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Board
All government schools in the ACT have a School Board, which is comprised of the Principal, parent representatives, teacher representatives and a community representative (appointed by the ACT Department of Education and Training). (High schools and colleges also have student representatives on their Boards). The Board may co-opt up to two other members.
The three parent and two teacher members of the Board are elected for staggered two year terms.
Each year the Board elects its Chairperson from the parent and community representatives.
The Board's roles are defined in Section 39 of the Eduactino Act 2004. Essentially, the Board provides a formal mechanism for parents and staff to participate in decision mkaing about the school.
During the school year, the board normally meets for about 2 hours once a month and parents are very welcome to attend.
Meetings are generally informal, and coming to Board meetings is a great way to find out more about the school. Alternately, ask a parent representative for information about what's been discussed at recent Board meetings.
The Board writes a short Annual Report (including major issues, concerns and achievements) to the Department, and this is also in Minutes folder.
The Board Chair also meets monthly with Board Chairpersons from other schools in the northern half of Canberra, where issues of general concern are raised with the Director (Schools).
At each monthly meeting of the Cook School Board, the Board approves the Finance report, which records the school's expenditure for the year so far, and if necessary the budget is adjusted.
The Board also drafts and reviews the school's policies from time to time, especially when prompted by a particular issue or incident. There are many Department policies to which the school must adhere, but Cook School also has its own policies on Gender Equity, Protocol for Raising Concerns, Class Sizes, etc.
