Section 1. 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, as well as the Council by-laws, and act in accordance with them. The policies, practices and by-laws will be made available at the first Council meeting of the new school year as well as on the school’s website.

● 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 some school business and respect limitations this may place on the operation of the Council.

● A member shall not disclose confidential information.

● A member shall limit discussions at 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 Council involvement.

Section 2. Representatives of Council

The Council shall be comprised of:

Parent Representatives. The Parent Representatives shall form a majority of the Council, and shall be comprised of the following: 1) Chair 2) Vice-Chair 3) Secretary 4) Treasurer 5) Ward Representative 6) General Voting Parent Representative(s) - to be no less than one (1) and no greater than five (5). It is ideal, but not a requirement, if there is a mix of Parent Representatives across the grades. 7) General Non- voting Parent Representative, it is ideal for each class to have a non-voting parent representative.
The principal or vice-principal of the school (the principal may delegate membership responsibilities to the vice-principal). (per Ontario Regulation 612/00)
One teacher employed in the school, other than the principal or vice-principal. (per Ontario Regulation 612/00)
One non-teaching employee of the school. (per Ontario Regulation 612/00)
One student (optional for elementary schools, at the board's discretion). (per Ontario Regulation 612/00)
One or more community representatives appointed by the Council up to a maximum of 2. (per Ontario Regulation 612/00)
One person appointed by an association that is a member of the Ontario Federation of Home and School Associations, the Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education, or Parents Partenaires en Education, if the association is represented at the school. (per Ontario Regulation 612/00) As defined by these bylaws, a “member” is any person who holds one of the Council positions outlined above, and is subject to all responsibilities of a member as outlined in the bylaws.

Section 3. Parent Representatives Duties

1) Chair. The Chair of the Council is elected by Council members and must be a parent who is not employed by the School Board. The Chair is a voting member who, in addition to performing the same duties as other Council members, might: arrange for meetings; prepare agendas, chair Council meetings; ensure that minutes of Council meetings are recorded and maintained; facilitate the resolution of conflict, and communicate with the school principal on behalf of the Council. The Chair is an ex-officio member of all standing Committees of the Council and attends such Committee meetings at his/her discretion.

2) Vice-Chair. The Vice-Chair assists the Chair and, in this person’s absence, acts as Chairperson.

3) Secretary. The Secretary keeps minutes of all meetings and arranges to have them published on the school website. This person keeps all records, documents and other property of Council except those kept by the Treasurer.

4) Treasurer. The Treasurer maintains the financial accounts and records of the Council. This person prepares a budget of expected expenditures for the year to be approved by the Council. A comparison of actual results compared to this budget is presented to the Council on a regular basis. This person also keeps Council funds deposited in financial institutions as approved by the Executive Committee (see Section 10) and writes cheques for any expenses approved by the Council.

5) Ward Representative. The school’s Ward Representative: attends the local Trustee’s Ward meetings and brings forward issues affecting the school; reports back on any key issues coming from the Ward meeting, and maintains a working relationship with the area Trustee.

6) General Parent Representatives. The General Parent Representative(s) attend Council meetings and participate on any committees established by Council, contribute to discussions of the Council, solicit the views of other parents and members of the community to share with the Council, and observe the Council's code of ethics and established bylaws.

7) General Non- voting Parent Representative, it is ideal for each class to have a non-voting parent representative. This person can attend Council meetings as available and participate on any committees established by Council, contribute to discussions of the Council, solicit the views of other parents and members of the community to share with the Council, and observe the Council's code of ethics and established bylaws.

Section 4. Election Procedures

Council Election Committee. The current Council will establish a Council Election Committee. The Committee must ensure that a new Council is in place within thirty (30) days of the start of the school year in September. The committee should have representation from parents, teaching staff, non-teaching staff, and may have representation from students. Elections for all member positions will be determined by a majority vote as defined by at least 51% of the vote.
Responsibilities of the Election Committee. a) provide nomination forms; b) ensure that the school community is notified of election procedures and election date, location and time, at least fourteen (14) days in advance of the election; c) request a profile from all candidates and make these available to the electorate at least one (1) week prior to the election; d) conduct the elections by secret ballot at the first meeting of the Council in the new school year; e) count the ballots in the presence of the principal; f) help the principal notify all candidates of the results; g) keep all results and related information confidential.
Term of Office of Members. In any given year, the term of office for all Council positions is one year.
Election of parent/guardian representatives. a) Parents/guardians of a student enrolled at the school are eligible to both vote for and to run as parent candidates. Self-nomination will suffice. No additional qualifiers or quotas may restrict eligibility either to vote for or to run as a parent candidate (e.g., child’s program, grade, location of home). Candidates should be prepared to summarize their reasons for running for the Council. He/she must also declare if he/she is employed by the school board. b) Nomination forms shall be filed by all parent-candidates for elected positions on the Council. Parents may nominate themselves or other parents. c) If the number of candidates is less than or equal to the number of positions, the candidates shall be acclaimed. d) All eligible voters shall be entitled to cast one vote for each of the candidate positions. e) If there is a tie for the final position for a representative on the Council, the winner shall be determined by lot.
Election of the teaching staff representative. a) The principal, in consultation with the Election Committee, will make the necessary arrangements for the teaching staff representative to be elected. b) Anyone assigned to the teaching staff of the school (full- or part-time) other than the principal or a vice-principal may be a candidate.
Election of the non-teaching staff representative. a) The principal, in consultation with the Election Committee, will make the necessary arrangements for the non-teaching staff to be elected. b) Anyone assigned to the non-teaching staff of the school (full- or part-time) may be a candidate.
Appointment or election of the student representative. The principal will consult with other members of the Council to determine if there is to be a student representative on the Council. If a positive decision is reached, the principal appoints a student representative to the Council. Ideally, the appointed student representative is in a senior grade.
Selection of community representatives. All appointments of community representatives to the Council are by vote at a meeting of the Council.

Section 5. Filling Vacancies

Should an elected parent/guardian council position become vacant before the next election, the Council shall fill the vacancy by appointment from the non-elected candidates from the previous election.
If none of the previous candidates remain interested in becoming a Council member, the Council may request that interested parents/guardians from the school community submit their names for consideration. The Council shall then appoint, by achieving a majority vote on the candidates, one of those who indicate an interest.
When a vacant spot on Council is filled, the new member’s term shall expire at the time of the next election.

Section 6. 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 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 favours or economic benefits from any individuals, organizations or entities known to be seeking business contracts with the school.

Section 7. Conflict Resolution Procedures

Council members are elected to serve the school community and will demonstrate respect for their colleagues on Council at all times.
Every 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 a common ground among the points of view raised, and to set out the joint interests of all members.
If no common ground can be identified, the Chair will seek to clarify the preferences among all members before proceeding further.
If a Council member or members become disruptive during a meeting, the Chair shall ask for order.
If all efforts to restore order fail or the unbecoming behaviour continues, the Chair may direct the individual Council member(s) to leave the meeting, citing the reasons for the request.
The removal of a member for one meeting does not prevent the Council member from participating in future meetings of Council.
The incident shall be recorded and submitted to the Superintendant of Schools within one week of the meeting.
When the Chair has requested the removal of a member or members from a meeting, the Chair shall request that the disputing members of Council participate in a special meeting, the purpose of which will be to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution to the dispute. Such a meeting may be a private meeting, and shall not be construed as a meeting of the Council.
If all attempts at resolving the conflict either within Council, or in the event of the provisioned for private meeting, have been exhausted without success, the Chair shall request the intervention of an independent third party to facilitate a resolution to the conflict.
An independent third party may be a board official or another individual mutually agreed on by the parties involved in the dispute.
Any resolution reached at the meeting to resolve the conflict shall be signed and respected in full by all parties to the agreement.

Section 8. Meetings

Meetings of the Council shall be held no less than four (4) times per school year, on school grounds.
Council meetings are open to the public.
Meeting dates shall be determined by the Council no later than thirty (30) days after the start of the school year.
Meeting dates must be publicized in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to: ● Advertisements in school newsletters ● Posting on a “what’s on” sign at the school, if available ● Use of a phone-tree system ● Posting meeting dates on school website ● By notice sent home by students
Meetings should follow an established agenda, as created by the Chair or Vice-Chair. Requests for agenda items should be sent no later than two (2) weeks prior to the meeting and the agenda should be posted no later than one (1) week prior to the meeting and sent to Council members together with the minutes from the previous meeting. Agenda should include:
● Welcoming guests and introduction of new people
● “Declaration of conflict of interest” at the start of the agenda
● Review the minutes of the previous meeting and include items that need revisiting
● Determine if there is any “old business” or updates that should be included
● Include time for committee reports
● Determine what “new business” should come before the Council
● Include time for brief reports from the principal and student, staff, and community representatives
● Include a period of time for general questions

Section 9. Quorum and Voting

Quorum. A majority of 51% of the Council is needed for quorum.
Voting. The Council reaches its decisions by the voting process, defined below. Eligible voters are those members of the Council, as noted in Section 2.

Making a motion:

A member of the Council must be recognized by the Chair before “obtaining the floor” to make a motion. This means that the Chair must let a person know that it is his or her turn before that person can speak to the Council and formally propose a course of action.
Once the individual has the floor, he or she may make a formal proposal, or motion, beginning with the statement “I move that…”
Before the motion can be considered, another member of the Council must second the motion by saying “I second the motion”. This does not necessarily indicate that he or she agrees with the proposal, only that he or she believes that it is worthy of discussion.
Once a motion has been made and seconded, the Chair restates the motion (“states the question”) so that everyone clearly understands what is being proposed. From this point on, until the motion is voted on, all discussion must focus solely on this question.
If members of the group wish to discuss the motion, the Chair opens debate. Each participant may speak to the question twice, but no one may speak a second time until everyone has had the chance to speak once.
If no one wants to speak further to the issue, the Chair may ask the Council if it is ready for “the question” (ready to vote on the proposal). The Chair then repeats the motion and conducts the vote by asking for those in favour and those opposed. The vote may be conducted by a show of hands, by standing, or by secret ballot.

Amending a motion Until the Chair states the question (repeats the motion) for a final vote, the person who made the motion may change it, although the original seconder may wish to withdraw, requiring another seconder. Once the question has been stated, however, the motion can be amended in one of the following ways:

The person making the motion may ask to change the original wording. The Chair will ask if anyone objects. If no one objects, the wording of the motion is changed. Debate continues on the motion as amended.
If someone does object, the question of whether to allow a change in the wording of the motion is put to a vote. If the group consents to the change, debate continues on the motion as amended.
Someone else may move to amend the motion by saying “I move to amend the motion by…”. If so, the normal process for a motion, as outlined above in the “Making A Motion” section, is followed.
An amendment to the amendment may also be proposed, but a third amendment is out of order.
If the amendment has been defeated, discussion returns to the original motion.

Withdrawing a motion

At any time before a vote, the person making the original motion may ask to withdraw it. The motion to withdraw does not require a seconder. Once the question is withdrawn, it is as if it never existed.
If the Chair has already stated the question and a request to withdraw the motion is made, the chair asks if there is any objection. If there is none, the motion is withdrawn. If someone objects, the request to withdraw the motion is put to a vote.

Tabling a motion A motion to table a motion is to set it aside for discussion at another time so that more pressing business can be discussed or more information about the issues can be obtained. The following rules apply to tabling a motion:

The motion to table a motion takes precedence over the discussion of the motion.
The motion to table a motion requires a seconder.
There can be no debate on a motion to table.

Voting on a Motion A motion is successfully passed if a majority of at least 51% of Council members who are present vote in favour of the motion. In the case of a deadlock or tie, the Chair shall cast the deciding vote or, for non-urgent issues, defer the motion for further discussion.

Section 10. Establishment of Committees

There shall be at least two standing committees of the Council – the Executive Committee and the Finance Committee.
Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is chaired by the Chair of the Council and is made up of the Chair, the Vice Chair, the Treasurer and the Secretary. The Principal can seek advice from the Executive Committee for urgent issues that occur between planned meetings of the Council. The Executive Committee cannot make decisions on behalf of the Council.
Finance Committee. The Finance Committee is chaired by the Treasurer. Other Finance Committee members can be elected representatives or members of the school community.
Other committees shall be established, as needed, by vote of the Council. These Committees shall have a term of no greater than one school year, although the Committee may be renewed by vote each year.
Each Committee shall be chaired by an elected representative of the Council. Other committee members can be elected representatives or members of the school community.
The chair of the committee (or, in the event of the absence of the chair of the committee, another designated member of the committee) shall have an opportunity to present its report and any motions to the Council during the regularly established meetings of the Council.

Section 11. Amendments to By-Laws

Any proposed amendments to these bylaws can be brought forward to any School Council representative. Council will then strike a time-limited Governance Committee to review the proposed amendments and bring back a recommendation to Council for discussion and vote.

Appendix – Glossary of Terms

a) Community Representative – a member of the Council, elected as outlined in the Council by-laws, who lives or works within the geographic boundaries of the school. Examples may include City Council representatives and local business representatives.

b) Conflict of Interest – a situation where an individual may either be perceived to be or actually is going to benefit personally(usually financially but in other ways as well) from a situation related to Council business

c) Ex-officio – an individual whose membership is a result of another position or office, unlike elected or otherwise appointed members. Ex officio members have the same rights as other members.

d) Member – a person duly elected to the Council in any given year

e) Quorum – the number of voting members needed to ensure that a meeting can take place

Committees