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 Notes on Translation
The electronic translation service on the York Region District School Board's website is hosted by Google Translate. The quality of the translation will vary in some of the languages offered by Google. Google Translate is a free service and currently offers translation in over 50 languages, although an impressive number, this does not capture all languages or dialects. The basic translation’s goal is to capture the general intention of the original English material.
The York Region District School Board does not guarantee the quality, accuracy or completeness of any translated information. Before you act on translated information, the Board encourages you to confirm any facts that are important to you and affect any decisions you may make.
The York Region District School Board is committed to parent, family and community engagement, and it is our hope that by providing this tool on our website that we are making our information more accessible to families whose first language is not English and thereby enabling better engagement in public education.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
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Q: How will I know if my local trustee intends to run for re-election?
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Any
individual who wishes to run for the position of trustee has from May 1, 2018
until July 27, 2018 to file their nomination papers with the local municipal
clerk.
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Q: Where can I find the current Multi-Year Plan?
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Q: Are the trustees responsible for setting Board policy?
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Under the Education Act, the Board of Trustees is responsible for setting policy for the Board. All Board policies are available on the Board website.
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Q: Where can I find Board policies and the record of trustee decisions?
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Discussions and decisions on Board policy are recorded in the minutes of the Policy and By-Law Committee meeting. Note: Minutes are organized in folders by year.
As outlined in the York Region District School Board Operational By-Law, a record of voting is recorded in the minutes of the Board meeting only when a trustee specifically requests a recorded vote.
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Q: What services does Corporate Secretariat and Trustee Services provide?
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Corporate Secretariat and Trustee Services provides a variety of services for trustees, working with and on behalf of the Director (Secretary of the Board). Collaborating with Corporate Communications and our Legal and Administrative Services teams, we provide services that support the individual and collective needs of trustees.
In support of the Director of Education, as secretary of the Board, Corporate Secretariat and Trustee Services produce, distribute and retain meeting agendas, minutes and schedules.
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Q: Can a trustee communicate directly with the principal of a school?
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Trustees are encouraged to communicate on school-related matters with senior staff (e.g. The Superintendent of Schools, Corporate Communications, Corporate Secretariat and Trustee Services, Associate Directors or the Director). This helps senior staff to ensure requests for information are managed in such a way as to share system-level information with all trustees, as required.
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Q: Can trustees set up and maintain a website for their constituents?
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Some trustees choose to maintain their own websites. The Board does not maintain separate domains for individual trustees. The Board’s communications team regularly updates stakeholders through the Board’s and schools’ websites and other communications mediums, such as school newsletters, social media, traditional media, etc. In addition, the Corporate Communications Team also ensures trustees’ regular newsletter message to families is uploaded to the school website for each respective trustee.
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Q: Is there a set time that might be considered “down” time for a trustee?
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Generally speaking, there is no specified down time for trustees. There are provisions under the Education Act regarding meeting attendance and electronic participation is permitted. Over the summer, there are usually 6-7 weeks where no regular meetings are scheduled. The two weeks over the Christmas Break and March Break are usually meeting free.
With a little bit of creativity, trustees are usually able to find some time that has minimal impact on their committee obligations.
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Q: What’s the difference between a Board meeting and a Board Standing Committee meeting?
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All 12 trustees are members of both these committees.
The Board meeting is a monthly meeting where the Board of Trustees consider and formally approve all recommendations from each of the monthly committee meetings. The Board Standing Committee is an opportunity for trustees to receive information reports and make recommendations for consideration at the monthly Board meeting.
Additional information about items typically scheduled at BSC and other committee meetings is outlined in the Operational By-Law.
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Q: What’s the difference between routine items and non-routine agenda items?
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Routine items are recommendations from Board committees that are standard in nature (e.g. Recommendations regarding policy matters) and are passed in one large consent motion at regularly monthly Board meetings. Non-routine items are those recommendations that are considered to be unusual or require additional discussion by trustees at the Board meeting (e.g. the expenditure of a large sum of money).
Each committee decides whether or not an item should be on routine or off routine at the Board meeting. Any trustee may also request an item to be removed from routine so that they can request additional information or verbally address the matter at the Board meeting.
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Q: Are incumbent trustees required to take a leave of absence or step down while running for another office?
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There
is no provision under legislation that requires any incumbent trustee to take a
leave or step down from their position during the campaign period or if running
for another elected position such as municipal councillor, Member of Provincial
Parliament or Member of Parliament.
Trustees
who are running for other offices may choose to resign from their position on
the Board. If this occurs, the Board would be required to take steps to
the fill the vacancy within 90 days unless the vacancy occurs within one month
before the next election.
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Q: Additional information?
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Additional information about the Board’s committee structure, the roles and responsibilities of a trustee as well as the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association are outlined in the YRDSB Operational By-Law and the Good Governance Guide.
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