Parents shirking school-board tasks
Busy lives and daily pressures mean parents aren’t standing for boards of trustees, a principal says.
This year triennial school board elections were held, with voting closing on Friday, and results due to be announced on June 9.
More than 70 per cent of schools received more nominations than positions, meaning an election process would take place.
However, almost 30 per cent of schools (560) had received either the right amount of nominations, or fewer nominations than positions, so no vote was necessary.
One of those schools was Hurunui College in North Canterbury.
Principal Steve Beck said the school had retained its board members and elected to maintain a strong board.
‘‘Those people who are on the board are good-quality members, who are well positioned to take the school forward.
‘‘In some ways, it’s a show of support, it shows there are not massive concerns out there. People see the board as a way of coming in and sorting the school out.’’
Beck said the only real concern in not having an election was individuals who might have personal agenda could get onto a board.
Having an election meant the community got to have a say.
‘‘The people we have attracted will contribute really positively, we’re not concerned on that level, but we would prefer to have an election.’’
The school was in a rural area, and some parents would have to drive 45 minutes each way just to get there.
‘‘If a meeting finishes at 9.30pm, that turns into 10.45pm. Those things weigh on people.’’
Schools were finding it harder to find parents and volunteers to put their hands up for other extracurricular activities, he said.
People were busy and often both parents were out working fulltime.
Legally, a school needs at least three people to make a board of trustees. A Ministry of Education spokeswoman said it was very rare for fewer than three people to be nominated by parents.
The struggle to fill school boards was felt more in low-decile communities. About 83 per cent of decile 10 schools would go through an election process, compared with 55 per cent of decile 3 schools, according to Christchurch Education Services data.