School Trustees Elections
Pasadena will be holding its mid-term election for the Board of Trustees on 4 December. We will be seeking nominations for 2 parent trustees to replace Shelly Pathak and Jill Pitches as outgoing trustees. Pasadena runs a staggered (mid-term) election cycle, with elections held every 18 months, for a 3-year term. This ensures that there is continuity on the board, with a proportion of board members retained so that newly elected members can benefit from their knowledge.
What does the board do? We focus on matters of governance, as opposed to the day to day running of the school. Working alongside Jonathan Hughes and other teacher representatives, we are accountable for student achievement, setting educational goals and the strategic direction of the school, and ensuring that the school complies with legal and policy requirements. We meet about 10 times during the school year for approximately 2 hours, with some additional meetings for those sitting on sub-committees. We work these meeting times around work and child commitments. You can find some more information here about what a school board trustee does.
What skills and experience do I need? You don’t need any particular type of experience, although it’s great if you do. What’s more important is for our board to reflect our diverse school community and for people to be passionate about student achievement, which is more than just academic excellence! All school boards have access to the NZ School Trustees Association which offers free support, training, mentoring and wealth of information to trustees.
How do I put myself up for nomination? Nomination papers will be sent out on 11 October. Your nomination needs to be returned by 1 November. If more than three nominations for candidates are received, then voting papers will be issued on 6 November, with voting closing on 4 December 2020.
Next steps. If this is something you would be interested in, then come along to our next board meeting on Tuesday 22 September at 6:30 – 8:30pm in the Administration Room next to the office and see what we do. All of the current board have work or educational commitments that we juggle but it’s not an overly onerous commitment! It’s a really rewarding and worthwhile experience, to actually make a difference in the educational outcomes for our children. If you want to have a chat then feel free to give either Shelly or Jill a call – Shelly 021 174 4634, Jill 021 514 335.
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