School Council Constitution | York Region District School Board

Goal: To enhance the educational and social experience of students at Kleinburg Public School.

Article 1 - Name and Address

The organization is known as the Kleinburg Public School Council and shall not be incorporated. The members of the school council shall be responsible for maintaining the constitution.

Kleinburg Public School 10391 Islington Avenue Kleinburg, Ontario 905-893-1142

Article 2 – Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of the Kleinburg Public School Council is to promote support for:

Improved student learning, and an increased sense of shared accountability for public education.

The objectives of the Kleinburg Public School Council are to:

Promote the mission, vision and values of the board
Act as an advisory body to provide ideas, recommendations and concerns to the principal and, where appropriate, the school board to assist them in their decision-making on educational issues. The advice should be based on the general view of the school community and be in the best interests of ALL students.
Create and maintain an environment, which is conducive to improving student learning and school effectiveness.
Enhance lines of communication among parents and/or guardians, administrators, teachers and children in the school community.
Through active participation of parents, support student well-being and student achievement
Communicate regularly with parents and other members of the community to seek their input with regard to matters being addressed by the School Council
Provide advice on the development, implementation and review of the school plan for continuous improvement.
Provide support for school, family and community partnerships that assist parents in the education of children.
Sponsor additional programs, such as parenting workshops.
Assist in the building of a viable school community that works together in the interest of education at Kleinburg Public School.

Article 3 – Procedures and Operating Guidelines

The Council operates without financial gain for its members. Any profit to the organization is used in promoting its purposes. The Kleinburg Public School Council operates any fundraising activities in strict accordance with Board policy under the guidance of the School Principal.

Individual students, parents, staff and personal issues are not discussed. Council members are expected to refer specific parent or student issues to the appropriate teacher or to the principal.
All speakers and opinions are respected.
All Council members are expected to be open-minded and objective.
At the beginning of each school year, the Council and its sub-committees set a number of goals, which they expect to achieve over the coming school year. The ultimate objective of all goals is to enhance the educational and social experience of students at Kleinburg Public School. All goals must be both measurable and attainable.

Article 4 - Membership

School Council shall be comprised of the following members:

A minimum of six (6) and a maximum of 30 PARENTS, constituting the majority of members of the School Council and the PRINCIPAL OF THE SCHOOL

It may also include:

Community Representative
Teaching Staff Representative (one)
Support Staff Representative (one)

Parents. A majority of the members of the school council shall be parents of students who are enrolled in the school. The School Council Executive will be elected from the Parent Members. Executive Positions are: Chair (or co-chairs), Vice Chair (optional), Treasurer, Secretary/Co secretaries, and Fundraising Chair (or co-chairs).
Community Representative(s). The community representative is a member of the Kleinburg community who has no children enrolled in the school.
Principal. The principal of the school is a member of the school council.
Teaching Staff Representative. The teacher representative shall be one teacher who is employed at the school, other than the principal or vice-principal, who is elected by the teaching staff employed at the school.
Support Staff Representative. The support staff representative shall be one person who is employed at the school, other than - 3 - the principal or vice-principal or any other teacher, who is elected by the support staff employed at the school.

Article 5 – Elections

Time Period.
1. The election of School Council Executive shall be held during the first 30 calendar days of each school year, on a date that is established by the chair or co-chairs of the school council after consulting with the principal of the school.
Parent Members
1. Parent members fill out a registration form making a commitment to School Council Members that he/she will volunteer to sit on one sub-committee of School Council and endeavour to attend all council meetings.
2. When up to thirty (30) parent members put their names forward to be members of council, they are elected by acclamation. If more than 30 parents show an interest in becoming members of council, a vote will decide which parents become members of council.
3. The principal is authorized to increase the number of members by 10% of the total number of members (i.e. up to 3 members)
4. Executive Positions shall be by acclamation when there is only one candidate for the position.
Election Procedures for Executive
1. Each parent/guardian seeking election must be nominated /self-nominated in writing, must have a child registered at the school, and must declare if he or she is employed by the Board.
2. Each parent member of school council is entitled to one vote for each vacant executive position on the council.
3. The election committee shall:
  1. be chaired by the past chair
  2. provide nomination forms
  3. 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;
  4. may request a profile from all candidates and make these available to the electorate;
  5. conduct the elections by secret ballot;
  6. count the ballots;
  7. help the principal notify all candidates of the results;
  8. keep all the results and related information confidential
  9. 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.
  10. notify all individuals standing for election of the results before the results are released to the school community.
4. Notice shall:
  1. be given to each child for delivery to his or her parents at least 2 weeks prior to the meeting date; and
  2. be posted in the school in a location that is accessible to parents.
Election Procedures for Other Members
1. Only teachers employed at the school may vote for the teacher member.
2. Only support staff employed at the school may vote for the support staff member.
Vacancies
1. A vacancy in the membership of a school council does not prevent the council from exercising its authority.
2. If executive positions remain vacant on council, after the election, the council may appoint parent members to those positions.
3. Executive Positions that become vacant due to resignation shall be filled as soon as possible by:
  1. Offering the person with the next largest number of votes who was not elected, the opportunity to accept the position.
  2. 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.
  3. If there are more applications than positions, an election will be called.
  4. When no more candidates are available, council may appoint parent members to executive positions.
4. Vacancies will be filled until June of the current year, at which time the vacant positions will be filled through September elections.
Resignations
1. Anyone who is a council member, except the principal, may resign his or her position by writing a letter of resignation to the chair.
2. If an executive resigns the position vacated will be filled according to Article 5: Vacancies.
Removal
1. There is no provision for the removal of council members. A school council member is entitled to hold his/her position until the term expires.
Term of Office
1. person elected, acclaimed or appointed as a member of a school council holds office from the later of:
  1. the date he or she is elected or appointed; and
  2. the date of the first meeting of the school council after the elections held in the school year.
2. Terms of office continue until the date of the first meeting of the school council after elections in the next school year.
3. A member of a school council may be re-elected or re-appointed in subsequent years.
4. A 2 year term of office is recommended for the Chair and/or Co-chair position.

Article 6 - Executive

The School Council Executive will be elected from the Parent Members. Executive Positions are: Chair (or co-chairs), Vice Chair (optional), Treasurer, Secretary (or Co- secretaries), and Fundraising Chair (or co-chairs). Other committee chairs will be appointed on an as needed basis.
The chair or co-chair of a school council is required to be a parent member of the Council from the previous year. (New members may not be nominated for the position of Chair/Co-chair).
An employee of the Board who is assigned to Kleinburg Public School cannot be chair/co-chair.
Nominations for executive positions will take place at the first meeting of the year. The past chair will run the election.
In the event an election is necessary, all ballots will be secret.

Article 7 - Sub-Committees

Each sub-committee consists of a Sub-Committee Chair, who must be a council member. A sub-committee is formed whenever the need arises, and sub-committee will appoint its’ own chair or council will appoint a chair.
Sub-Committee Chairs should seek volunteers from the parents at large to sit on their sub-committees.
The Sub-Committee Chair will:
1. Work with his/her committee to set achievable goals.
2. Communicate regularly with Council Chair Person(s) to report the activities of the committee.
3. Delegate various responsibilities to other committee members.
4. Hold open meetings and distribute minutes of those meetings to Council members.
5. Progress reports on committee activities are made at all monthly and general meetings, when required.
6. Make recommendations to the council.
7. Sub Committees may include: Communications, Health, Safety, Events

Article 8 – Meetings

Timetable
1. School Council meetings will be in alignment with Ministry guidelines to meet a minimum 4 times a year to a maximum of 7 times a year. The number of meetings for the year will be voted on and decided at the first meeting. The first meeting occurring within the first 30 days of the school year and are open to the public and in a location accessible to the public.
2. A copy of the dates and times will be included in communication(s) to the families of the school.
3. It is recognized that the timetable may change at any time.
4. The Secretary will send a copy of the list of dates and times of meetings to the local trustee after the first meeting of the fiscal year.
5. The agenda is set by the Chair person(s) and Principal, and circulated 7 days in advance of meeting.
6. Standing items on all monthly meetings include:
  1. Community issues
  2. Chair Person(s)’s report
  3. Treasurer’s report
  4. Principal’s and Teacher’s report
  5. Updates on ongoing general activities
  6. Committee updates
7. Meetings begin and end on time; members agree to stay on topic to keep meeting moving. Detailed or controversial items are deferred to a committee for further discussion, resolution or to provide recommendations. Only items on the agenda may be discussed at the meeting; items/concerns that are individual in nature should be addressed directly to the school staff.
8. A meeting of a school council can be held when:
  1. a majority of the current members of the council are present at the meeting; and
  2. a majority of the members of the council who are present are parent members
Quorum - A meeting will have quorum when:
1. The majority of the executive are present. AND
2. At least 51% of the parent members are present. AND
3. The Chair or at least 1 of the 2 co-chairs is present. When a quorum does not exist, the meeting will be considered an information session of council and any voting will be deferred.
Voting - While decisions of the council are best reached by consensus, when voting is necessary:
1. Each member of a school council is entitled to one vote in votes taken by the school council.
2. Each member of a committee of a school council is entitled to one vote in votes taken by - 7 - the committee.
3. The principal of the school is not entitled to vote in votes taken by the school council or by a committee of the school council.
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 must be made between Council meetings, the chair (or co-chairs) may decide to have a vote via email. All email responses should be included in the minutes of the next Council meeting. In the case where a Council meeting does not have quorum, the chair (or co-chairs) may decide to have a vote via email. All email responses should be included in the minutes of the next Council meeting. In the case where a decision cannot be reached through consensus, the chair (or co-chairs) may decide on one of the following:
1. 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
2. To defer the issue to the next meeting
3. To defer the issue to a special meeting
4. To defer the issue to a sub-committee
Conflict of Interest
1. 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.
2. Council members cannot receive any remuneration for their work as a member of council.
Conflict Resolution - The council will undertake to resolve all internal conflicts within its’ mandate in a timely manner and it will abide by any conflict resolution policy issued by the Board.

Article 9 – Financial Records

All receipts are to be submitted to the Treasurer.
The fiscal year of the Council is September 1 to August 31.
A financial report will be submitted at the end of the fiscal year.

Article 10 - Agendas and Minutes

Agendas
1. Agenda items should be submitted to the chair one week prior to the council’s next meeting.
2. The chair will set the agenda with the principal, prior to the meeting.
Minutes
1. Minutes shall be distributed to school council members prior to the next Council meeting.
2. The minutes shall include motions, decisions and actions to be taken.
3. The minutes should include any decisions made between Council meetings via email vote.
4. Members of the council must inform the chair(s) if they are going to be absent from a council meeting.

Article 11 - Constitutional Amendments

The school council will review the constitution every two years or as the need arises. A subcommittee 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 to be passed.

Article12 - Responsibilities of the School Council

Submit a written annual report on its activities including fundraising to the principal of the school and to the Board.
Ensure compliance with the Board policy on fundraising when choosing to take part in fundraising activities.
Engage in internal conflict resolution activities in accordance with relevant Board policies and procedures and bylaws of the council.
Consult with parents of students enrolled in the school about matters under consideration by the school council.

Amended September, 2001

Amended October, 2003

Amended October, 2005

Amended March, 2009

Amended April, 2012

Amended May, 2016