THE CHAIRMAN of the board of trustees for Stevenson School — who helps determine what the school’s headmaster should be paid — is a partner in a San Francisco architectural firm that has billed the school more than $2.5 million over the last seven years.

During that time, headmaster Joe Wandke, who has a role in hiring trustee Mark Hornberger’s firm, has been paid about $3.5 million in salary, benefits and expenses by the exclusive private school in Pebble Beach.

According to Stevenson School’s tax returns, which the IRS requires to be made public because the school does not pay taxes on its income, it paid Hornberger + Worstell $536,576 in 2007 and other large sums going back to 2001 for design services on the new student center and other buildings.

Hornberger’s position with the school, and the profit his firm makes from it, have drawn criticism by some parents of RLS students.

“There can be no pretext that the Stevenson board is independent, certainly not Mr. Hornberger, who has an unbelievable conflict of interest,” according to one parent, who asked not to be identified. He said Hornberger benefitted from his relationship with Wandke, and vice versa. “Basically, the board is hand picked by Joe Wandke to allow him to do whatever he wants, which apparently means using the school as his personal piggy bank,” the parent said.

Ken Hess, parent of a Stevenson alum, said allowing Hornberger’s firm to benefit from the school raises questions.

“One of the more common conflicts of interest that afflict charities is self-dealing, such as when the charity buys products or services from its own board members,” said Hess, president of the national charity, Science Buddies, that maintains a science website for students.

But Hornberger said it is appropriate for his firm to do multimillion-dollar business with the school, even though he is the chairman of the board of trustees.

He outlined several reasons.

Though Hornberger, who graduated from RLS in 1968, admitted he discusses with other board members the “appropriateness of the level” of Wandke’s compensation, he said he recuses himself from voting on the specific amount Wandke earns. “I don’t make the recommendations, I don’t set it, I don’t vote on it,” he said. “My job is to make sure we are setting performance guidelines for Joe.”

A separate subcommittee of trustees votes on Wandke’s salary, a process Hornberger said he’s not a part of.

Any architectural work Hornberger personally performs for the school is done pro bono, he added. Furthermore, fees senior architects at Hornberger + Worstell charge the school are “significantly discounted.”

“The school is at a significant advantage by not having to pay for my time,” he told The Pine Cone.

Stevenson School paid Hornberger + Worstell for its work on its 31,000-square-foot Rosen Student Center, 20,000-square-foot Atwood Residence Hall and 48,000-square-foot Keck Day Hall. Hornberger said the firm has also done work on the headmaster’s new home, which replaces the one gutted by a fire in 2007.

Stevenson’s CFO, Ed DiYanni, said Hornberger’s position with the school has been raised as an issue before, but the school kept Hornberger on as chairman. “He has in the past offered to step down,” DiYanni said.

Wandke was on vacation and unavailable for comment, DiYanni said.

According to the Association of Community College Trustees, many states have laws that define conflicts of interests, which “may prohibit trustees from making decisions that would benefit their income, personal investments and businesses owned by the trustee or family members.”

“Public service as a trustee is intended to benefit the [school] and the community, not the individual trustee or his or her relatives or friends,” according to the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization.

But Hornberger insists he and other trustees follow strict rules and regulations that include requiring board members to recuse themselves when necessary.

“We follow those steps very carefully,” he said.