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Parents on School Boards: Are they able to Separate their Roles?

28/09/16
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Most non-government schools have boards that are tasked with the overall governance of the school. Many of these school boards, on the basis of their constitutional requirements or through custom and practice, are required to or choose to, have a parent or a number of parents as voting members of the board. Depending upon the structure of the non-government school, some boards, such as those in some Catholic schools, are advisory in their nature while others are fully independent.

Some schools have boards that can only be comprised of members of their association, which are usually parents or carers of enrolled students and, occasionally, the staff of the school. Others have boards with a wider range of membership, which may be required through constitutional rules.  Such rules may require the school to have one or more parents on the board or they may choose to have one or more parents to ensure that there is a level of ‘community’ involvement in the governance of the school.

The practice of having parents on school boards as a form of community involvement is described in greater detail by Gurr, Drysdale and Walkley (2012) in ‘Parent Relations in Victorian Schools’ in the Journal of School Public Relations.

The Federal Department of Education and Training has developed a ‘Guide for Parents on School Boards and School Councils’ and their web page commences with: The Australian Government believes that school communities benefit when parent engagement is a key part of school planning and improvement processes. We want local communities to have a greater say about what happens in their schools.’ In addition, a recent article in The Conversation noted that parents on school boards were; ‘a powerful symbol of community; one that lends both credibility and legitimacy to the board and its decisions.’

Catholic Education WA note; Taking on a position with the School Board is a wonderful way for parents to get involved and help shape their child’s school. In addition to the normal Executive roles, School Boards also appoint a range of sub-committees, giving parents a chance to leverage their business acumen or other specialisations.’

However, this article is not about why there are parents on a school board or whether or not they bring value to the board. There are many scholarly articles and sources that can be found to support or to not support this assertion. Instead, this article is about whether or not the parents on the board understand their roles and their obligations which require them to separate their roles as a parent and as a board member.

Many boards have specific rules that govern the membership of the board and the titles and responsibilities of the directors within the board. For example, most boards will have a chair, a deputy chair, a treasurer and a secretary. In addition, the principal of the school may be a board member ‘ex-officio’ and may or may not have a vote. The school business manager is also sometimes a member of the board, once again ‘ex-officio’ or may be the board secretary.

Some schools, if their boards are not 100 per cent comprised of parents, may have specific roles on their boards for parents. There may be, for example, a specific position for the president of the parents and friends (P&F) association or similar. They have ‘parent nominees’ on their boards. This latter group is the one that schools should ensure is well defined. The question that must be asked and answered is; ‘are these parents a representative parent or are they a representative of the parents?’

When looking for board members, regardless of their role or background, schools are encouraged to look for people who actually wish to work for the school and whose intentions are to assist the school in meeting its mission statement and vision. Not people who are just looking for an additional by-line to their curriculum vitae or people who want to ‘get onto the board’ because they don’t like something (or someone) at the school. These latter board members can be very divisive as board members because they often place their own agenda before the board or school mission. Furthermore, conflicts of interest can arise which must be properly managed. See our article Conflicts of interest in schools: How do you manage them?

This particular need to develop and follow a personal agenda may also sometimes occur with parent representatives who see themselves as representatives of the parents and not as a representative parent. A representative of the parents, if this is how the position is described in the constitution, may do exactly that on a school board. The person could decide to speak on behalf of the parent body and could possibly be actively singled out by parents within the school community to raise issues or concerns at the board level. This can place the board member in a very difficult situation if the perception is that they will speak ‘on behalf’ of the parents.

Alternatively, a parent who is a ‘representative parent’ is exactly that. They are a single voice of a particular group (the parents) within the school community. They represent themselves, not anyone else, and they should work to the board agenda, but bring their background and knowledge as a parent when making valuable contributions to the board meetings. In The Board of Management in Your Primary School - A Guide for Parents, states for parents on boards; ‘Their primary obligation is as a member of the management team of the school and as such they are not there to represent the parents’ association or individual parents.’

Schools that choose to have or who are required to have parent representatives on their board need to develop very clear guidelines or even specific board protocols for these parents. This will ensure that the parents are ‘protected’ from being lobbied by other parents for personal agendas and the protocols can set clear boundaries regarding the responsibilities and expectations for meeting conduct and board membership. In addition, setting the protocols will ensure that other parents who may have a grievance are then required to follow the processes of the school’s grievance policy and will not be encouraged to lobby the parent/s on the board.

In addition, when there are parents on the board, they also need to understand that they must separate from their role as a parent and their role as a board member. For some, this may be difficult or not possible. Parents who are on school boards are there to work for the school, unlike the principal and the staff, they do not work in the school and so their role on the board should not cross the governance/management boundary. This is an issue that each parent board member needs to understand and comply with when engaged in the work of the board.  They also need to understand how role distinction is important in relation to properly managing conflicts of interest.

A key principle that must be embedded in the thinking of school board  is that the primary obligation of a school board member is to act in the best interests of the school . This is a legal requirement and overrides and "representational" obligations. While a board member can put forward the views of their "constituency" when voting and making decisions , it must be for the best interests of the school.

The importance of establishing the requirements, responsibilities and protocols expected of parents on school boards has prompted some State education departments to publish guidelines and protocols regarding membership of government school boards, such as the one here published by the WA Department of Education. However, it is important to note that board membership and many protocols in government schools (standard and independent such as in Queensland and Western Australia) can be very different to those expected of board members in non-government schools.

In summary, it is clearly apparent that parents can bring value and a great deal of experience to a school board. However, it is essential that the roles of these parents and the protocols surrounding both their appointment and their position are made very clear so that there are no misconceptions or misinterpretations of their responsibilities. If your school has parent board members, does it have documentation that clarifies their roles and responsibilities?

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About the Author

Craig D’cruz

With 39 years of educational experience, Craig D’cruz is the Principal Consultant and Sector Lead, Education at Ideagen CompliSpace. Craig provides direction on education matters including new products, program/module content and training. Previously Craig held the roles of Industrial Officer at the Association of Independent Schools of WA, he was the Principal of a K-12 non-government school, Deputy Principal of a systemic non-government school and he has had boarding, teaching and leadership experience in both the independent and Catholic school sectors. Craig has also spent ten years on the board of a large non-government school and is a regular presenter on behalf of Ideagen CompliSpace and other educational bodies on issues relating to school governance, school culture and leadership.

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