Breakwater School, Inc is a not-for-profit corporation whose stated purpose is to develop, implement, and administer programs for children. This corporation is for public benefit as defined by the State of Maine and maintains 501(c) 3 status. The official members of the corporation are a Board of Trustees, comprising parents of children enrolled at Breakwater, alumni parents, grandparents, and members of the Greater Portland community. At present, the Board of Trustees consists of fourteen members, including educators, financial and legal experts, scientists, and leaders in research, medicine, real estate, marketing, and philanthropy. This group is responsible for maintaining financial stability, hiring and working closely with the Head of School, and focusing on long-range planning. The Trustees meet bi-monthly, and committees of the Board meet as needed.  Minutes from Board meetings are available to Breakwater families and can be found in the Public File Notebook in the library. The official by-laws of this corporation are available here.

The Board of Trustees has four primary responsibilities:

• It selects, evaluates, and supports the Head of School, to whom it delegates authority to manage the School.
• It develops broad institutional policies that guide the Head in running the School.
• It plans and provides oversight of the annual operating budget, oversees the School's endowments, sponsors development activities, and maintains the financial well-being of the School.
• It nurtures a sense of community-wide involvement and support of the School.

It is important to note that the Board is responsible for long-term planning and fiduciary issues and not the day-to-day operations of the School.The Board has both standing committees and ad hoc committees. Non-Board member parents and staff are very much encouraged to become involved in the growth and health of the School by joining committees and considering membership on the Board.