Roles of Board Members

The Chairperson

(a) Each Board of Management shall have a Chairperson, who shall be entitled to vote and who in the event of a tied vote shall also have a casting vote.

(b) The Chairperson shall be appointed by the Patron and his/her authority shall derive from such appointment. In exercising this function the Patron shall give due consideration to the opportunity to engage in a consultative process within the wider school community. The Patron, in appointing an individual as Chairperson might also give due consideration to the possibility of perceived conflicts of interest in holding the position of Chairperson.

(c) The Principal or elected teacher representative shall not be eligible for appointment as Chairperson. In addition, the Chairperson, (where practicable), should bear no direct relationship to any serving staff member or board member.

d) In the absence of a Chairperson from a particular meeting, the Board shall elect a Chairperson to preside at that meeting. The Patron shall appoint an Acting Chairperson where the circumstances require it (i.e. due to the longterm absence of the Chairperson).

(e) The Board may authorise the Chairperson, and/or another member, in respect of a particular function or functions, to act on its behalf for a specified period of time.

(f) The Board shall authorise the Chairperson to act on behalf of the Board in entering into an agreement with each new staff member appointed to the staff of the school (in the case of teaching staff Rule 18 (2) of the Rules for National Schools refers).

(g) The Chairperson or Principal Teacher (with the permission of the Chairperson) shall act on behalf of the Board in certifying the school returns and other official forms as required (Rule 17 of the Rules for National Schools refers).

(h) The Rules for National Schools state that managers should visit their schools and satisfy themselves that the Rules are being complied with; this requirement shall be fulfilled by the Chairperson of the Board of Management. Board members may also visit their schools; however such visits must only be undertaken where official board business is being conducted and as authorised by the Chairperson of the Board.

The Secretary

In circumstances where the Principal Teacher acts as Secretary to the Board of Management and is in receipt of an allowance to act as Secretary to that Board, the requirement for a Recording Secretary will not apply. Duties of Principal Teachers acting as Secretary to Boards of Management are outlined in Circular 0079/2007. However, in the circumstances where the Principal Teacher of a school does not take up the allowance payable for acting as Secretary to a Board of Management;

(a) The Board shall elect a Recording Secretary from amongst its members.

(b) It shall be the duty of the Recording Secretary to:

• Keep minutes of each meeting in an appropriate form to be retained in a safe place and to be available on request to representatives of the Patron, the Trustees and the Department of Education and Skills.
• Set the agenda for meetings in consultation with the Chairperson of the Board and the Principal.
• Record in the minutes decisions reached at meetings including the numbers of those voting for or against a motion.

The Treasurer (see also Finance)

(a) The Board shall elect a Treasurer from amongst its members. The Treasurer should be familiar with the requirements of Section 18 of the Education Act, 1998.

(b) The Treasurer shall keep the school account(s). What constitutes an adequate accounting system will depend on the size of the school and the diversity of its activities. However, a computerised template of an efficient accounting system is available, on request, from Primary Administration Section 2, Department of Education and Skills, Cornamaddy, Athlone, Co. Westmeath and is also available on the Department’s website at www.education.ie.

(c) All monies received shall be lodged in the school bank account(s). All payments shall be made by cheque or through secure on-line banking services. Transactions must be authorised by two of three nominated signatories of the board, one being the Chairperson and the other the Treasurer in the first instance. However, the Chairperson may nominate a board member to act as signatory in his/her absence. Where possible, two signatories should be from different representative bodies on the board, nominated by the board for this purpose. The Board must satisfy itself that proper internal controls are in place for the use of on-line banking services and that all proper and usual records are kept in respect of each on-line transaction.

There are a range of payment methods available to boards including cheque, direct debit, bank giro, credit transfer etc. Boards should discuss the most cost effective payment methods with their bankers. A petty cash account may be operated. The Board shall make petty cash disbursements to its members in respect of costs incurred on board business, e.g. postage, telephone charges and other minor items. It may impose such conditions as it thinks fit in the dispursement of this petty cash. All proper and usual accounts and records should be kept.

(d) The Treasurer shall present at each meeting an up-to-date statement of the school accounts giving details of income and expenditure since the previous meeting.

(e) The Treasurer shall retain vouchers of expenditure for inspection and audit by the school’s accountant and by officials of the Department. All financial documents shall be submitted to the Board of Management, and on request to the representatives of the Patron, the Trustees, and to the Department at the end of each financial year.