Proposal
As Board Chair I propose reducing the number of Parent Elected Board Members on the Board of Newlands College from 7 to 5. This would be more than the minimum of 3, but I no longer think we need the maximum of 7.
The reasoning behind this proposal is:
- a)tobetter facilitate succession planning so that we have a steady stream of new Board members each three years;
- b)and, to create more space within the composition of the Board for co-opting
additional members to ensure a range of representative voices.
If the Board supports this proposal the next step is to consult with our College community.
If our College community also support the proposal then the Board can formally approve it.
The change would apply immediately it is approved by the current Board, but would not have any real effect until the next Board elections in mid-2022.
Current Constitution
The Board of Newlands College currently comprises:
- 7 elected (every 3 years) by the College community (Parent Elected Board Members);
- 1 elected (every 3 years) by the staff of the College (Staff Elected Board Member);
- 1 elected (annually) by the students of the College (Student Elected Board Member);
- thePrincipal of the College (ex-officio);
- in 2021 we have also co-opted ourPouRangatahi (Komiti Māori leader on the student executive) as a Board Member for this year – and, it is the Board’s intention to repeat this appointment each year.
This means that ongoing membership of our Board is currently 11 members.
Our Board Secretary also attends meetings, so the number of people around the Board table is up to 12 at each meeting.
Succession
A common discussion at NZ School Trustee Association events is that it can be very intimidating for someone to put their name forward for election to a school Board. I have heard that a common path to Board membership is to first be co-opted; either to achieve diversity of voice, or to replace an outgoing Board member.
For example, I joined our Board in 2011 to replace an outgoing Board member. I had been unsuccessful in the Board election of 2010 but knew the then Chair and he encouraged me to make myself available again when a Board member resigned the following year. Having lost an election I might not have had the desire or confidence to put my name forward again, but that appointment has led to 10 years on our Board – including my being re-elected in 2013, 2016 and 2019. My time has included 4 years as Deputy Chair and convenor of the Board’s Charter Committee (policy and strategy); followed by nearly 6 years as Chair.
It is my opinion that if we reduce the number of Parent Elected Board Members from 7 to 5 we give ourselves space to co-opt new members – and that this could be an easier transition on to the Board than asking candidates to put themselves forward for election.
Representation
A Board of 11 members means there is effectively too little capacity to co-opt additional members should we need to do so to ensure a range of representative voices. This is in terms of both the physical capacity of the College Boardroom, and also having sufficient time in Board meetings to hear from all members who wish to speak.
Over the last 10 years we have been reasonably successful in achieving some aspects of diversity around the Board table. However, the Board’s composition has not been fully reflective of the wide range of voices in our College’s community.
The more representative aspects of our Board’s composition over that time include:
- we have always had at least one Parent Elected Board Member who is Māori, and at times up to three – one of whom was my predecessor as Chair, and two of whom have been Deputy Chair (including the current Deputy Chair);
- formost of this time we have had at least one Parent Elected Board Member from our Pacific community;
- ourStaff Elected Board Members have been a female NZ European and a male Asian;
- our Student Elected Board Members have been a mix of male & female and from different ethnicities including NZ European, Asian and the Pacific.
The less representative aspects of our Board’s composition over that time include:
- wehave struggled to attract female Parent Elected Board Members – for example, only 2 of the current 7;
- wehave not had a Parent Elected Board Member who is Asian;
- wehave struggled to consistently attract a Parent Elected Board Member who is also a parent of a Learning Support Centre student (a vital part of our school community and culture);
- Parent Elected Board Members who are both male and NZ European have generally been over-represented when compared to the ethnicity of our College community.
Please note that nothing above is intended to be a criticism of the contribution of any individual Board member during my time on the Board. As a male NZ European I have enjoyed making my contribution to the College by being a Board member. However, I recognise that for most of my time on the Board a dis-proportionately high number of my fellow Board members have also been male and NZ European.
Why 5?
I consider the optimum number of Parent Elected Board Members to be 5 because that means they will still be the majority of constitutional Board members.
Other members would number 4 – being the Principal, the Staff Elected Board Member, the Student Elected Board Member and our Pou Rangatahi (Komiti Māori leader on the student executive).
This aligns with the principle I infer from the Education Act that the community provide governance of a school via a group comprising mainly Parent Elected Board Members while also giving a governance voice to the Principal, the staff and students.
Future Boards, if they use the space created by this proposal, can keep this in mind when co-oping additional Board members – whether they do so to ensure a range of representative voices or to better facilitate succession planning.
Gavin Knight | Board Chair September 2021