GLAD PARK PUBLIC SCHOOL

SCHOOL COUNCIL CONSTITUTION

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Article 1. Name and Address

The organisation will be known as Glad Park Public School, School Council, herein referred to as “The Council”.  The members of The Council shall be responsible for upholding the constitution.

Glad Park Public School

300 Glad Park Avenue

L4A 1E5

(905) 642-0224

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Article 2. Mission Statement

The Council seeks to develop strong partnerships between the school, the family, and the community to provide a positive learning environment in both official languages. 

The Council believes that strong school community partnerships are built around a common vision, and common goals and nurtured through regular communication, meaningful consultation and extensive involvement of all members of the school community

The Council believes that academic excellence is of primary importance , in an environment that encourages holistic student development and will strive to support the teachers and other staff in achieving this through funding of programs and organisation of volunteers.

The Council believes that a strong and vibrant school environment contributes significantly to a student’s ability to achieve his/her potential and develop his/her skills and interests.  Council will encourage the development of this environment through volunteer involvement and funding of initiatives.

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Article 3. Purpose and Objectives

The Council will:

·         Provide advice to the school principal and, where appropriate to the school board, on any matters that the Council has identified as priorities;

·         raise and distribute funds to support academic excellence and an enhanced school environment;

·         identify issues of interest to parents and respond either through redirection to school staff or the establishment of sub-committees.

·         provide structure to volunteers and volunteer committees in support of academic excellence and an enhanced school environment.

·         identify opportunities to enhance communication between the school and families through events, web-site, and other means.

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Article 4. Procedures and Operating Guidelines

The operational procedures of this Council are outlined in the York Region District School Board (“YRDSB” or The Board) Policy and Procedure #262 available on the Board’s web site.  All recommendations and activities of the Council shall comply with all laws enacted by any government having competent jurisdiction, OntarioMinistry of Education Policies and Procedures , YRDSB Policies and Procedures, and Collective Agreements.

The Council shall act to achieve the Purpose and Objectives outlined above.  No member shall gain financially from the activities of the Council.

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Article 5. Membership

5.01 Number of Parent Representatives

There shall be no more than 12 parent/guardian members of the Council.

5.02 Number of Community Representatives

There shall be no more than 2 community members of the Council.  Community members must not be parents or guardians of students in the school.

5.03 Number of Student Representatives

A student representative may be invited to address specific topics.

5.04 Other members

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

5.05 Loss of Eligibility

Any member who no longer satisfies the eligibility requirements for membership must immediately resign from the Council upon losing their eligibility status.

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Article 6. Elections

6.01 Timelines

Elections of parent council members must be held during the first 30 calendar days of the school year.  Public notice must be given fourteen days before the election specifying date, time, and location.  Each parent of a student has one vote by secret ballot.

6.02 Acclamations
Elections of parent members shall be by acclamation when the number of candidates is equal to, or less than, the number of parent member positions on Council.

6.03 Election procedures for parent members

(a)                    Each parent/guardian seeking nomination must be nominated or self-nominated in writing, must have a child registered at the school, and must declare if he or she is employed by the Board.

(b)                   Each parent/guardian of a student enrolled in the school shall be entitled to one vote for each vacant parent/guardian membership position in the Council.

(c)                    Prior to the end of the school year, the Past-chair and two other Council members shall strike an elections committee to plan the elections process, gather nominations, and run the elections.  No one standing for election, or the spouse or partner of anyone standing for election, or the other parent of the same child of anyone standing for election, shall be a member of the elections committee.  In the absence of an election committee, the Chair will ensure that a process is in place to make sure that nomination forms are issued early in the following September so that new council members can be elected as prescribed by the YRDSB policies and this constitution.

(d)                   The election committee shall:

·         Provide nomination forms

·         Ensure that all those eligible to vote are informed of election procedures and election date(s), location, and time, at least fourteen days in advance of the election;

·         Request a profile of all candidates and make these available to the electorate;

·         Conduct the elections by secret ballot

·         Count and record the ballots

·         Help the principal notify all candidates of the results;

·         Keep all the results and related information confidential;

·         Release only the names of successful candidates and not the votes cast or any other details.  A list of candidates and the vote results will be kept on file for use in the event of vacancy on the Council. 

·         Notify all candidates of the results before the results are released to the community.

6.04 Minimum number of parents/guardians

If fewer than 8 parents are elected to Council, in the first round of elections as provided for above, a notice will be printed in the first school newsletter following the date of the election, indicating that positions on Council remain open and providing submission and election dates for a second round of elections for parent members of Council.  This second round of elections shall be conducted in the same manner as the first round.

If the number of additional nominations would lead to a Council with more than 12 parents then elections will be conducted amongst the new nominees.  Those parents acclaimed in the first round will remain on Council. 

6.05 Terms of Office
All terms of office expire on the date of the election for the school year identified in 6.01 above following that for which the term of office began.  Elected and appointed members may seek additional terms in office

6.06 Vacancies in membership

(a)                    A vacancy in the membership of the Council does not prevent the Council from exercising its authority. 

(b)                   If positions remain vacant after the elections, Council may appoint members. 

(c)                    Positions that become vacant due to resignation or removal shall be filled as soon as possible by:

·         offering the person with the next highest number of votes who was not elected in the most recent election held, 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 then an election will be called;

·         When there are no more candidates available, Council may appoint parent members.

 

Vacancies will be filled only until June of the current year, after which time any vacant positions will be filled through September elections.

6.07 Resignations
Anyone who is a council member, except the principal, may resign their position by delivering a letter of resignation to the Chair.

6.08 Removal
Council may remove any Council member who misses 3 meetings

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Article 7. The Executive

The Executive shall consist of the Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer

7.01 The Chair

At the first meeting after the elections, the Council will elect one chair.  An employee of the Board cannot be Chair

The Chair will:

·         Preside over all executive and general meetings

·         Prepare the meeting agenda

·         Conduct the meeting in an orderly way

·         Be responsible for overseeing the proper functioning of all Council activities

·         Communicate with the Principal

·         Consult with senior staff and board trustees as required

7.02 Other Officers

At the first meeting of the school year the Council will elect a vice-chair, secretary and treasurer.

(a)                    The Vice-chair will:

·         Chair meetings in the absence of the chair

·         Consult with the co-ordinators of each sub-committee

·         Co-ordinate, with the school secretary, all correspondence related to sub-committee activities

·         Record calendar events in staff room and library

(b)                   The Secretary will:

·         Record minutes of all meetings

·         Distribute copies of the minutes as laid out in Section 12.02 below

·         Conduct all general correspondence as requested by the executive

(c)                    The Treasurer will:

·         Keep an accurate record of all receipts and disbursements

·         Keep the financial accounts of the Council and render a written accounting at each meeting

·         Present a reconciled financial statement at the Annual General Meeting

·         Work in co-operation with the Fundraising Chair

7.03 Council Members

School Council Members shall:

·         Maintain a school wide perspective on issues

·         Regularly participate in School Council meetings

·         Participate in information & training programs

·         Act as a link between School Council & the Community

·         Encourage the participation of parents from all groups and of other people within the school community

·         Act as an advisor to a committee or sub-committee as required

7.04 Vacancies in Office
Officer vacancies will be filled as soon as possible.

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Article 8. Sub-committees

At the first meeting of the school year, the following sub-committees may be formed to conduct more in-depth work or to make recommendations to Council, or to organize volunteers and execute planned activities.

·         Communications

·         Fundraising

·         Character Education (including playground conduct)

·         Health & Safety (including safe arrival and Kiss’N’Ride)

·         Volunteer (including recruitment, assignment, and recognition)

·         Academic Environment (including literacy support, homework policy)

·         Election (established in May for following school year)

·         Hot lunches

·         Cupcake days

·         Lice checks

Sub-committees must include at least one parent member of Council and may include persons who are not members of the Council.  Other sub-committees may be established in response to school needs and parent interest.

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Article 9. Meetings

9.01 Timetable

There will be a minimum of four general meetings of the Council in the school year..  All general meetings are open to the public.  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.  These dates, times, and locations will be included in communications to the families of the school, added to the school calendar, noted in the minutes of the first meeting, posted on the School Council Bulletin Board, advertised outside the school, and posted to the school’s web site.

9.02 Quorum

A meeting will have quorum if the majority (51%) of Council members are present and the majority (51%) of those present are parents.  A meeting of Council can continue without quorum but all voting must be deferred.

9.03 Decision Making

The preferred method of decision making is consensus.  A consensus is a collective opinion or general agreement amongst all council members. 

When a motion is put forward and seconded, the motion will be considered passed if the majority of votes cast (51%) support the motion. 

No proxy voting will be allowed. 

If the chair believes that there is insufficient knowledge on which to make a decision, or that there are stakeholders who have not yet been able to voice their views, then the vote can be deferred to a subsequent meeting so that a decision can be made on the best available information.

Whether decisions are made through consensus or voting, the decision reached will be formally stated and recorded in the minutes.

Where time is of the essence and a meeting cannot be convened, an electronic vote can be held.  It must be recorded by the secretary and rules with respect to quorum and decision making must be followed.

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Article 10. Conflict

10.01 Conflict of Interest

If individual Council members perceive themselves to be in conflict of interest they are required to declare their conflict of interest at the earliest opportunity and to recuse themselves from voting on the matter on which they are in conflict.  Council members cannot receive any remuneration directly or indirectly for their work as a member of the Council.

10.02 Conflict Resolution

The Council will abide by any conflict resolution policy issued by the Board

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Article 11. Financial Records

11.01 Signing authorities

The Chair, Vice-chair, and Treasurer are the signing authorities.  All cheques must be signed by 2 of these 3.

11.02 Disbursement and Allocation of money

All money must be collected by the end of the school year.  With the exception of a carry-over to be determined by the Council, funds will be allocated to specific purposes in keeping with the parents’ interests, prior to the end of the school year.

Expenditures less than $1000 can be passed by the Council with a formal motion approved by the majority (51%) of votes cast.  Quorum rules apply.

Proposals to spend $1000 or more must be formally stated and noted in the agenda to allow input from the broader community prior to the vote being taken by voting members.  A formal motion must be presented and passed by a majority (51%) of votes cast.  Quorum rules apply.

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Article 12. Agendas and Minutes

12.01 Agendas

Agenda items will be submitted to the chair 10 days prior to the meeting

The chair will prepare a draft agenda and circulate it to Council 7 days prior to the meeting

A final agenda will be circulated to Council five days prior to the meeting with any attachments required for the meeting (reports from sub-committee chairs, financial statement, etc).  Agenda and attachments will also be available in the school library and on the School Council Bulletin Board five days prior to the meeting.

Agendas will always include:

·         an opportunity for introduction of parent observers,

·         approval of previous meeting’s minutes,

·         a call for additional agenda items (these may not be addressed at the meeting if they are outside the authority of Council or if they warrant more discussion than can be accommodated in the meeting),

·         a review of action items from the previous meeting, and 

·         a report and acceptance of the current financial position of the Council.

12.02 Minutes

Minutes will be prepared and circulated to all in attendance within 7 days of the meeting

A final version will be issued to all in attendance, filed in the library, posted on the School Council Bulletin Board, and posted on the web-site within two weeks of the meeting.

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Article 13. Constitutional Amendments

The Council will review the constitution as required.  Proposed changes must be submitted in writing so that they can appear on the agenda as a formal motion for a meeting of council.  An amendment will be made if 2/3 of the council members vote in favour.  Quorum rules apply.

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