AURORA HEIGHTS PUBLIC SCHOOL
ADVISORY COUNCIL (AHPSAC)
Constitution
Last Revision:
February 2016
Article I – Name and Address
1. The
organization will be known as Aurora Heights Public
School
Advisory Council (AHPSAC). The members
of the school council
Shall
be responsible for maintaining the constitution.
Aurora Heights
Public School
85 Tecumseh Drive Aurora, Ontario
L4G 2X5
905 727-6902
Article II
– Mission Statement
Our school
council is a partnership amongst, parents, staff, community, and students.
Our goal is to advance
student achievement and well-being by actively promoting a positive
learning environment which will enhance the quality of our student’s
education.
Article III
– Purpose and Objectives
The objective of the Aurora Heights Public School Advisory Council
will be to:
- create and maintain an environment which is conducive to
improving student learning and
school effectiveness;
- enhance lines of communication among
parents/guardians, administrators, teachers and children in the school
community;
- provide a forum for input into educational
matters for members of
the school community,
- provide a
vehicle for transmitting parental ideas, recommendations and concerns
to school board committees or the board itself’
- provide advice on the development,
implementation and review of school plan for the continuous
improvement;
- provide support for school, family and
community partnerships that assists parents in the education of
children;
- sponsor additional programs, such as
educating the Council on how the school board operates, and;
- assists
in the building of a viable
school community which works together in the interest of education at
Aurora Heights Public School.
Article IV
– Procedures and Operating Guidelines
1. The Council
will operate without financial gain for its members. Any profits will be
used to promote Council initiatives. The Aurora Heights Public School
Advisory Council will operate any fundraising activities in strict accordance with board policy
under the guidance of the school administrators.
MOST OF THE DECISIONS MADE BY THE COUNCIL ARE OF A COLLABORATIVE NATURE IN
CONSULTATION WITH ALL MEMBERS OF THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY WHEN INFORMAL
CONSENSUS IS NOT POSSIBLE, THE FOLLOWING MORE FORMAL PROCEDURES MAY NEED TO
BE IMPLEMENTED. IN SOME CASES, THE PROCEDURES OUTLINED BELOW WILL NEED TO
BE FOLLOWED, FOR EXAMPLE
MEETINGS, QUORTRUM ETC...
Article V – Officers and Council
Membership
1. The council must consist of 6-12
parent or guardian members who have children attending the school.
2. As well, the
council will consist of a minimum of a community representative, one
teaching staff member, the principal,
and a support staff member.
3. The Executive
may consist of a Chair (a parent), a Vice-chair
(a parent), Treasurer and a Secretary.
4. At the
discretion of the Chair (elect) and the Vice-chair (elect), they may
decide to proceed as Co-chairs
or as Chair and Vice-chair. In the
case of the latter, the candidate who received the
most votes will become the Chair and the runner-up will become
the Vice-chair.
Article VI
– Election of School Council Members
Time Period
1. The
election of school council members shall be held during the first 30 calendar
days of each school year, on a date that is established by the Chair or Co-Chairs of the
school council after consulting with the principal of the school.
Election Procedures for Parent
Members
1. Each
parent/guardian seeking election 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.
2. Each parent/guardian of a student enrolled in
the school shall be entitled to one vote for each vacant parent/guardian
membership position on the council
3. The school council shall strike an election
committee in May, to help plan the election process, the gathering of
nominations, and the running of the election. The election committee shall:
·
Provide nomination forms;
·
Ensure that the school community
is notified of the election procedures and election date(s), location, and
time, at least fourteen days in advance of election;
·
Request a profile from all candidates and make
these available to the electorate;
·
Conduct the elections by secret
ballot;
·
Count the ballots;
·
Help the principal notify all
candidates of the results;
·
Keep all the results and related
information confidential;
·
Only release the names of the
successful candidates. A list of candidates and the vote results
will be kept on file for use in the event of vacancy on the council;
·
Shall notify all individuals
standing for election of the results before the results are released to the
school community.
Acclamations
1. Parent
elections shall be by acclamation when the member of the candidates
is equal to, or less than the number of parent member positions on the
council.
Vacancies in
Membership
1. A
vacancy in the membership of a school council
does not prevent the council from exercising its authority
2. If parent member positions remain vacant on
council, after the election, the council may appoint parent members.
3. Positions that become vacant due to resignation
or removal shall be filled as soon as possible by:
·
Offering the person with the next
largest number of votes who was not elected the opportunity to accept the
position
·
Where there are not enough
candidates to fill the vacancies and application by interested volunteers
sought
·
If there are
more applications than positions, an election will be called
·
When no more candidates are
available, council may appoint parent members
Resignations
1. Anyone
who is a council member, except the principal, may resign their
position by writing a letter or via email of resignation to the
chair.
2. If
someone resigns the position vacated will be filled according to Article 6 on Vacancies.
Removal
1. The council may choose to remove from council any member who
misses 2 consecutive meetings and shall
undertake to replace that person according to Article 6 on Vacancies.
Term of Office
1. A
person elected or appointed as a member of a school council holds office
until the date of the first meeting of the school council after
elections in the next school year.
Article VII – Meetings
1. There will
be at least four (4) general meetings held each school year.
2. There will be minutes taken and recorded for all
meetings. The minutes and financial transactions of the council
shall be maintained for a four year period.
Conflict of Interest
1. If
individual council members perceive themselves to be in conflict of
interest, they are honour bound to declare their conflict at the
earliest possible opportunity and at the time of the meeting, so the
minutes may reflect this declaration.
2. Council members cannot receive any remuneration
for their work as a member of council.
3. The council will undertake to resolve all
internal conflicts within its mandate in a timely manner.
The council will abide by any conflict resolution policy issued by the
Board.
Article VIII
– Quorum
1.
A quorum for a general meeting
will consist of one (1) school administrator or delegate, at least three (3) parent members and any other such members of the Aurora Heights Public School
Advisory Council so as to make up sixty (60) percent of the total membership.
2. Email Voting:
In the event that a decision cannot be
made at a School Council meeting, due to time constraints, quorum, or other
such circumstances, The School Council may choose to conduct an e-mail
vote. In this event there must be at least a 50% + 1 majority vote to carry
the motion. All e-mail replies must be cc’d to all members, and the Chair
or Co-Chairs will record the names of individual votes. The motion will be
recorded and added to the next council meeting minutes.
Article IX – Sub-committees
1. A subcommittee shall be formed whenever the need arises. Each sub-committee will consist of a co-coordinator and at least one member
of the Council.
2. Progress
reports will be made at all general meetings.
3. The
co-coordinator will:
Consult with the Chair whenever possible;
Delegate various responsibilities to other committee members; Keep a
record of pertinent information and budgetary matters;
Present a final report containing recommendations and a financial
statement at the next general meeting and;
Submit all records to the Chair when the event is finished.
Article X
– Financial Records
Signing Authorities
1 The
Principal and Elementary Office Administrative Assistant (EOAA) have and
the signing authorities on the SGF School Generated Fund bank account.
Disbursements and Allocations of
Money
1. All
money must be collected by the end of the year. Funds should be
dispersed or allocated to a specific purpose by the end of the year.
Annual Audit
1. SGF and School Council fund records are randomly selected for review
and audit by the Quality Assurance department. On an annual basis our
external auditors randomly select schools to audit school fund records
including School Council.
Article XI– Amendments
1. Any proposed change or addition to the
constitution must be submitted in writing or by email to the secretary and Co-Chairs, of the Aurora
Heights Public School Advisory Council at least one (1) month prior to the
annual general meeting and placed on the agenda. The change must be
presented in the form of a motion and passed by a two thirds (2/3) majority
at the annual general meeting with a minimum of four (4) members in
attendance.
Article XII–
Other Responsibilities
1. An annual written report must be submitted to
the principal and to the Board outlining the Council’s activities,
including fundraising for the year.
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