Documents regarding Law 88 and the MELS Strategic Plan:
Law 88 – A Summary - L.B.P.S.B.
Support Document: School Board Strategic Plan Development 2010/School Center Success Plan Development 2010
Plan stratégique 2009-2013 du ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport et Plan stratégique de la Commission consultative de l'enseignement privé
School Success Planning 2010-2015
Management Agreement
Powerpoint presentation to Governing Boards on Law 88 -- January 28, 2010
(file is in PDF format)
The Community Services Department and the LBPSB Governing Board Resource Team would like to welcome you to another school year and thank you for your commitment to school governance. Your dedication to your school and school community is very much appreciated.
The 2009-2010 school year promises to be a busy, exciting and challenging school year. The Major School Change Consultation process launched last March will be an important agenda item for Governing Board meetings throughout the school year. As well, the implementation of Law 88 means that all schools and centres will be updating their success plans this school year. The role of the governing board is vital to this process.
The purpose of this Governing Board resource page is to provide support and resources to governing board members and school and centre principals. Other support activities will be organized throughout the year for stakeholders involved in governing boards. They include:
• January Governing Board Workshop – This year’s topic will be Law 88
• Monthly Governing Board News page in the Pearson News
• On-site support (by appointment)
• CPC Governing Board Network
All members of governing boards are encouraged to send their questions on their role or on the operation of governing boards to Senior Director, Steve Balleine via email: sballeine@lbpsb.qc.ca. The resource team will gladly provide assistance or advice on any governing board matter.
As a service to governing boards, we've extracted the following page from the current edition of the GB resource manual:
Governing board operating rules specified by the Education Act
Chair
The governing board shall choose its chair from among the parents' representatives on the governing board who are not members of the personnel of the school board.
The principal shall preside over the governing board until the chair is elected.
The term of office of the chair is one year.
Meetings
The chair of the governing board shall preside at meetings of the governing board.
Substitute chair
If the chair is absent or unable to act, the governing board shall designate a person from among the members who are eligible for the office of chair to exercise the functions and powers of the chair.
Quorum
A majority of the members of the governing board who are in office, including at least half of the parents' representatives, is a quorum of the governing board.
Suspension of powers
If the governing board is unable to hold a meeting for lack of a quorum after three consecutive notices have been sent at intervals of at least seven days, the school board may order that the functions and powers of the governing board be suspended for the period determined by the school board and that they be exercised by the principal.
Majority vote
The decisions of the governing board are made by a majority vote of the members present and entitled to vote.
Tie
If votes are equally divided, the chair has a casting vote.
Students' interests
Every decision of the governing board must be made in the best interests of the students.
School premises
The governing board may hold its meetings on the school premises.
The governing board may also use the school's administrative support services and facilities free of charge, subject to the conditions determined by the principal.
Budget
The governing board shall adopt and oversee the administration of its annual operating budget and render an account thereof to the school board.
The budget must maintain a balance between expenditures, on the one hand, and the financial resources allocated to the governing board by the school board, on the other.
Internal management
The governing board shall establish rules for its internal management. The rules shall provide for at least five meetings every school year.
Meetings
The governing board shall fix the date, time and place of its meetings, and inform the parents and the members of the school staff.
Public meetings
The meetings of the governing board are open to the public; however the governing board may order that a meeting be closed to the public if a matter is to be examined which could cause injury to a person.
Minutes
The minutes of the proceedings of the governing board shall be recorded in a register kept for that purpose by the principal or by a person specially designated by the principal. The register is open to the public.
The minutes, after being read and approved at the beginning of the following meeting, shall be signed by the person presiding over the meeting and countersigned by the principal or by the person designated by the principal under the first paragraph.
The reading of the minutes is not required provided that a copy of the minutes was delivered to each member present at least six hours before the beginning of the meeting at which the minutes are to be approved.
A copy of an extract from the register may be obtained on payment of a reasonable fee fixed by the governing board.
Conflict of interest
Every member of the governing board who has a direct or indirect interest in an enterprise that places the member's personal interest in conflict with the interest of the school must, on pain of forfeiture of office, disclose the interest in writing to the principal, abstain from voting on any matter concerning the enterprise and avoid influencing the decision relating to it. The member must, in addition, withdraw from a meeting while the matter is discussed or voted on.
A disclosure under the first paragraph must be made at the first meeting of the governing board
1) after a person having such an interest becomes a member of the governing board;
2) after a member of the board acquires such an interest;
3) during which the matter is dealt with.
Conduct of members
The members of the governing board must act within the scope of the functions and powers conferred on them, and exercise the care, prudence and diligence that a reasonable person would exercise in similar circumstances; they must also act with honesty and loyalty and in the interest of the school, the students, the parents, the school staff and the community.
The members of a governing board may not be prosecuted for an act perfomed in good faith in the exercise of governing board functions.
Prosecution
The school board shall assume the defence of any member of the governing board who is prosecuted by a third person for an act done in the exercise of governing board functions.
In the case of penal or criminal proceedings, the school board may require a member who has been prosecuted to repay the defence expenses, except if the member had reasonable grounds to believe that the act was in conformity with the law, if the proceedings were withdrawn or dismissed or if the member was discharged or acquitted.
As well, the school board may require repayment of the defence expenses by the member if the member was found liable for damage caused by an act done in bad faith in the exercise of governing board functions.
Welcome to the new governing board resource page!
Below you will find two key documents which have been designed to assist in the formation and operation of local governing boards. The Governing Board Resource Manual contains detailed information on the set-up, roles, responsibilities and procedures for governing boards, as well as suggestions and templates for various GB documents. Several copies are distributed to all schools each year. We are in the process of updating the booklet. Copies will be available for each school shortly.
Within the adjacent training team tab, news and information form the LBPSB's GB training team can be found. As well, documents and visuals used during training sessions will be posted on this tab. The web resources tab contains links to various web documents and webpages which provide useful information and support materials for governing boards.
Governing Board Resource Manual
(Fourth Edition - September 2009)
Extracts of the Education Act Pertaining to Governing Boards
In January 2010, the Community Services Department and the LBPSB Governing Board Resource Team will host an evening workshop for governing board chairs and principals. The topic will be Law 88. Chairmen Marcus Tabachnick will be the key presenter for the evening. Invitations will be sent by e-mail in late December or early January.
