Governance Essentials

NZ School Trustees Association
Facilitator: Cleave Hay

See hardcopies of Workbook 1 and Workbook 2

Notes to follow up after workshop:

Re Workbook 1:
Remember and use the question at meetings:
"How will this discussion benefit our students?"
ERO Insicators: engagement, progress and achievement outcomes

Thought - in areas we are doing well, how can we do better?

Different hats:
The Board - one body, as a whole (not individuals)
Trustees - Board Members
Trusters  - children, parents, staff, visitors, Proprietor, Crown

The Board is only a body when Trustees are sitting around the Board table (governance). Away from the Board table, the individuals are Trusters, and have no voice / authority. Board follows a method / plan / Charter. Board entrusts the responsibilty for carrying out the Charter to the Principal.

Trusters - responsibility of the Principal (management). Trusters communicate with the Principal. Principal has complete discretion as to how to carry out the Charter - within the boundaries of Policies, law.

If Board members are approached by parents away from the Board table
They can remain in the role of the truster (just another parent). They should:

1. Direct the parent to the complaints / concerns procedure (this needs to be readily available to parents / board)
2. They may choose to give the principal a "heads-up" - as a parent / Truster. In this was, the issue remains a "management matter"
3. They may choose to give the Board Chair a heads-up (at this point, though - it becomes a "board matter".

Collective responsibility:
Every Trustee has:
equal standing
an equal voice
equal vote
equal accountability

Every Trustee is responsible for preparing well for Board Meetings
Every Trustee is accountable to ensure understanding of every member over an issue. This is not the sole responsibility of the Board Chair (ie induction)

Board Chair
Chair's role is to ensure that everyone around the Board table has equal voice. This may mean the Board Chair needs to invite comment from specific board members who have not contributed.
The Chair has an extra casting vote. One vote majority wins a vote.
The Chair can put forward a motion without a seconder.

Misconduct
Trustees should discuss and develop a shared understanding of the Board's code of conduct. Some Boards sign, some laminate and display during meetings.

The Chair's casting vote can be helpful in extreme cases of misconduct of a Board member. In cases of disclosure of 'in-committee' information, the Trustees should discuss this at a Board meeting.
If not resolved after this, an option can be to censure a Trustee. this must be done in the public section of the meeting, and be minuted.

If this is unsuccessful, and there are "rogue trustee(s)" - A board member can put a motion to the vote that X number of Trustees, specifically X, X, X ... form the "in-committee" working party - to deal with all "in-committee" matters. This vote should be a show of hands, minuted in the public section of the meeting. Once put to the vote, the Board chair can use their casting vote if needed.

Beyond The Board, serious complaints have to go through the Ombudsman, because a School Board of Trustees is a Crown entity.

First 6 months of a new board, should include 20 mins of looking at improtant topics together, such as code of conduct, charter, Māori achieving as Māori, Special education, etc

Issues that come to the Board
The Board's role is to estbalish whether the Principal has followed policy / procedure - not to estbalish whether the teacher / parent / leader has followed correct procedure. This is the responsibilty of the Principal - as having absolute discretion



Re Workbook 2:

• Does our Charter ensure we are meeting the NEGs?
• Link the Policies to the Board Meeting Agenda, to ensure meeting focusses on governance, not management - have a column: 'Policy Reference'
• Update Treaty of Waitangi Commitment in the Charter, to ensure it refers to the "how" demonstrate commitment to Māori learning as Māori (instead of just reporting to the community)
• Values Section wording: ...at _________ School, we value...
• Include a Policy Link in all procedures (and a procedure link in all policies?)
• Update website to include compaints procedure - done
• At Board meetings, "What does our policy say?"

Discussion / agreement about Board reporting:
What must I know?                      How often?                     from whom?
What should I know?
What could I know?
What might I know?
What would be nice to know?
What I don't need to know?