School Council Constitution | York Region District School Board

April 14th 2011

Article 1 - Name and Address

The organization will be known as Stonebridge Public School Council. The members of the school council shall be responsible for maintaining the constitution.

Stonebridge Public School
168 Stonebridge Drive
Markham, Ontario
L6C 2Z8
Tel: 905-887-2427 Fax: 905 887 7841

Article 2 - Mission Statement

Our school council believes that collaborative partnerships amongst the school, the family, and the community are essential to improving student learning/well being and increasing a shared sense of accountability for public education.

Article 3: Purpose and Objectives

Encourage effective parental and community involvement in the education of their
children.
Participate in the school improvement planning process.
Provide meaningful consultation and extensive involvement of all members of the school community.
Foster parental and community involvement through regular communication and dialogue between all partners in education.
Encourage meaningful involvement of all members of the school community in support of student learning.
Provide input into decisions made by the school administration, the Board and the Ministry.
Encourage effective parental involvement by focusing on the following areas: parenting skills, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making and collaborating with community.
Facilitate the building of a viable school community, which works together in the best interests of our students and their education.

Article 4 - Procedures and Operating Guidelines

The operational procedures of this council are outlined in YRDSB Procedure #262, All recommendations and activities of the council shall comply with all Ministry of Education Acts, York Region District School Board Policies and Procedures and Staff Collective Agreements.

Article 5 - Membership

The School Council is made up of both Parent and Community members. A community
member is defined as an individual who lives in the community and does not currently have a child
attending Stonebridge P.S. Each of these individuals will have voting privileges. The total number
of members of the school council will be a minimum of 7 and a maximum of 12.

There shall be no more than one member on the school council from anyone household.

5.1 - Number of Parent Members

The number of parents on the school council will be a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 10. Foster parental and community involvement through regular communication and dialogue between all partners in education.

5.2 - Number of Community Members

The number of community members will be a maximum of 2.

5.3 - Other Members

Other members such as teacher representative and support staff representative shall be elected/appointed in accordance with YRDSB Policy #262.

There will be a minimum of 1 teacher member to a maximum of 4 teacher members with no voting privilege.

1 support staff member.

Article 6 - Elections

6.1 - Acclamations

Parent elections shall be by acclamation when the number of candidates is equal to, or less than the number of parent member positions on the council.

6.2 - Election Procedures for Parent Members

Each parent/guardian seeking election must be nominated or self-nominated in writing including acknowledgement of having read and understood the Stonebridge School Council Constitution, must have a child registered at the school, and must declare if he or she is employed by the Board.
Each parent/guardian of a student enrolled in the school shall be entitled to one vote for each vacant parent/guardian membership position on the council.
The school administration shall strike an election committee in September, to help plan the election process, the gathering of nominations, and the running of the election. No one standing for election, or the spouse of anyone standing for election, shall be a member of the election committee.
The election committee shall:
1. provide nomination forms
2. ensure that the school community is notified of election procedures and election date(s), location, and time, at least fourteen days in advance of election;
3. request a profile from all candidates and make these available to the electorate;
4. conduct the elections by secret ballot;
5. count the ballots;
6. help the principal notify all candidates of the results;
7. keep all the results and related information confidential;
8. only release the names of successful candidates. A list of candidates and the vote results will be kept on file for use in the event of vacancy on the council.
9. shall notify all individuals standing for election of the results before the results are released to the school community.

6.3 - Election Procedures for Community Members

Each community member seeking election must be nominated or self-nominated in writing including acknowledgement of having read and understood the Stonebridge School Council Constitution, must not have a child registered at the school, and must declare if he or she is employed by the Board.
Each community member shall be entitled to one vote for each vacant Community Member position on the council.
As above (Article 6.2)
As above (Article 6.2)
In the event that the number of community members interested in seeking election is equal to or less than 2, said members will be assigned Council position by acclamation.

6.4 - Terms of Office

Elected and appointed members may seek additional 2 terms of office.
Elected and appointed members may only serve 3 consecutive terms on the School Council with voting privilege

6.5 - Vacancies in Membership

A vacancy in the membership of a school council does not prevent the council from exercising its' authority.
If parent member positions remain vacant on council, after the election, the council may appoint parent members.
Positions that become vacant due to resignation or removal shall be filled as soon as possible by:
- offering the person with the next largest number of votes who was not elected, the opportunity to accept the position.
- Where there are not enough candidates to fill the vacancies, notice will be sent to all parents informing them of the vacancies and application by interested volunteers sought.
- If there are more applications than positions, an election will be called.
- When no more candidates are available, council may appoint parent members.
Vacancies will only be filled until June of the current year, at which time the vacant positions will be filled through September elections.

6.6 - Resignations

Anyone who is a council member, except the principal, may resign their position by writing a letter of resignation to the chair/co-chairs or by communicating such at the school council meeting.
If someone resigns, the position vacated will be filled according to Article 6.4 Vacancies.

6.7 - Removal

The council may choose to remove from council any member who misses 2 consecutive meetings and shall undertake to replace that person according to Article 6.4: Vacancies.

Article 7 - Executive and Council Member Responsibilities

7.1 - Chair/Co-Chair

There will only be two Co-Chairs

7.2 - Other Officers

At the first meeting of the school year, the council will elect or appoint the following officers: Secretary and Treasurer.

7.3 - Vacancies in Office

Officer vacancies will be filled as soon as possible according to Article 7.1 and 7.2

7.4 - Chair/Co-Chairs Responsibilities

Schedule school council meetings, prepare the agenda and chair the meetings.
Communicate with the school principal, senior Board staff and trustees, as required.
Ensure that meeting minutes are recorded,
Distribute the minutes by email to all Council members
Distribute reminders by email to the Council members about upcoming meetings along with said agenda for that meeting and ensure the agenda is posted on the school website at least one week before each meeting
Ensure approved minutes are posted on the school website after each meeting in a timely manner
As required make presentations for special school events on a continual basis,
The School Council Constitution is reviewed on an annual basis
Prepare the annual report for the York Region District School Board

7.5 - Secretary Responsibilities

Record attendance and minutes of the meetings of the Council
Maintain a binder of key Council documents (minutes, constitution, flyers, etc.) so any parent can review them if desired
Ensure that all records are kept in a safe place

7.6 - Treasurer Responsibilities

Prepare a Treasurer’s report and update the account status to attendees at each Council meeting
Prepare the Annual Council Treasurer’s report as required by the York Region District School Board
Keep full and accurate accounts, receipts, disbursements and books belonging to the Council
Distribute the funds of the Council as instructed by the Council

7.7 - School Council Voting Member Responsibilities

The members of the school council are accountable to the parents they represent and MUST:

Maintain a school-wide perspective on issues.
Attend school council meetings.
Participate in information and training programs
Act as a link between the school council and the community.
Encourage the participation of all parents within the school community.
Participate on sub-committees and assist with tasks of the school council.
Participate on all Fundraising events in some capacity.

7.8 - School Council Communications

An email distribution list will be created at the first meeting after Council is established
All members will acknowledge that the email list is to be used for School Council related business only

Article 8 - Sub-Committees

8.1 - Establishment

At a school council meeting, sub-committees may be formed to:

Conduct more detailed or in-depth work than is possible during council meetings,
Make recommendations to the council,
Keep the council informed of issues and developments in its' particular area.
The list of sub-committees may include
- Election
- Graduation
- Fundraising
- Budget
- Education
- Policy and Procedure
- Capital Improvements
- Social, Communications
- Volunteer, Constitution
- Health and Safety

8.2 - Sub-Committee Membership

Each sub-committee must contain at least one parent member of council.
Persons, who are not members of council, may be members of sub-committees.

8.3 - Chairs of Sub-Committees

Each sub-committee will appoint its own Chair or Co-Chairs.
The Chair/Co-Chairs are responsible for creating or updating a resource (e.g. a binder) documenting forms, policies, procedures, contact information, etc. to be used for future reference.

Article 9 - Meetings

9.1 - Meeting attendance

Members of the council must inform the chair or co-chairs if they are going to be absent from a council meeting.

9.2 - Timetable of Meetings

At the first meeting of the new school year, a timetable will be created which states the meeting dates agreed to for that school year.
A copy of these dates and times will be included in communication(s) to the families of the school.
It is recognized that the timetable may change at any time.
A copy of the list of dates and times of meetings will be sent to the local trustee by the chair or co-chair.

9.3 - Quorum

A meeting will have quorum if:

The majority of council members are present AND
The majority of those present are parents.

A meeting of council can be held if there is no quorum but all voting will be deferred.

9.4 - Decision-making

The preferred method to resolve issues on council is by consensus. Consensus is a collective opinion or general agreement by ALL the council members.

In the case where a decision cannot be reached through consensus, the chair/co-chair may decide on one of the following:

To have a vote by way of a show of hands or a silent vote by those present in which a 51 % majority shall carry the vote
To defer the issue to the next meeting
To defer the issue to a special meeting
To defer the issue to a sub-committee

9.5 - Conflict of Interest

If individual council members perceive themselves to be in conflict of interest, they are honour bound to declare their conflict at the earliest possible opportunity and at the time of the meeting, so the minutes may reflect this declaration.
Council members cannot receive any remuneration for their work as a member of council.

9.6 - Conflict Resolution

The council will undertake to resolve all internal conflicts within its mandate in a timely manner.

The council will abide by any conflict resolution policy issued by the Board.

Article 10 - Financial Records

10.1 - Signing Authorities

The principal plus either:
The treasurer or the chair or one of the co-chairs can be signing authorities.
Two signatures will be required on the account.
Any expenditure over $200 must have pre-approval by council.

10.2 - Disbursement and Allocation of Money

All money must be collected by the end of the year. Funds should be dispersed or allocated to a specific purpose by the end of the year.

10.3 - Annual Audit

Each year, there may be an independent audit of the school council books performed by an accountant.

Article 11 - Agendas and Minutes

11.1 - Agendas

Agenda items should be submitted to the chair or co-chairs one wek prior to the council's next meeting.
The chair or co-chairs will set the agenda with the principal, prior to the meeting.

11.2 - Minutes

Minutes shall be posted upon approval of the school council in the school and on the school website prior to the next meeting of the council.
The minutes shall include motions, decisions and actions to be taken.

Article 12 - Constitutional Amendments

The school council will review the constitution annually or as the need arises.
A sub-committee can perform the review and bring proposed amendments to the school council for voting.
Amendments to the constitution must be presented to the council, at a regularly scheduled meeting.
Constitutional amendments need a 2/3 majority of all voting members to be passed.

Behind every graduate... is an effective school council.