les pratiques du Conseil de Fondation, relayé par le Directeur Général,
• des cas de mobbing,
• une tentative d'élimination d'un représentant du personnel en utilisant un document falsifié,
• une discrimination financière au profit de certaines catégories de parents (cf. art. 4 de la Charte).

Ces disfonctionnements sont à l'origine de la crise de confiance que nous traversons depuis longtemps.

Un vote sur une « motion de défiance envers le Directeur Général et les membres du Conseil de Fondation qui ont soutenu son action » a clôturé cette importante réunion. 80% des votants ont exprimé leur défiance.

Depuis cette date :

• l'enquête sur les documents falsifiés a été retardée,
• le Procès-verbal de l'Assemblée Générale Extraordinaire du 26 février (en contradiction avec l'art. 16 al. 4© du règlement du Conseil de Fondation rattaché à la Charte) ne nous est toujours pas parvenu,
• la Communauté a pu constater une tentative de favoriser certaines catégories des membres de celle-ci à l'occasion des dernières élections au Conseil de Fondation,

Ces évènements ont conduit à la perte de confiance d'un nombre significatif de parents et d'élèves, qui ont le sentiment d'être laissés de côté ; ce même malaise est non moins ressenti par le corps enseignant.

Toutes ces dérives ont conduit 4 membres du Conseil de Fondation, dont 2 Anciens, à démissionner dudit Conseil. Dans sa lettre, P.-A. Hirschy écrit : « Mon interprétation de l'esprit de la Charte me force à reprendre ma liberté d'opinion et d'agissements envers une politique que je ne partage plus ».Carol Panchaud, associée à Contanza Vallenas et à Valérie de Marnix, se référant à la « perception de la philosophie même de l'Ecole, de sa gestion dans un esprit de respect et de démocratie », de conclure : « Nous nous étions engagées à défendre cet esprit. Nous n'y sommes pas parvenues ».

La conception même de ce référendum, de la question qui nous est posée, et des arguments qui nous sont fournis par le Conseil de Fondation auront pour conséquence à long terme la destruction de l'esprit de l'Ecole. Toute violation de la Charte conduit inévitablement à la ruine de notre Ecole.

Le spectre du chaos, tel que dessiné par le Conseil de Fondation, est une insulte à la conscience professionnelle, au sens des responsabilités et au dévouement de l'ensemble du personnel ainsi que des membres des différents Comités de la Fondation. Ceux-ci sont toujours présents pour assurer à nos enfants, les élèves de cette Ecole, un environnement favorable à leur épanouissement, afin d'en faire des adultes responsables, capables de faire prévaloir dans leurs choix de vie des valeurs éthiques reposant sur l'effort, le respect mutuel et la démocratie.

C'est pour cela que nous vous invitons à voter NON : NON à la motion de confiance au Conseil de Fondation - NON à la déstabilisation morale et financière de l'Ecole Internationale de Genève.

Dear Parents/Members of the community of the International School,

On the 26^th February 2002 an Extraordinary General Consultative Assembly was called at our instigation, supported by 439 signatures.

On this occasion our committee put forward the following points:

• Major pitfalls in the practices of the Governing Board as relayed by the Director General
• Attempts at destabilizing members of the personnel and at dismissing a staff representative using a falsified document
• Financial discrimination in favour of certain categories of parents (cf. Art. 4 of the Charter)

These malfunctionings are at the origin of the confidence crisis we are going through.

A vote on a "motion of no confidence in the Director General and the Board members who have supported his actions" closed this important meeting. 80% of the voters expressed their non-confidence.

Since this date

• Delay of the inquiry into the falsified document
• Minutes of the Extraordinary General Assembly of the 26^th February have still not been published (in contradiction of article 16 al. 4 of the regulations of the Governing Board attached to the Charter)
• The community has seen an attempt to favour certain categories of its members on the occasion of the last elections to the Governing Board

These events have led to a loss of confidence of a significant number of parents and students who feel left aside; this same malaise is no less strongly felt by the teaching body.

All these negative events have led four members of the Governing Board, two of whom are former students, to resign. In his letter of resignation, P.-A. Hirschy wrote: "My interpretation of the spirit of the Charter compels me to return to a position where I am free to hold my own opinion and make my own responses towards policies I can no longer agree with. " Carol Panchaud, in association with Constanza Vallenas and Valérie de Marnix, referring to the " the perception of the School's essential philosophy, and of its management in a respectful and democratic spirit" concludes: "We were fully committed to defending this spirit. We were unsuccessful in our attempt."

The process of this referendum - in which we were not allowed to participate - the formation of the question on which we are to vote and the arguments we have been given by the Governing Board will have as a long term consequence the destruction of the spirit of the school. Every violation of the Charter inevitably leads towards weakening our school. Thus, any violation of the Charter can only harm the excellence of education delivered at Ecolint.

The image of potential chaos put forward by the Governing Board is an insult to the professional conscience, sense of responsibility and commitment of the whole staff as well as the members of the different committees of the Foundation. Those will always be present to ensure that our children, the students of the school, have an environment which is conducive to a high level education in order to help them become responsible adults capable of making life choices that emphasize the ethical values of effort, mutual respect and democracy.

It is for that reason that we urge you to vote NO: NO to the motion of confidence in the Governing Board, NO to the moral, educational and financial destabilisation of the International School of Geneva.

Jean-Louis Crochet, Hélène Durand Ballivet, Frazer Borens