School Council Elections
School Council Elections 2019
What is a school council and what does it do?
All government schools in Victoria have a school council. They are legally constituted bodies that are given powers to set the key directions of a school within statewide guidelines. In doing this, a school council is able to directly influence the quality of education that the school provides for its students.
Who is on the school council?
For most school councils, there are three possible categories of membership:
- A mandated elected Parent category – more than one third of the total members must be from this category. Department of Education and Training (DET) employees can be Parent members at their child’s school as long as they are not employed at the school.
- A mandated elected DET employee category – members of this category may make up no more than one-third of the total membership of school council. The principal of the school is automatically one of these members.
- An optional Community member category – members are co-opted by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests or experiences. DET employees are not eligible to be Community members.
Generally, the term of office for all members is two years. The term of office of half the members expires each year, creating vacancies for the annual school council elections.
Why is Parent membership so important?
Parents on school councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills that can help shape the direction of the school. Those parents who become active on a school council find the involvement satisfying in itself and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.
How can you become involved?
The most obvious way is to vote in the elections, which are held in Term 1 each year. However, ballots are only held if more people nominate as candidates than there are positions vacant.
In view of this, you might seriously consider
- standing for election as a member of the school council
- encouraging another person to stand for election.
Do I need special experience to be on school council?
No. What you do need is an interest in your child’s school and the desire to work in partnership with others to help shape the school’s future.
Nominations
If you decide to stand for election as a parent or community member, a nomination form can be obtained from the General Office. Please return nomination forms to the Principal by Friday 22nd February 2019.
Candidates can choose two ways for nomination:
- Self-nomination
- Nomination by an eligible person i.e. nominated by someone eligible from the same category for which you are able to stand.
Thank you to all members on the current council for the time and effort they have put into their roles as school councillors.
The terms of office, membership categories and number of positions in each membership category open for election are as follows:
Parent member
Term of office:
2 years from the day after the date of the declaration of the poll in 2019 to and inclusive of the date of the declaration of the poll in 2021
Number of positions: 4
DET employee member
Term of office:
2 years from the day after the date of the declaration of the poll in 2019 to and inclusive of the date of the declaration of the poll in 2021
Number of positions: 2
Student member
Term of office:
2 years from the day after the date of the declaration of the poll in 2019 to and inclusive of the date of the declaration of the poll in 2021
Number of positions: 1
REMEMBER
Ask at the school for help if you would like to stand for election and are not sure what to do
- Consider standing for election to council this year
- Be sure to vote in the elections
Contact the Principal for further information.
Fact Sheets are available at the General Office for students interested in nominating for a seat on the council. Fact sheets are also available for parents of students that are wishing to nominate.