College Council

What is the Role of the School Council?

School councils  are legally formed bodies that are given powers to set the key directions of a school. In the performance of their role, school councils are able to directly influence the quality of education that the school provides for its students.

• the school charter which sets out the main goals and priorities of the school for three years
• the school's budget which shares out the available resources to make sure that the plans of the charter are carried out
• the general educational policy of the school
• the physical appearance and maintenance of the school's buildings and grounds
• the student code of conduct which provides a safe and orderly environment for learning
• an annual report on the school's achievements.

Who is on School Council?

A school council's constituting Order specifies the total size of the council and the number of members in each category.

The council membership includes parents, staff, Principal and student representatives

Most members of a school council stand for election at the school where they are parents or staff members. Other members can be co-opted by the council within the limits of the Order.

Because parents have such an important part to play in schools, there is an elected parent member category. More than one-third of the elected members must be parents.

Similarly, there is an elected member category for employees of DEECD. Members of this category may make up no more than one-third of the total membership. The principal of the school is automatically one of these members.

In February 2000, amendments to the global constituting Order made it possible for DEECD employees to be elected to the parent member category of school council. However, in order to preserve the overall balance between DEECD-employed and non DEECD-employed council members, the number of DEECD employees in the parent member category is strictly limited, and will vary according to the configuration of the individual council. Schedule 2 of the global constituting Order sets out in table form the various configurations available.

The February 2000 amendments also stipulate two separate electorates for the election of parent members and DEECD-employee members. Hence parents vote only for parent members and DEECD employees vote only for DEECD-employee members.

Many schools also have a community member category. This comprises non-elected members from the school or wider community who are co-opted on to the council because they have special skills or experience. This category cannot include DEECD employees.

School Council members are elected (or appointed in the case of co-opted members) for a two year term. Half the membership is elected or co-opted each year and this creates vacancies for the annual school council election.
 

Why should our parents be involved?

Parents on 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 in itself and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.

How can you become involved?

The most obvious way to become involved is to vote in the elections which are held in February or March each year. Since ballots are only held if more people nominate as candidates than there are positions vacant, you might seriously consider:

How can parents be involved without being elected?

There are two subcommittees of the Council

• Resources Committee
• Education Committee

Both committees meet monthly, on the same evening.  Interested people are invited to attend these meetings and to participate in discussions relating to a wide range of College issues. Recommendations from these committees are then presented to the full Council.

If you have any issues to raise, contact one of the representatives below.

Current Members

President:	Suzanne Nicol	suzanne.nicol@bigpond.com
Executive Officer:	Marie Ghirardello	ghirardello.marie.t@edumail.vic.gov.au
Treasurer:	Anne Purdie	purdie.anne.l@edumail.vic.gov.au
Parent Representatives:	Dawne Brown Melissa Harvey Shane Hosking Janine Howell Brett Inder David Landry Suzanne Nicol Georgina Nunn Sheila Wylie	suzanne.nicol@bigpond.com
DEECD Employee Members:	Trevor Smith  Kerrie Lay Jan Price  Anne Purdie	smith.trevor.c@edumail.vic.gov.au lay.kerrie.m@edumail.vic.gov.au price.janet.e@edumail.vic.gov.au purdie.anne.l@edumail.vic.gov.au