As a parent of a recent Lawrenceville School graduate, a private school that lost its respected headmaster and went though a difficult search in the past year, and of another child who recently graduated from Trinity College, currently in its second search in three years for a leader, I was surprised by your Aug. 25 page-one story about the controversy over the compensation paid to Bishop Craig Anderson, head of St. Paul’s School.
It is very clear to me that a headmaster’s job is an exceedingly difficult one. He has to be on duty 24/7 and is the ultimate authority for the many youngsters who make up the student body. The job requires the major responsibilities of running a huge operational and financial structure, plus vast amounts of time devoted to fund-raising, often during the summer. In a world where compensation has increased sharply, albeit at a fraction of what has occurred in corporate life, I find it shortsighted to back-seat-drive a board for awarding $524,000 in total pay to a leader whom board members feel has performed very ably.
Additionally from my perspective, it appears that the job of a headmaster and spouse, acting in place of parents, is a team effort and that satisfactory compensation is not only fair and reasonable, but also essential.
Frank Lorenzo – Houston
(Mr. Lorenzo is former chairman of Continental Airlines and father of four private-school-raised