Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Boards of Trustees elections

It's been a long time since I have posted on my blog and I feel a degree of embarrassment and shame about this! What's going on here?
Over the past few months all over the country, we have been preparing for Board of Trustees triennial elections. Boards of Trustees were one of the most positive outcomes of the Tomorrow's Schools' reforms which happened in 1989.  While unquestionably, there have been some unfortunate instances where the concept of Boards of Trustees has worked well for their communities: the "hijacking" of Boards by interest groups, strong minded individuals who have had personal agendas, Board members who have engaged in sustained conflict with the Principal, or not understood the dividing line between school management and governance. However, these have been the exceptions and Boards all around Aotearoa have functioned well with Trustees serving their school communities in the best interest of the students of their schools. STA - the School Trustees Association, has been a great support for schools as well as their Boards, in providing legal and industrial advice.

The issue which I believe  needs to be sorted before any changes are made to the structure of Boards of Trustees (proposed in the Taskforce Report commissioned by the Minister) is the form of voting which occurs and the focus on the importance of voting for the BOT. Attention needs to be given to the overwhelming non-engagement of large sectors of the community in the voting and election process overall. Questions need to be asked about a more effective way to hold an election rather than a postal ballot. While at my school there is a ballot box on the reception counter for parents and whanau to drop in their voting forms, it still appears to capture a very limited number of forms.

School Boards fulfil a vital and necessary role in giving communities a real voice in the character and direction of  the education of their young people. They have become a valued part of our social fabric.  The Ministry of Education and STA need to give potential changes to the make up of Boards very careful consideration. Unless they can demonstrate that these changes will enhance the governance model which Boards provide, they should leave well alone.