“The issue is the prerogatives of the board and the headmaster,” said Richard Ravitch, a construction company executive who is president of the board. “My sense of trusteeship and my understanding of the requirements of the state law And the bylaws of the school all say to me that it is the obligation of the trustees of an institution to make all the policies.”

Irony in the Resignation

Ironically, the present board of trustees includes many parents who rose to Mr. Barr's defense when a faction of the former board and some of the parents sought his ouster in 1971. He was accused then of turning a “humanistic, progressive” school into one in which “discipline and authoritarian rule” were the hallmarks.

The issues then had nothing to do with this issue now,” Mr. Ravitch said. “All of us who are now officers of the board were supportive of him in that fight and supported his educational philosophy.”

Mr. Barr said that he would remain until June 7 as headmaster of the coeducational school, which has grown rapidly under his leadership to an enrollment of 1,254 from prekindergarten through 12th

The growing financial constraints that have come to bear on privately supported institutions are known to have heightened tensions between Mr. Barr and the board over the question of the extent to which cutbacks should be made among faculty and staff members.