Trillium Woods Public School School Council Constitution and Bylaws

Mission Statement

Trillium Woods Public School Council is a collaborative and co-operative body whose mission is to facilitate a partnership between the parents, staff, community and students to achieve the highest possible standards of education in an inviting wholesome environment.

Article 1: Name and Address

The organization will be known as Trillium Woods School Council. The members of the School Council shall be responsible for maintaining the constitution and bylaws.

Trillium Woods Public School

18 Alamo Heights Drive Richmond Hill

Ontario, L4S 2P3

Tel: (905) 508-5215 Fax: (905) 508-1812

Article 2: Procedures and Operating Guidelines

The operational procedures of this Council are outlined in the YRDSB Policy and Procedures # 262, available on the Boards Website. All recommendations and activities of the Council shall comply with all Ministry of Education Acts, York Region District School Board Policies and Procedures and Staff Collective Agreements.

Article 3: Purpose and Objectives

Support an environment which is conducive to improving student learning and School effectiveness.
Increase and improve communication among parents and/or guardians, administrators, teachers and students in the School community.
Provide a forum for input into School educational matters for members of the School community.
Provide a vehicle for transmitting parental ideas, recommendations and concerns to the School board.
Provide advice on the development, implementation and review of the School Plan for Continuous Improvement, the School profile, Principal profile, student code of behavior, dress code, budget priorities and community use of School facilities.
Provide support for School, family and community partnerships that assist parents in the education of their children.
Support additional initiatives: i.e. educating the Council on School board policies and procedures that might not otherwise be provided.
Assist in establishing a School community which works together in the interest of education at Trillium Woods Public School.
Advise on the following:- Local School calendar year.
Advise on responses of the School or the School board to achievement in provincial and board assessment programs.
Advise on methods of reporting to parents and the community.
Support and promote the activities of the School.

Article 4: Membership

Members of the School Council shall include, but not be limited to:

13 parents and guardians of students enrolled in the School;
1 community representative(s);
the School administration;
1 teacher representation;
1 non-teaching staff member
1 Student council representative as required

At no time shall the number of voting parents be exceeded by the number of nonparents on the Council.

The School Council will operate without financial gain for its members. Any profit to the organization will be used in promoting its purposes.

Article 5: Election Procedures for Council Members

Elections shall occur within the first thirty days of the start of each School year.
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 School board.
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 to a maximum of two votes per family.
If possible, an election committee shall be established by the School Council in May to help plan the election process, the gathering of nominations, and the running of the election. No one standing for election, or the spouse of anyone standing for election, shall be a member of the election committee. If this is not possible then the School administration will undertake this responsibility.
The election committee or School administration shall:
1. Provide a nomination package which will include a nomination form, website information where past council minutes are posted, and an outline of roles and responsibilities
2. ensure that the School community is notified of election procedures and election date(s), location, and time, at least fourteen days in advance of the election;
3. request a profile from all candidates and make these available to the electorate;
4. conduct the elections by secret ballot;
5. count the ballots;
6. help the Principal notify all candidates of the results;
7. keep all results and related information confidential.
If there are only 13 nominations or less then the Principal has the right to acclaim that these nominations will form the Council for the following year.
Only the names of the successful candidates shall be made public. A list of candidates and the vote results will be kept on file by the Council for use in the event that a vacancy on the Council occurs.
All individuals standing for election shall be notified of the results before the results are released to the School community.
The School Council shall help the Principal ensure that the names of new members are publicized to the School community within thirty days of the election.
At the first meeting of the new School Council at the beginning of the year, the Council shall set dates, times, and locations for its meetings throughout the year.
Council members will be elected for a one year term. Elected and appointed members may seek additional terms of office. Previous Council members agree, if possible to attend the first new Council meeting for transition purposes.
The Chair (Co-chairs) of the Council shall be a member(s) who is a parent and shall be elected by the Council.
Community representative(s) shall be appointed by the Council.
The teacher representative(s) shall be elected by the teachers.
The School Principal and Vice-Principal shall be designated members.
The non-teaching staff member shall be elected by the members of the nonteaching staff.
There will be no honorarium paid to the members of the School Council.

5.01 Terms of Office

All elections and appointments shall end each September when elections for the new School year are held. Each term is a maximum of one year. Elected and appointed members may seek additional terms of office.

5.02 Vacancies in Membership

A vacancy in the membership of the School Council does not prevent the Council from exercising its authority.

If positions remain vacant, after the election, the Council may appoint parent members.

5.03 Filling Vacancies

If any School Council positions become vacant because of resignation, inability of a member to fulfill his or her roles and responsibilities, or other cause, the remaining members shall constitute the School Council, unless the parent/guardian majority is not maintained. If the majority of parents on the Council is not maintained, the School Council shall instruct the nominating committee or School administration to send home nomination forms for the vacant position(s) for parents on the Council and to hold an election for the purpose of filling the vacancy. Vacant positions, other than for parent representatives, may be filled by appointment of the Council for the remaining term of office, from among members of the School community who meet the requirements sets for the vacant positions.

5.04 Resignations

Anyone who is a Council member, except the Principal, may resign their position by writing a letter of resignation to the chair.

Article 6: The Executive The Chair

6.01 At the first meeting after the elections, the Council will elect one chair or two Co-chairs, henceforth to be referred to as the chair.

An employee of the board can not be chair or co-chair. Executive members may be removed from the Council if three consecutive meetings are missed.

6.02 Other Officers

At the second meeting of the School year, the Council will elect or appoint the following officers:

Secretary
Treasurer
Sub-committee Chairs

6.03 Responsibilities of the Council Members

The Chair shall:

Call and chair the meetings
Prepare agendas for Council meetings in consultation with the Principal.
Ensure minutes of the meetings are recorded and maintained
Endeavor to participate in information and training programs

6.04 The Treasurer shall:

a. Adhere to the responsibilities outlined by the York Region District School Board in Procedure NP133. See appendix A.

6.05 The Secretary shall:

Be responsible for taking minutes each meeting
Provide minutes for executive committee to be provided by secretary two weeks prior to School Council meeting and no later than one-week prior.
Circulate attendance sheet during each meeting

6.06 Council members shall:

Regularly attend School council meetings and important related meetings,
Arrive on time and stay until the end of majority of Council meetings,
Prepare for meetings in advance by reading previous minutes, reviewing the agenda and financial statements and reviewing any additional material that may be provided in advance
Actively contribute and participate in discussion at the council meeting
Make a serious commitment to participate actively on at least one sub committee
Willing to share in the duties and initiatives undertaken by the School Council
Work as an effective team member while respecting views and opinion of all council members
Support the outcome of decision even when not in agreement with them
Volunteer for and willingly accept assignments and complete them thoroughly and on time.
Act as a link between the school council and the community
Actively recruit other parent volunteers and encourage the participation of parents of all groups within the school community
Maintain confidentiality in all council meeting and sub committees
Attend/participate in the majority of fundraising and school related events
Council members must inform the chair/co chair if unable to attend the meeting or will be late. This is to ensure that quorum can be achieved. A quorum is required before a vote can be taken on any and all council decisions. The chair has the right to cancel the council meeting if quorum is not achieved.
Contact the chair to provide your regrets in advance of the meeting if required
If unable to fulfill the commitments required as outlined above the council member shall reconsider their membership. If a member misses 3 meetings, they may be asked to step down in order to create a vacancy, which could be filled by another parent, who is seeking to be actively involved with the school council.
Be in attendance in order to vote

Article 7: Meetings

There will be a minimum of four regular meetings. The Council’s intent is to have monthly meetings during the School year. All meetings are to be open to the School community and will be communicated in the monthly School newsletter.
Working meetings may be held upon the request of the Council. Working meetings shall have a minimum of seven days notification.
Sub-committee meetings will be held as necessary and may be called by the chair of that committee. Minutes shall be kept by sub-committees and presented to the Council at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
Approved minutes will be posted on the School website monthly.
Agenda items should be submitted to the Chair two weeks prior to the next meeting. Agendas shall be distributed to members and parents present at the previous meeting, one week prior to the meeting. The Chair will submit the agenda to the Principal prior to the meeting.
An annual report prepared by Council is required to be submitted on its activities to the School Principal and to the York Region District School Board. The report is to include fundraising activities, if it is engaged in such. The Principal shall on behalf of the Council make available a copy of the report to every parent of a student who is enrolled in the School on the date the report is submitted.

Article 8: Meeting Norms

a quorum for a regular meeting must have a minimum of (51%) members in attendance with the number of parent members being in the majority. It is understood that all members will make every effort to attend all meetings. (One of the members in attendance must be an Administrator from the School.) .
all Council members will support fully all Council decisions
All speakers and opinions are respected
All decisions regarding council activities and the use of funds will be made by consensus at school council meetings.
The chair will recognize speakers who will wait to be acknowledged
Staff, students and parents will not be discussed
School Council members are to remember that the they were elected to represented the needs of the whole school community

Article 9: Sub-Committees

a sub-committee shall be formed whenever the need arises. Each subcommittee will consist of a Chair and at least one member of the Council.
The Chair will:
1. Consult with the Council Chair whenever necessary.
2. Delegate various responsibilities to other committee members.
3. Ensure that minutes are recorded at all meetings.
4. Submit those minutes to the Council Chair for distribution to the Council one week prior to the next regular meeting.
5. Present a final report to Council containing recommendations and a financial statement where necessary.
6. Submit that report to the Council Chair in a timely fashion.

Article 10: Amendments

Any proposed changes or additions to the constitution must be submitted in writing to the Chair of the Council at least one month prior to the Council meeting and placed on the agenda.

Changes and or additions must be presented in the form of a motion and passed by the quorum at a Council Meeting.

The constitution should be reviewed by School Council every two years or as the need arises.

Article 11: Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest may be actual, perceived, or potential.
Members of the Council shall declare a conflict of interest in matters that they, members of their families, or business entities in which they may have an interest, stand to benefit either directly or indirectly by decisions of the Council.
A member shall exclude him- or herself from discussions in which:
- a conflict of interest is likely to result;
- the member's ability to carry out his or her duties and responsibilities as a member of the School Council may be jeopardized;
- the Council member, his or her relatives, or a business entity in which the member may have an interest, may gain or benefit either directly or indirectly as a result of actions that may be taken by the Principal or board in response to advice that the Council provides to the Principal or to the board.

A member shall not accept favors or economic benefits from any individuals, organizations, or entities known to be seeking business contracts with the School.

Article 12: Conflict Resolution

Every School Council member will be given an opportunity to express his or her concern or opinion about the issue at dispute and how the dispute has affected him or her.
Speakers to an issue will maintain a calm and respectful tone at all times.
Speakers will be allowed to speak without interruption.
The chair’s responsibility is to clarify the statements made by all speakers, to identify common ground among the points of view raised, and to set out the joint interest of all members.
If no common ground can be identified, the chair will seek to clarify preferences among all members before proceeding further.
If all attempts at resolving the conflict have been exhausted without success the chair shall request the intervention of a superintendent or other senior administrator to facilitate a resolution to the conflict.

Article 13: Trillium Woods Code of Ethics

A member shall consider the best interests of all students.
A member shall be guided by the School's and the School board's mission statements.
A member shall act within the limits of the roles and responsibilities of a School Council, as identified by the School's operating guidelines, the School board, and the Ontario Ministry of Education.
A member shall become familiar with the School's policies and operating practices and act in accordance with them.
A member shall maintain the highest standards of integrity.
A member shall recognize and respect the personal integrity of each member of the School community.
A member shall treat all other members with respect and allow for diverse opinions to be shared without interruption.
A member shall encourage a positive environment in which individual contributions are encouraged and valued.
A member shall acknowledge democratic principles and accept the consensus of the Council.
A member shall respect the confidential nature of School business and respect limitations this may place on the operation of the School Council.
A member shall not disclose confidential information.
A member shall limit discussions at School Council meetings to matters of concern to the School community as a whole.
A member shall use established communication channels when questions or concerns arise.
A member shall promote high standards of ethical practice within the School community.
A member shall declare any conflict of interest.
A member shall not accept any payment or benefit financially through School Council involvement.