Drayton Heights Public School
School Council By-Laws
Revised November 2013
A. MEMBERSHIP
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Parent Representatives
School Council shall be comprised of a minimum of four (4) parent representatives.
Parent representatives shall be elected by parents of students currently enrolled in the
school. Any parent of a student in Drayton Heights Public School (DHPS) is eligible to be
elected to a School Council unless the parent is a Board Employee who works in the
school. Parents who are Board employees may be elected to the School Council if they
do not work at DHPS. They will be required to take reasonable steps to inform qualified
voters before the election for parent representatives of their employment by the Board.
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Community Representative
School Council shall appoint at least one community representative, if there is interest.
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Student Representative
After consultation with the School Council, the Principal may appoint one pupil from the
school as student representative.
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Principal
The Principal of the school shall be a non-voting member of the School Council.
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Teacher Representative
School Council shall have one Teacher representative employed at DHPS, other than the
Principal, elected to the School Council by the Teachers of the school.
NOTE: Trustees elected to the School Board cannot be members of a School Council in the
jurisdiction of the School Board.
B. TERMS OF OFFICE
Members of School Council will be elected or appointed for a one-year term.
Members may be re-elected or re-appointed for subsequent terms.
C. ELECTION OF PARENT MEMBERS
Parents will be invited to express an interest in serving on School Council (information will be
sent to all parents in the June Newsletter and again in the September Newsletter) and/or being
nominated to serve as a member by way of announcements in the school newsletter, which is
sent home the first week of September. Should an election be needed, ie. we have more
parents interested in serving on School Council than we have positions, School Council shall hold
elections for School Council according Board Policy.
Parents may be acclaimed to a position on School Council.
The Principal, in conjunction with School Council, will establish procedures for the election of
staff members, in accordance with Board Policy.
D. VACANCIES
Vacancies on School Council may be filled by election or appointment, at the discretion of
School Council. A vacancy on School Council does not prevent School Council for exercising its
authority.
E. OFFICERS
For the purposes of DHPS School Council, the following parent members shall serve as officers of
school council and be elected by the members of School Council:
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Chair
Co-Chair
Treasurer
Secretary
Board members, who are members of School Council, may not serve as the Chair or Co-Chair of
School Council.
F. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICERS
Chair and Co-Chair of School Council shall:
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Make every effort to attend and participate in School Council meetings
Meet with Principal to set agenda for meetings
Facilitate School Council meetings
Communicate with the Principal on behalf of the School Council
Manage all correspondence and present such correspondence at meetings
Treasurer of School Council shall:
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Make every effort to attend and participate in School Council meetings
Obtain accurate and up-to-date records of School Council funds
Prepare deposit book
Count and sign off on fundraising deposits, along with Fundraiser event coordinator (if
there is one)
Deposit funds from School Council events and fundraising activities
Provide school secretary with deposit book entries (entries will be inputted into the
School Generated account under the Parent Council line)
Submit payment (invoices/reimbursement) requests to the school secretary (cheques
are signed by the Treasurer or the Chair of School Council)
Present a financial report at School Council meetings
Present an annual financial for School Council
Secretary of School Council shall:
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Make every effort to attend and participate in School Council meetings
Record and maintain accurate records of School Council meetings
Make minutes available to Council members
G. REMUNERATION
School Council members shall not receive remuneration for serving as a member or an officer of
School Council.
The reimbursement of School Council members for expenses incurred when acting on behalf of
School Council is governed by Board Policy.
H. MEETINGS
School Council shall meeting not less than four (4) times during a school year.
School Council shall meet within thirty-five (35) days of the start of the school year, after
elections are held. This date shall be fixed by the Principal.
School Councils are entitled to hold meetings at the DHPS. All meetings must be held in a
location that is accessible to the public.
School Council meetings shall be open to the public.
Written notice of the dates, times and locations of School Council meetings shall be given by the
Principal, on behalf of School Council, to all parents of students enrolled in the DPHS. The notice
may be provided to the enrolled child for delivery to the parent and by posting the notice in the
school in a location accessible to parents or by other written means.
A School Council meeting cannot be held unless a majority of the current members of School
Council are present at the meeting and a majority of the members present are parent members.
I.
COMMITTEES
School Council may, as required, establish committees to make recommendations to the Council
on specific areas of interest.
Every committee of School Council must include at least one parent member of School Council.
A committee of School Council may include persons who are not members of School Council.
School Council committees are entitled to hold meetings at DHPS. All committee meetings must
be open and accessible to the public.
The process of notification of committee meetings to parents of students enrolled at DHPS will
be determined by School Council.
J.
DECISION MAKING
School Council is an advisory board and every attempt should be made to reach decisions
through consensus. In the event that a consensus cannot be achieved, a vote may be taken.
Voting will be conducted in compliance with Board Policy.
K. CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Any member of School Council, who has personal financial interest in a matter before School
Council, will declare the conflict, refrain from participating in the decision-making process
and/or voting on the matter, or attempting to influence the decision-making or vote on the
matter.
L. CONFLICT RESOLUTION
School Council members shall make every effort to resolve conflicts themselves. If School
Council is unable to resolve an internal dispute, the Chair and/or Co-Chair and the Principal may
contact the appropriate Superintendant of Education for assistance.
The Superintendant of Education will, in consultation with the Principal and the Chair or CoChair of School Council, determine the approach to be used in the attempt to resolve the
conflict.
M. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES
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All invoices/reimbursement requests must be submitted to the Treasurer or the Chair of
School Council.
All payment (invoice/reimbursement) requests must be signed by the Treasurer or the
Chair of School Council. A copy of all signed payment requests will be provided to the
Treasurer.
The Treasurer or the Chair of School Council will submit all payment
(invoices/reimbursement) requests to DHPS Secretary.
N. RECORDS AND REPORTING
School Council shall keep minutes of all its meetings and records of all its financial transactions
which shall be available at DHPS for examination without charge.
Minutes shall be retained for a period of four (4) years.
Financial records shall be retained for a period of seven (7) years.
School Council shall submit a written report on its activities to the Principal and the School
Board on an annual basis.
The Annual Report shall include a report on fundraising activities. A copy of the Annual Report
shall be provided to every parent of a student enrolled at DHPS, by giving the report to the
parent’s child for delivery to the parent and by posting the report in the school in a location
accessible to parents.
O. FUNDRAISING
School Council may engage in fundraising activities that are conducted in accordance with, and
for a purpose that is approved by the Board, or authorized by Board Policy.
Funds raised by School Council shall be used in accordance with Board Policy.
Funds collected through fundraising activities will remain on school premises.
Fundraising revenues will be used for the benefit of the students.
School Council shall decide how excess funds will be spent at the last meeting of the school year.
P. LIABILITY INSURANCE
The Board recognizes that School Council members are volunteers and are covered by the
Board’s liability insurance as long as they are acting within the scope of their duties on behalf of
the Board.
Q. TERMS OF REFERENCE
School Council shall operate in accordance with Ontario Regulation 612/00 – School Councils,
and Upper Grand District School Board Policy #201 – School Councils.
R. BY-LAW REVIEW AND AMENDMENTS
These by-laws will be provided to School Council members at the first meeting of the school
year. If necessary, by-law review will occur at the October/November meeting, provided that
amendments have been given to the Council Chair in writing not less than 14 days prior to the
October/November meeting.