Election of Board Members 4
Appendix C: Procedure for the selection of two members from the community for appointment to the Board of Management
(This process shall apply mutatis mutandis for the selection of 1 extra member in the case of Boards of schools with 1 teacher)
1. The Patron's representative shall convene a meeting of the two nominees of the Patron, the two elected parent representatives, the elected teacher representative and the Principal.
2. This meeting shall be convened within seven days of the completion of the election processes set out in Appendices A and B.
3. At this meeting, having discussed the skill needs of the Board, in line with the criteria set out at 4 below, for the effective management of the school, the members shall propose two extra members from the wider community, agreed unanimously amongst them, to the Patron for appointment. Every effort shall be made to reach unanimous agreement. However, if the members are experiencing difficulty in this regard they may hold further meetings in order to facilitate the process. A maximum of three such meetings is recommended. In the event that it is not possible to get unanimous agreement by the third meeting, a majority of 5 to 1 of the members shall propose two extra members from the wider community to the Patron for appointment. These discussions, including the three recommended meetings, shall conclude within fourteen days. It would be expedient for the members to identify those other persons who might be approached in the event that those initially selected decline the invitation. The members should determine the order in which the persons selected will be approached. The period for agreement on the selection of the two extra members may be extended from fourteen days to an absolute maximum of twenty-one days but only where the two persons initially selected decline.
If there is failure by the majority of the members to nominate the two extra members as set out above, the Patron shall appoint two members from the persons originally considered by the Board for nomination.
4. The criteria to be applied in selecting persons to act as Board members from the community shall be:
In the case of Roman Catholic primary schools
- Persons nominated shall have a commitment to the ethos of the school and the community/parish served by the school and shall have an understanding of and commitment to Catholic education as outlined in the Deed of Trust for Catholic Schools.
- Persons nominated shall possess skills complementary to the Board's skill requirements.
- Persons shall be nominated with a consciousness of having a gender balance on the Board.
- Persons nominated shall be interested in education and its promotion but would not normally be parents of pupils attending the school.
- In the case of Roman Catholic Gaelscoileanna/Gaeltacht schools, people nominated shall also have an understanding of and commitment to the ethos of the school. It is also expected that those nominated shall have a good knowledge of the Irish language.
In the case of Church of Ireland primary schools
- Persons nominated shall have a commitment to the ethos of the school and the community/parish served by the school and shall be members of the Church of Ireland, as determined by the Church of Ireland, although it is at the discretion of the Patron to decide otherwise.
- Persons nominated shall possess skills complementary to the Board's skill requirements.
- Persons shall be nominated with a consciousness of having a gender balance on the Board.
- Persons nominated shall be interested in education and its promotion but would not normally be parents of pupils attending the school.
In the case of Presbyterian primary schools
- Persons nominated shall have a commitment to the ethos of the school and the community/parish served by the school and shall be members of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, although it is at the discretion of the Patron to decide otherwise.
- Persons nominated shall possess skills complementary to the Board's skill requirements.
- Persons shall be nominated with a consciousness of having a gender balance on the Board.
- Persons nominated shall be interested in education and its promotion but would not normally be parents of pupils attending the school.
In the case of Methodist primary schools
- Persons nominated shall have a commitment to the ethos of the school and the community/parish served by the school and shall be members of the Methodist Church in Ireland, although it is at the discretion of the Patron to decide otherwise.
- Persons nominated shall possess skills complementary to the Board's skill requirements.
- Persons shall be nominated with a consciousness of having a gender balance on the Board.
- Persons nominated shall be interested in education and its promotion but would not normally be parents of pupils attending the school.
In the case of Educate Together schools
- Persons nominated from the community served by the school shall have a commitment to the ethos of the school.
- Persons nominated shall possess skills complementary to the Board's skill requirements.
- Persons shall be nominated with a consciousness of having a gender balance on the Board.
- Persons nominated shall be interested in education and its promotion but would not normally be parents of pupils attending the school.
In the case of Gaelscoileanna under the patronage of Foras Pátrúnachta na Scoileanna Lán Ghaeilge
- Persons nominated from the community served by the school shall have an understanding of and a commitment to the ethos of the school. It is expected also that those nominated shall have a good knowledge of the Irish language.
- Persons nominated shall possess skills complementary to the Board's skill requirements.
- Persons shall be nominated with a consciousness of having a gender balance on the Board.
- Persons nominated shall be interested in education and its promotion but would not normally be parents of pupils attending the school.
In the case of Muslim primary schools
- Persons nominated shall have a commitment to the ethos of the school and the community served by the school and shall have an understanding of, and commitment to Islamic education as outlined in the Deed of Trust for Muslim Schools. They shall be members of the Muslim community in Ireland as determined by the Islamic Foundation of Ireland which is the official democratically elected representative body of, and for Muslims in Ireland, although it is at the discretion of the Patron to decide otherwise.
- Persons nominated shall possess skills complementary to the Board’s skill requirements.
- Persons shall be nominated with a consciousness of having a gender balance on the Board.
- Persons nominated shall be interested in education and its promotion but would not normally be parents of pupils attending the school.