The proposal to build a Choate golf course is still at a preliminary stage, this according to Headmaster Edward J. Shanahan and Board of Trustees Chairman Mr. Herbert Kohler Jr. ’57. The Board of Trustees has not yet taken a vote and tabled the question at its recent meeting on November 1st and 2nd, largely due in part to unsettled wetlands issues. The News interviewed both men together during the Board of Trustees’ most recent campus visit.

Much preliminary work remains before the Board of Trustees can consider a vote on the course proposal. After having the land surveyed, the school discovered that, according to Headmaster Shanahan, “there are significantly more wetlands than we thought.” This means that it will be harder to build the course, since wetlands cannot simply be destroyed in construction. The administration is hoping to hold preliminary meetings with state, federal, and local officials by the end of the calendar year to discuss the viability of building the course. While plans have been drawn through collaboration with course designers Tim Liddy and Pete Dye, Mr. Kohler was not prepared to release maps or drawings yet.

Mr. Kohler stressed the fact that he is not adamant on the idea of a golf course. He stated that “my primary impetus is to preserve green space for this school.” One of the reasons a golf course is being considered is that it would increase the land’s use by the Choate community, while creating revenue for the school. This goal would be achieved while preserving substantial green space. The issue is pertinent because the school could possibly generate a few million dollars with ease through using the land for a housing development or other ventures. Mr. Shanahan said that consultants estimated the value of the undeveloped land at $5 million dollars. He stated that if it is developed into a golf course, the asset value of the land could grow to up to $20 million dollars.

Mr. Shanahan stated that one idea for the land thought of previously would be to have a sustainable mountain school-type facility. However, “these things cost a lot of money of course,” and the school would need to raise money. He emphasized the fact that the Board of Trustees has “spent more time on how to use that land [this year], whether for golf or for something else.”

One topic of conversation that has been discussed at both an administrative and student level is sustainability. Headmaster Shanahan stated that we as a community need to “change our lifestyles.” This goal needs to be met on a more consistent front, however. “I am not talking about the Hydro Cup, where we save on energy and resources for a period of time and then go back to what we did before.” To take a different perspective, he remarked that the school needs to teach students to consider the question of sustainability “in terms of public policy.” This is because professional opportunities will be “fundamentally affected” by the issue. Mr. Shanahan believes that “possibly the single largest global issue for mankind is this issue, it’s not the war in Iraq, it’s not Al-Qaeda, it’s not terrorism.”

When asked about the construction of fences at the heart of campus, Mr. Shanahan said that there are two major reasons. The first is that Choate is located in “a town that is growing and generating more and more traffic. At the north end of town…there is so much commercial development that the waves of people going through and avoiding route 5” have created a lot of traffic. The fences are a way of signaling to people that “you’re entering into a community.” According to Mr. Shanahan, the town will not allow the school to put cones in the middle of the street saying “pedestrian crossing.”

The second reason is the students. With the fences, now almost all the crosswalks are being observed except near the entrance to Hill House circle.

The actual board meetings started with Committee Meetings Thursday, and finished with General and Executive sessions the following day. The Trusteeship committee meetings included a survey taken every other year. This self-evaluation survey asks half of the trustees to comment on both the overall function of the Board, along with their individual contributions. After evaluations are collected, the head of the committee speaks individually with each member to asses their work. According to Headmaster Shanahan, this sometimes consists of a simple congratulation, while other times require a more in depth look at possible improvements for a trustee.

The Finance Committee looked into what the Headmaster Shanahan described as “a complicated issue that can be captured in the expression ‘the take’ of endowment.”

More specifically, the school is investigating how much of the endowment is being used towards annual operating costs of the school. The income of the school comes in three forms: tuition, the endowment, and the annual fund. $10-11 million of an approximately $48 million dollar budget this year is coming from the endowment. Headmaster Shanahan noted that the school plans to “control in a more disciplined way how much of the income from the endowment we should use for current operations.” Hoping to neither raise nor decrease the spending, the committee spoke of containing it.

In the fall, the Academic Affairs Committee hears reports from both the Admissions and College Counseling offices. These reports allow both departments to give a definitive report on Choate and college admission data. According to the headmaster, Choate admitted between 25 and 26 percent of applicants, boasting a yield of 63.4 percent. Both these numbers are school records. Thirty-three and a half percent of all incoming students are on financial aid, which means that the school has achieved its overall goal of having 30 percent of the entire student body on financial aid. Of the incoming class, a little over 11 percent of incoming students are black or Hispanic.

On the college front, the school experienced what was described as its best results in the last four or five years. This evaluation is made on both early admission statistics, and Choate students’ Ivy League admission statistics. As the school becomes more diverse, so does the list of colleges that its students attend. Headmaster Shanahan commented that he “wouldn’t be surprised” is more students looked to attend Caltech and MIT as a result of the Science Research Program. He expressed the same sentiment regarding more Choate students going to conservatories as a result of expansion of the Arts Concentration program.

At the Buildings and Grounds Committee meeting, an update on dorm construction was provided. Construction of the new dormitory is currently on budget and on time.

The Capital Campaign is still ahead of schedule. With about $120 million dollars already pledged in writing, Development hopes to have raised $150 million dollars by the end of the school year.