Council Elections

[Mike Hunt]

Our school council did not advertise nor give 14 days written notice to each family with a pupil in the school this year (nor last). They seem to re-elect themselves via "accalimation" each year, but there is no outreach nor campaign to involve other families.
Some parents protested this year so the principal opened the nomination process up for less than 4 days and said there are 3 seats to be filled this year so if there are more than 3 parties interested, the nominations would be put to a vote. Can someone advise as to what the protocol is in this regard.
WHO votes? Is the vote put out to the entire community or is it a vote amongst old guard council members (who will just re-elect themselves)?
How are council elections and votes handled in other schools?
Is the entire community included in the voting process or is it just those interested in being on council and trying for a seat who vote amongst themselves (which seems kind of self--serving -- shouldn't all parents in the school be voting on who is representing them and their concerns).
Other local schools in our area seem to publish lists of candidates and short bios - but our council refuses to do this and cites freedom of information/privacy as their reason. This seems very odd.
Isn't their some obligation by the school board or administration to follow certain guidelines and share this information with the entire community and follow due process of some sort?

[Sheila Stewart]

Answer to your last question: Yes. Quick tips for now: The term for a school council membership is one year for all positions. Each fall is a brand new election of "seats". A school's own constitution would have to set the maximum of parent members, but if there isn't one, there is no limit really.

Must run, but this is all very clear (the guiding regulations for principals) in the Ministry's School Council guide....and possibly your own board's school council policy and procedures.

[Ross Button]

WOW

Your school council seems different than any I have heard of.

Limiting participation goes against the intent of School Councils. Besides, other than giving advice, a school council doesn't really do anything. But that is the purpose, to provide the voice of the parents and the community.

Your school council must have a constitution in order to make these rules. Can I see a copy of it ? Also, what board is your school in ?

regards,
Ross

[Jacqui Strachan]

Hi Mike,

Regulation 612 outlines the requirements regarding elections for school councils in sections 4-8. Here's what the regulation says:
- a person is qualified to be a parent member of a school council if he or she is the parent of a child who is enrolled in the school
- all parents of children enrolled in the school are allowed to vote in the school council election
- the school council election must be held within the first 30 days of the school year
- the principal must give at least 14 days written notice of the election date to all parents - it can be done by sending home a notice with the students or by posting a notice in the school in a location that is accessible to parents
- council members elect the chair/co-chairs (and often other executive officers, such as secretary & treasurer, but these are not specifically mentioned in the regulation).

These are the basic requirements laid out in Regulation 612. Your council's by-laws may outline other election requirements, but would have to be in compliance with these sections. There is nothing in the legislation that indicates what kind of biographical information is required for candidates running for council. Bios are certainly helpful, so that parents have a better idea of what the candidates bring to the table, but aren't required as far as I can see.

At my son's elementary school, they only started providing candidate bios in the past few years, after a parent suggested it. Of course, our 'election' was very informal - parents could vote for the whole slate of candidates or any number individually - as long as a candidate got one vote, they were elected. We never had to set a limit as to the number of parents (at least not while I was there), as we always seemed to get around 15-20 interested people, never more than that. The officers (co-chairs, secretary, treasurer) were chosen at the first council meeting after the election. This system seemed to work fairly well, in that many parents want to participate in council, but may not want to 'run' for a position.

I hope this helps.

[Gord Wyse]

Everything said above is true, but I would like to clarify one point. Typically a school council will have members and executive. For 99% of the time any parent can be a member of school council giving them voting privileges with no need to be elected. A school may have bylaws which dictate some conditions to stay on council ie. Attendance or maybe a max # of people(usually never an issue). Your principal was probably talking solely about 3 executive positions that parents would vote on. Summary- no vote required to be on parent council, voting is required to fill the executive spots, but if you miss the first meeting and are not recognized as being a member of Parent council then you likely won’t be able to vote at future meetings.(again depends on your schools bylaws).