College Council Elections

Nominations for vacant College Council positions are now called

The timeline is as follows:

Monday 11 February             Nominations open 

Monday 18 February             Nominations close at 4:00pm

Tuesday 19 February            Ballot papers distributed if election is necessary

Tuesday 26 February            Ballot closes

Wednesday 27 February     Announcement of ballot results

Tuesday 19 March                 College Council Annual Reporting Meeting

An active College Council is very important to the success of the school. The College Council will be setting the long-term agenda for the school and we are seeking people wishing to be active participants in what promises to be an exciting period in Koonung’s history. If you are not able to participate in College Council, then other opportunities are available on College Council sub-committees.  Expertise in areas such as financial management, community partnerships, fundraising and building will be of great benefit to the College community, even in an advisory capacity.

Elections for College Council positions will take place during the next 4 weeks. Nomination forms are available below or from the General Office. Nominations close on Monday 18 February. Those elected will serve on College Council from 1 April 2019 until 31 March 2021.

The following College Council members complete their term of office on 31 March this year.

Parent Members: Cath Bennie and Geoff Lamb 

Department Employee Members (staff): Mark Quinlan and Sandra Greenhill 

Student Member: Chris Thompson

Community Members (non-elected): Jasmine Wolrige, Thomas Shelley (College Captains), Geoff Spicer and Joanne O'Donnell.

The College Council is constituted by:

Six parents (elected), five DET employees (elected), two students (elected)and up to four community members.

Members of the 2019 College Council continuing in the second year of a two-year term in 2019 are:  Kyle Joustra, Gary Howell, Mary Roiniotis, Eric Zou, Marilyn Faithfull and Stace Kerr. The Principal, Marianne Lee, holds the position of Executive Officer.

Vacancies arising for 2019 are:

2 parent representatives (elected)

1 student representative and

2 DET (staff) representatives.

In addition, up to four community members will be appointed. Community members may be co-opted when deemed appropriate by the College Council. 

Department employees who are parents are able to stand for election as parent members at their child’s school (maximum of two).

There will be three separate elections, one for parent members, one for student members and one for Department (DET) employees. 

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 primary 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 engaged in work 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 coopted by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests or experiences. Department employees are not eligible to be Community members.

For all schools with a Year 7 and above cohort, there is a fourth category of membership:

•    A mandated elected Student member category, 2 positions.

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 their involvement satisfying and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.  

Do I need special experience to be on School Council?

Each member brings their own valuable life skills and knowledge to the role. Councilors may need to develop skills and acquire knowledge in areas that are unfamiliar to them.  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.

How can you  become involved?

The most obvious way is to vote in the elections, which are held in Term one each year. However, ballots are only held if more people nominate as candidates than there are positions vacant.

In view of this, you might consider

• standing for election as a member of the school council
• encouraging another person to stand for election.

What do you need to do to stand for a council election?

The Principal will issue a Notice of Election and Call for Nominations following the commencement of Term one each year. All school council elections must be completed by the end of March unless the usual time line has been varied by the Minister.

If you decide to stand for election, you can arrange for someone to nominate you as a candidate or you can nominate yourself in the Parent category.

Department employees whose child is enrolled in a school in which they are not engaged in work are eligible to nominate for parent membership of the school council at that school.

Once the nomination form is completed, return it to the principal within the time stated on the Notice of Election. You will receive a Nomination Form Receipt in the mail following the receipt of your completed nomination.

Generally, if there are more nominations received than there are vacancies on council, a ballot will be conducted during the two weeks after the call for nominations has closed.

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

Stace Kerr 

Business Manager