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School board elections are subject to legislation that prescribe how they are to be run.  Legislation also specifies the constitution of a board and how a board can alter its constitution. The procedures for running an election contained in the Election Handbook are based on the legislation.

Legislation affecting elections can be found in the Education Training Act 2020 and two schedules attached to the act; Schedule 22 and 23. 

In addition to the legislation there is the Education (Board Elections) Regulations 2022.  

Links to all of the relevant legislation can be found HERE.

Collectively these documents prescribe:

• The make-up of the board
• who can serve on a board
• the election process including how nominations are made and how voting can be conducted
• the schedule or timeline that the elections need to follow
• Use of electronic voting providers. 

The following people are not eligible to be school board members.

A person who:

• is an undischarged bankrupt; or
• is prohibited from being a director or promoter of, or being concerned or taking part in the management of, an incorporated or unincorporated body under the Companies Act 1993,open_in_new or the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013,open_in_new or the Takeovers Act 1993; open_in_newor
• is a permanently appointed member of the Board staff, unless they are standing for election as a staff representative; or
• contracts or sub-contracts with the Board without the approval of the Secretary of Education and receives payments exceeding $25,000 in any financial year. This would also cover situations where a person has a 10% or more shareholding in the contracting company or a company that controls the contracting company; or
• has been convicted of a specified offence identified in Schedule 2open_in_new of the Children’s Act 2014, unless that person has obtained a pardon or been granted an exemption; or
• is subject to a property order under the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988open_in_new; or
• is a person in respect of whom a personal order has been made under that Act that either the person is not competent to manage his or her own property affairs, or does not have the capacity to communicate/make decisions relating to his/her welfare/personal care; or
• is a person who has been convicted of an offence punishable by imprisonment for 2 years or more, or who has been sentenced to imprisonment for any other offence, unless that person has obtained a pardon, served the sentence, or otherwise suffered the penalty imposed on the person; or
• is not a New Zealand citizen, and is –
  • a person to whom section 15open_in_new or 16open_in_new of the Immigration Act 2009 applies; or
  • a person obliged, by or pursuant to that Act, to leave New Zealand immediately or within a specified time, being a time that was less than 12 months; or
  • deemed for the purposes of that Act to be in New Zealand unlawfully.    

A returning officer for an election (or by-elections) of board members is not eligible to be nominated as a candidate in that election.

A permanent employee can not serve on a board unless they have been elected the staff representative.

 For more information:

• see clauses 9 and 10 of Schedule 23open_in_new of the Education and Training Act 2020 (the list above is a summary of these clauses).
• call NZSBA Advisory and Support Centre 0800 782 435, option 1.

All people joining a school board must sign an eligibility declaration. This is a legal requirement. There are two ways this can happen.

Before a board co-opts, appoints or selects a board member:

Note: the board is responsible for this process

• Before someone joins a board into a co-opted  or appointed position, or into a selected parent representative position (i.e. casual vacancy), they first must sign:

Eligibility declaration form (90 KB, Pdf)

• To ensure potential board members are informed before they sign the eligibility declaration there is information on this form about people who are not eligible to be school board members.

During a school board election: 

Note: the returning officer for an election manages this process

• Anyone standing as a candidate in an election or by-election must first complete a nomination form. On this form is a candidate declaration of eligibility that they must sign.
• It is recommended that the Returning Officer includes this information sheet (120 KB, Pdf) with each nomination form. This ensures potential candidates are informed when they sign the eligibility declaration.

The board can choose to have the election of board members staggered over two different elections. Half the number of its parent representatives are elected in a triennial election year, and the remainder at a mid-term election 18 months later. (If the board has an odd number of members the majority are elected in the triennial election).

A board can decide at any time to adopt a staggered election cycle for the election of its parent representative board members.

Keep your community informed

Before a board can adopt a staggered election cycle it must give reasonable notice to all parents of students at the school. The board must tell the parents the time, date and place of the meeting where it will be considered; the nature of the decision to be made and the fact they have the right to attend the meeting.

The process

Once the board has opted into the staggered election cycle, it must notify the Ministry of Education so that it can receive mid-term election funding. It is also helpful to let NZSBA know.

There are two options for opting into the staggered election cycle.

Option 1: 

If a board wants its next triennial board member election to be held under this system, it must make the decision to opt in before the triennial election process gets underway (i.e. before it appoints its returning officer and sets its election date).

The board must decide which positions will be for the full three-year term of office, and which will be for an initial 18-month term of office. The rule is that half of the parent representatives will be elected for the full three years (triennial parent representatives) and the other half for eighteen months (mid-term parent representatives). If there is an odd number of parent representatives on the board i.e; 5, the greater half which is 3, will be elected for the full three years and the remaining 2 members will be elected for 18 months.

Option 2: 

If a board wants to start the staggered election cycle with a mid-term election, then it must make the decision to opt in before the mid-term election process gets underway.

The smaller number of parent representatives on the board will stand at the mid-term elections. Again a board of 5 means 2 members. As a consequence, for this first mid-term election only, some parent representatives will have their term of office shortened. The decision about which board member that will be must be made only by the parent representatives on the board. This decision must be by consensus of the parent representatives or, if consensus cannot be reached, by way of a ballot of all the parent representatives.

When a board member is stood down for the initial election they can still re-stand at the mid-term elections.

Legally the board’s mid-term elections must be held in the month that is eighteen months after the month in which the board’s triennial elections were held.

Board member register

Once the board has held its first election under this option, be sure to update the board member register (96 KB, Docx)open_in_new by adding "triennial" or "mid-term" to the list of parent representatives.

Opting out of the staggered election cycle

If a board decides to opt out of the staggered election cycle, it can simply pass a resolution to do so at a board meeting. This can be done at any time. The board's decision to opt out does not take effect until the next triennial elections, when the parent and staff representatives on the board will step down.

However, if the board decides to opt out before a mid-term election, it still needs to hold the mid-term election. The terms of office of parent representatives elected at the mid-terms will be shortened to eighteen months, because all parent representatives will go out of office at the same time at the next triennial election.

Once a board has opted out of the staggered election cycle, it must notify the Ministry of Education so that it no longer receives mid-term election funding. It is also helpful to let NZSTA know.

For more information

NZSBA’s Governance advisory and support centre advisers are here to help. Please get in touch on 0800 782 435 or email: govadvice@tewhakaroputanga.org.nz

A board member’s office becomes vacant when an elected, appointed, or co-opted board member:

Funding for running elections is determined by the Ministry of Education.

For triennial and mid-term election schools are advanced the funds in their operational grants.  They get 70% of the available funds advanced prior to the election and 30% after the election if the election went to a vote.  Schools need to have filled out Appendix 1 to get this additonal 30%.  Schools need to have opted-in to staggered elections and advised NZSBA of this to get funding for mid-term elections.

The rates for funding elections are (GST excl):

Example 1: A school of 100 pupils would get $710.33 + 100 x $8.14 =$1524.33 

(They would get 70% of this $1,067.03 before the election).

Example 2: An intermediate school of 200 pupils would get $710.33 + 200 x $12.17 = $3144.33

(They would get 70% of this $2,201.03 before the election).

By-elections

Are funded on a reimbursement of expenses basis up to the amount allowed by the above rates. Except that the staff by-election can only claim up to $99.53 (GST excl).

Returning Officer Fee

We recommend that boards pay returning officers according to the following formula:

50% of base rate x 25% of per student rate. 

Example 1:  A school of 100 pupils (0.5 x $710.33) +(0.25 x $8.14) = $558.67

Example 2:  An intermediate school 200 pupils (0.5 x $710.33) + (0.25 x $12.17) = $963.67

However, boards and returning officer can agree on their own fees. 

Student Elections

There is no funding for student elections.  Student elections take place each year in September and school are advised to plan for these on an annual basis.  They can set aside funds in their annual budget and incorporate the returning officer role into an employee's job description.