Governance

Delbarton School is a New Jersey nonprofit membership corporation.  There are three Corporate Members: the Abbot (or Administrator) of St. Mary’s Abbey and two other solemnly or perpetually professed Benedictines (men or women).  One of these two other Benedictines is elected by the solemnly professed monks of St. Mary’s Abbey, and the other is appointed by the Abbot (or Administrator).  The elected or appointed Members serve four-year terms, renewable.

Corporate Members hold certain reserved powers of governance, as described in the Corporation's Bylaws.  The reserved powers are chiefly requirements for the Corporation's Trustees to seek the approval of the Members for certain major acts of governance.  The reserved powers protect the Benedictine and Catholic identity and mission of the School, its single-gender character, and its operational stability.  Outside of these extraordinary situations, the Members do not actively participate in School governance.

Other than holding the reserved powers, the Corporate Members delegate all ordinary powers of governance to the Trustees of Delbarton School. The Board of Trustees is a governing board of distinguished men and women who oversee and regulate all aspects of Delbarton School's governance, subject to the Members’ reserved powers.  As indicated in its Bylaws, the Board of Trustees elects its members from candidates proposed by its Governance Committee, for four-year terms, renewable once.  As one of their reserved powers, the Members of the Corporation must approve the election or dismissal of all Trustees.

All juridical and fiduciary activities of Delbarton School are conducted according to the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church regarding religious institutes and Catholic schools, and the Constitutions and Directory of the American Cassinese Congregation, the association of autonomous Benedictine monasteries in North America of which St. Mary’s Abbey is a member and, as such, is subject to its proper law.