Section 9:  School Council Meetings

 

a)       The school council shall meet at least 4 times during the school year.

b)      The school council shall meet within the first 35 days of the school year, after the elections are held under Section 5, on a date fixed by the principal of the school.

c)       An official school council meeting can not be held unless a majority of the current members of the school council are present at the meeting and a majority of the members of the school council who are present at the meeting are parent members.

d)      If a school council member is absent for more than 2 meetings, that member is removed from Council; thereafter, Council may elect another member to join Council.

e)       All official meetings of the school council shall be no more than 90 minutes in length.

f)        During the meeting, presentations initiated by or on behalf of the school or board shall be no more than 50% of the time allocated for the meeting and/or at the discretion of the Chair.

g)      Council meetings may consist of concise presentations, questions, options, vote on decision and action to be taken.  Where a member may object or disagree, that member must provide a brief explanation supporting the objection or disagreeing point of view and provide at least one other viable option for resolution.  Any questions that may not be answered during the course of the meeting can be subsequently fielded by voice-mail at the school or email contact.

h)       All meetings of the school council shall be open to the public.

i)         Council may permit guest speakers up to 15 minutes, during a meeting, to provide a pertinent presentation at or near the start of the council meeting provided that Council approved the presence of the guest speaker no less than 5 business days prior to the meeting.

j)         Council may permit a parent or community member up to 5 minutes, during a meeting, to provide a pertinent ‘new business’ presentation near the end of the council meeting provided that the parent or community member submits a request to be added to the agenda no less than 7 business days prior to the meeting.  Failing which, that parent or community member may have up to 1 minute to provide a pertinent ‘new business’ presentation near the end of the council meeting, subject to time constraints and at the Chair’s discression.

k)       All meetings of the school council shall be held at a location that is accessible to the public.

l)         The school council is entitled to hold its meetings at the school.

m)     The school council will accept a majority vote by Council members (only) on all decisions concerning issues/presentations that are addressed at school council meetings.

n)       The principal of the school shall, on behalf of the school council, give written notice of the dates, times and locations of the meetings of the school council to every parent of a pupil who, on the date the notice is given, is enrolled in the school.  Such notice may be given by:

1)       giving the notice to the parent's child for delivery to his or her parent; and

2)       posting the notice in the school in a location that is accessible to parents.

 

 

Section 10:  Committees

 

a)       The School council may establish committees to make recommendations to the council

b)      Every committee of the school council must include at least 1 parent member of the council

c)       A committee of the school council may include persons who are not members of the council

 

Section 11:  Voting

 

a)       Each member of the school council is entitled to 1 vote.

b)      Voting by proxy is satisfactory provided that the member giving the proxy has been absent for no more than 2 meetings; that the member giving the proxy notified the Chair and at least 2 other members by documentation prior to the meeting being held; and that members in attendance shall accept only one proxy per attending member.

c)       In the absence of an official council meeting, if necessary (where time is of the essence), Council may communicate by email correspondence to secure a vote.

d)      The principal of the school is not entitled to vote.

             

Section 12:  Minutes and Financial Records

 

a)       The school council shall keep minutes of all of its meetings and records of all its financial transactions.

b)      Documentation shall be on a similar letterhead to that of the school’s.

c)       The minutes and records shall be available at the school for examination, without charge, by any person.

d)      Subsections a) and b) do not apply to minutes and records that are more than 4 years old.

 

Section 13:  Incorporation

 

The school council shall not be incorporated

 

 

Section 14:  Consultation with Parents

 

The school council shall consult with parents of pupils enrolled in the school about matters under consideration by the council.

 

 

Section 15:  Annual Report

 

a)       The school council shall annually submit a written report on its activities to the principal of the school and to the board that established the council

b)      The principal shall, on behalf of the school council, give a copy of the report to every parent of a pupil who, on the date the copy is given, is enrolled in the school.  This may be complied by;

1)       giving the report to the parent's child for delivery to his or her parent; and

2)       posting the report in the school in a location that is accessible to parents.

 

 

 

Section 16:  Amendments to the School Council By-Laws

 

A request for amendments to the By-Laws can be proposed at a school council meeting by a member and thereafter, voted upon by Council.  If necessary and prior to voting, the school council can set dates and times to, or by email correspondence, discuss these proposed amendments.  If the school council passes any amendment, record is shown in the minutes and the By-Laws shall be immediately amended accordingly and noted with the revision date.

 

 

Section 17:  Administration of Funds

 

a)       All Council funds shall be held in one bank account at a designated local bank, recommended by the signing Officers and approved by the Council.

b)      The Chair, Principal and Treasurer shall have cheque signing authority on the Council's bank account, with any two of the aforementioned signatures necessary to validate cheques.

c)       Expenditures for events wholly or partially funded by the Council are to be presented in budget form for approval by the Council.

d)      Receipts must be furnished for all expenditures.

e)       Council expenditures of up to One Hundred ($100.00) dollars may be authorized by the Principal and one of Chair or Treasurer without first having been approved by the Council.

f)        All expenditures in excess of One Hundred ($100.00) dollars shall be made only with the advance approval of the Council.

g)      General count of money must be done by two people at the same time.

h)       The Council shall not operate in a deficit.

i)         Funds raised by the Council shall be used for school related activities and equipment and to pay for the general expenses of carrying out the business of the Council.

 

Section 18:  Roles and Responsibilities

 

a)       Members are expected to be present at every scheduled meeting of council. An attendance register will be maintained for all meetings.

b)      A review of council membership will be done in the event of chronic absenteeism. A member could be asked to resign for flagrant absenteeism.

c)       Each member is responsible for consulting with the community and reporting to the council on a regular basis.

d)      Members shall respect the personal opinion and input of each member of the school community, and foster an openness where individual contributions are encouraged and valued.

e)       Discussions at Council meetings shall be limited to matters of concern to the school community as a whole.

f)        Members shall use the appropriate communication channels when questions or concerns arise.

g)      Encourage participation of parents and maintain a school wide perspective on issues.