Comments:
Dan Dietsch	Homewood, IL, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1970
Mr. Anders Stenback III	Esbo, Finland
Alumnus La Châtaigneraie 1993
The maneuvers of the board have shed a negative light on the Assiciation throughout the world.
Mrs. Viveca Hortling	1211 Geneva 17, Switzerland
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1964
Warner Lewis III	Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1975
Mrs. Kaarina Blanca Rodriguez-Campoamor Lorenzini	Grand-Lancy, Geneva, Switzerland
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1990
Nicolas Mayer	Geneva
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 94
I find it concerning that certain members of the board seem to utilise their position as a platform to fulfil their own ambitions of power and control, rather than behaving in the best interest of and acording to the wishes of theschool community.   I belive that it has become evident that the great majority of the community has lost trust in the board. Therefore, regardless of wether or not the statutes of the foundation allow a Chairman of the Board to void a vote of no confidence, the fact that such a large attendence did nevertheless express "no confidence" should speak for itself. I know that "in the real world" appropriate action would be taken. But maybe that is exactly what this board lacks: Real World Management compentencies rather than endless commitees, agendas, minutes & symposiums.
Ms. Sara Furstenborg Zitouni	Geneva, Switzerland
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1992
Staff/Pregny-Rigot
John Jeffrey Goodwin	Yardley, PA, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1967
Ms. Kristie Keegan	Sydney, NSW, Australia
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1994
Nicolas D. Chauvet	Geneva, Switzerland
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1973
Ex-Board member (1988-1992)
Mr. Ian Tong	Le Muids, Switzerland
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1972
I cannot accept the nasty tactics shown by current   senior management and senior board members. From   what I have read and heard at meetings, I believe   that there have been too many instances where the   will of the entire community has been suppressed   or frustrated.   As a parent, I am glad that the teachers are teaching my daughter what should be seen as ethical behavior, but it is a pity that the DG   and Chairman do not lead by example.
Harry Albright	UK
Alumnus La Grande Boissière
Manfred Thullen	DeKalb, IL, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1956
Mark Visconty	Seatle, WA, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1966
I cast a "No" vote because it is apparent that the Board and school administration have taken an adversarial path rather than a consultative one. At this point the community is in the same condition. Ecolint was a special place for my wife and me, teaching us how to see all sides of an issue and to work out mutually acceptable solutions. This is no longer happening. I suppose that this "confidence vote" will result in a resounding "NO". Let this be the beginning of a new way of working together rather than an occasion for further entrenchment. Please.
Henry Birt	Geneva, Switzerland
Parent La Châtaigneraie
The current board together with D.billingsley have implemented an array of long term strategies and policies which had been delayed or not recognised with any degree of urgency by the previous 2 administrations ( Streuli , Walker) .   These have all been difficult but very neccessary improvements to : greater devolvement of decisioon making to campus level, 5 year and long term capital and financial planning , open fora with stakeholders on all issues of school development, re-accreditation , increased accountability of teachers through performance appraisal , fund raising and child welfare policy.
Dr. Supriyo Roy	Oadby, Leicester, United Kingdom
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1956
Donald Melton	Seattle, WA, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1966
Michael Peppler	California
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1978 (French Side)
Bill Hall	Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1973
Roger Murray	London, United Kingdom
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1967
I work as a journalist on African affairs and remain in touch with fellow alumni of my era
I am quite appalled at the undemocratic and manipulative manner in which the majority on the current Governing Board are running affairs. They seem to be impervious to criticism and acting as if they rule by some devine right. Irrespective of the issues at stake they deserve to be voted out and sacked for using bureacratic means to deprive those who have the genuine interests of Ecolint at heart.
Marita Boe Wildman	Geneva, Switzerland
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1971
Board Member 1992-1993 La Chat Parent 1986-1993, and 1999-2002
Livesley Tyrrian	Chavannes de Bogis
Parent La Châtaigneraie 8-3
Nothing has been done by this board to help the school situation and staff. The fees are constantly going up withput a clear and well put together explanation.
Barbara Sandi	Prevessin-Moens
Parent La Châtaigneraie
Ecolint Parent 1987:1992:1995-1998:2000-present
Felipe Trucco	Nutley, NJ, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1979
Marlene Buckler -zahar	Bogis Bossey
Parent La Châtaigneraie 2003
PTA, CPR
We have grave concerns re the Accreditation process being halted either way. The underlying current is such that: lose accreditation and there goes the problem - all the Americans (and Canadians). To use these tactics is just plain irresponsible. WE hope we are wrong! And - we support the current Board because who knows what the alternative will be.
Alice Anne Kleeman	Menlo Park, CA, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1966
Alan Pollock	San Diego, California
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1965
John Samuel Staehli	Geneva, chene-bourg, Switzerland
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1994
Mr. Matt Flesher	Thonex, Switzerland
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1988
Good policies or bad policies are part and parcel of elected officials everywhere. However, in a democratic society, having an elected officials who seem uninterested in listening to the very people they serve is unacceptable. This holier than thou attitude must stop.
Dr Neil D. L. Clark	Kinbuck, Scotland
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1979
From what I hear, it is not just the Board that are acting in a suspect manner. P&G have also to defend their position.
Espen Hoffman Koht	Cambridge, United Kingdom
Alumnus La Châtaigneraie 1989
Simon John Brooks	D-55278 Koengernheim, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1971
Marina M. Stabile	,
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 2000
Martin Sjogren	London
Alumnus La Châtaigneraie 1999
Stuart Ballin	Geneva, Switzerland
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1967
Since the arrival of Mr. Boggs and Company, there seems to be nothing but contention. It is sad that one of the finest Institutuions of Pre-University learning has been brought to such a state. Only porr in self-intrested leadership can be blamed.
Mr. Craig S. McKay	Roswell, GA, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1976
No being a local resident, using what I am able to read, it appaers as if the governing board has some serious organizational and managerial problems.
Tom A. Taylor	Silver Spring, MD, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1986
Even if one were to ignore the alleged misdeeds of the Governing Board, it is clear that they will never be able to establish any degree of trust within the Ecolint community. A Board that is not trusted can never be effective. It is time for them to step aside, and allow new leadership the opportunity to reestablish the school as the excellent institution that it is.
Julian Lewis	CERN
Parent La Châtaigneraie
The present board is completely out of touch with the parents, the teachers and the students. They sit behind closed doors and fan their egos with our money, whilst not taking the slightest notice of the opinions, and financial conditions of the people that actually do something useful. If these people are not evicted in the shortest possible time, then soon there might not be any school to worry about; they throw our money away with both hands. How they have the nerve to ask us for an additional 1K-SF each coming year is beyond me. Perhaps they think that we must be made of money, and they can use it on any brain dead project they dream up.   Despite all this, the school staff manages to provide a wonderful education for our children, in an enlightened international atmosphere, how long can they keep this up, and how long will it be before the policies of the board start to destroy the school atmosphere and its high standards ?
Jacque Liu	Mclean, Virginia, USA
Alumnus La Châtaigneraie 1997
Jennifer Lynne Godin OConnor	Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1990
Mr. Dan Couture	Port Washington,, NY, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1964
Given the fact that I have remained relatively passive in the affairs of Ecolint for the past 35+ years, I do not feel sufficiently versed in the issues to vote. HOWEVER,     1) Given the fact that the alumni of the school have been contacted on this issue and,   2) The posted coverage of the "Tribune de Geneve" suggests AT THE VERY LEAST, that the current Governing Board is not acting in the spirit of cooperation and disclosure that historically have been the hallmarks of Ecolint;     I feel compelled to register a no-confidence vote. Permitting the Governing Board to continue to ignore its reponsibilities in the area of communication and compromise can not be tolerated in a community such as I remember from Ecolint.
Sam Telford	No. Grafton, MA, USA
Alumnus La Châtaigneraie 1977
Jonathan Krass	JGKrass@alumni.williams.edu
Parent La Grande Boissière
Alumnus and parent
Nigel Head	Altheim, Germany
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1972
Anne-Katrin Geser Scherer	Zug, Switzerland
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1982
Catherine Potvin	Montpellier, France
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1995
Kristin Piderit	Cleveland Heights, OH, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1987
I am appalled that the Director General did not see fit to resign after the vote of no confidence in February. Given that he did not, the unwillingness of the board to fire him is even more disheartening. It seems cruel for the board to put the school into such financial and strategic peril by calling for this vote and vowing to resign en masse if it does not pass. Nevertheless, if that is the only option that is open for us to obtain new leadership at the school, that is the option that I must endorse.     My gripe is with the operational integrity of the Director General. I believe the current strategic direction of the school is sound, but I have lost confidence that it will be pursued in a way that will take faculty, staff, and community needs for involvement into account.
Alexa Kaplan Intrator	Ferney Voltaire, France
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1964
A vote of no-confidence is a vote of no-   confidence. How can Mr. Boggs presume to   invalidate such a vote? And how can the   Governing Board carry out a mandate in a   climate of such anger and mistrust? The   International School deserves a Board that   represents its tremendous spirit, and not a   Board that tries to transform the school into   some corporate entity that pretends to build,   while attempting to conquer, and divide.
Amanda Seilern (nee Mahony)	London, UK
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1990
Nicolas Steiner	Geneva
Alumnus La Châtaigneraie 2001
Tom Zaidman	Caracas, Venezuela
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1961
Will study carefully all the aspects related to the problems. If there is a near majority against any decisons taken by the board then it must resign and not wait for further consultations.   A new and neutral board will have to take the   reigns and try to make peace with the majority.   regards   Tom zaidman
Richard McMullen	Danville, CA, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1975
During the past 34 years as a student and as an alumnus, I have come to know the tremendous wealth of talent that is represented by the teachers, parents, students and alumni of the International School. Our school can not afford to pander to special interests, however well intentioned, for the simple reason that, by definition, we represent almost all of the nations, faiths, and economic beliefs on this planet.     For a Foundation that prides itself on being a democratic institution, this crisis has highlighted an entirely opposite direction taken by the school administration. Holding an election is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for defining a democratic institution. This issue might have been avoided had the school Governing Board agreed to hold all of its meetings and deliberations in public, as is common practice in most democratic societies. This practice would enable any necessary course corrections before misguided policies escalate into a crisis.
Agnes Fiamma	San Francisco, CA, USA
Alumnus La Châtaigneraie 1992
David Holt Arbuthnot	Lusby, MD, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1958
Mr. Jay Lee	Seoul, South Korea
Alumnus La Ch?aigneraie 1993
Mrs. Karen E. Addis James	Niceville, FL, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1963
Would like to know how to attain more information ... in English ... to make an informed vote.
James Allaby	1297 Founex
Other La Châtaigneraie
I believe that the Board should be replaced by   a newly elected body by September 2002. I   also believe that the current DG should be   replaced as soon as possible.
Ms. Kate de Rivero Trujillo	Moscow, Russian Federation
Alumnus La Châtaigneraie 1993
Fatima Hashim	Bahrain
Alumnus La Grande Boissière High School Diploma 1994
Bart E. Dozier	Confignon, Switzerland
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1979
Derek Ballantyne	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1972
Rozelle, Allen	Geneva
Staff La Grande Boissière
There is very strong opposition among staff to both the Board and school upper management. In a staff survey, 217 members of staff {out of approximately 400} participated. To the question, Do you have confidence in the Governing Board?, 1 person answered yes; 208 people answered no. To the same question concerning the Director General, the answer was virtually the same.     If you wish a copy of the complete survey, get in touch with me.     The basic problem for the staff is NOT one of policies and programs though divergences do exist. It is one of perceived ethics and competence. Seen as lacking both, neither the Board nor the DG enjoys the trust of a majority of the staff.
Martin Eggleston	Warwick, UK
Alumnus La Châtaigneraie 1990
Miss Tharinie Buranasomphob Tavijaroen	Bangkok, Thailand
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1965
Being away from Geneva but however still feeling attached to Ecolint, I think the Board should make a general survey of opinion from all concerned before taking any important decision.   I do hope that there will be no second wrong decision..
Susan Elisabeth Gillo	Richmond, CA, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1996
Catharine Wilder Guiles	New Gloucester, ME, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1955
Rohan de Soysa	, Sri Lanka
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1960
Alumnus
There seem to be irreconcilable differences between the attitudes, perceptions and objectives of the Board and the majority of the rest of the Community. Interestingly, individual campus Principals appear to be better supported. Maybe a different type of structure for governing the school is indicated.
Mr. Daniel Ten Ton	Marbella, Málaga, Spain
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1988
The Governing Board as well as the Director General have acted as if they were running a banana republic. A fresh start with new, professional and responsible people, accountable to all, will hopefully cast away the current image of the school and direct it back to where it once was.
Miss Sarah Rozelle	Vandoeuvres, Geneva, Switzerland
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 2000
Andrea Smith	Divonne, France
Parent La Châtaigneraie
In direct consequence to the behaviour and practices of the board of governors, the entire community seems polarised at every conceivable level -   teachers/administration   parents/staff   staff/management   international organisations/private sector   Americans/everybody else   one campus/another campus   ELP/FLP   and so on........     This referendum is not about some stated policies, which, if sound, will be implemented by a new board, but about the integrity and competence of the people governing our school based on track record not promises for the future.     I do not see how we can continue in the current climate of total mistrust. The accreditation process is more threatened by the current situation than by a re-election.
Mr. David Rochford	Skerries, Co. Dublin, Ireland
Alumnus La Châtaigneraie 1988
Andrea Buscaglia	Geneva
Parent Pregny-Rigot
The democratic spirit of the International School is currently in line with that enjoyed in certain developing countries ruled by cheap and populist dictators. This is a scandal if you consider that this is 2002 Switzerland
Mr. Blair Fraser	Germantown, TN, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1975
John N Morris	Monrovia, CA, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1959
Leslie Fernandez Van de Ven	Colusa, CA, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1971
Helene Durand Ballivet	Gex, France
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1960
John Shade	Bellevue, Switzerland
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1979
The staff association survey is fairly embarassing for the current board and DG. Articles in the local press do not give potential customers the impression that Ecolint is a serene learning environment these days. I can understand that, from a financial point of view, the current DG wants to hang on to his job, but I feel that the correct behaviour would be to bow out gracefully. A new board may not solve all the problems, but it is clear that the current board is more controversial than beneficial. I therefore vote no {based on perception rather than knowledge of the details}.
Sonia Fèvre	Geneva
Alumnus La Châtaigneraie 1997
Miss Anita Fernqvist	Commugny, Vaud, Switzerland
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1997
Ms. Yukiko Kubota	Geneva, Switzerland
Alumnus La Châtaigneraie 1997
Erik Sjogren	,
Alumnus La Châtaigneraie 1997
Miss Kathleen Anne Molloy	Portland, OR, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1984
Pamela Aldrich Cordeau	North Wales, PA, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1963
Patricia M Aldrich Hillis	St. Louis, MO, USA
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1970
The current Board has acted in a manner that they think is in the best interest of the School. The recent controversy has reached such an extreme level that the Board no longer has the confidence or trust of the community and can no longer be effective as a Governing Board. It is not realistic or in the best interest of the school for them to continue.
Jennifer Hunt	Montreal, Canada
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1983
Samiha Fatima Husain Raza	Geneva, Switzerland
Alumnus La Grande Boissière 1984
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