About School Board Trustees and Elections
School board trustees are locally-elected representatives of the public and the community’s advocate for public education.
Trustees are required to carry out their responsibilities in a manner that assists the board in fulfilling its duties under the Education Act.
A trustee’s role is to maintain a focus on student achievement and well-being and to participate in making decisions that benefit the entire board district, while representing the interests of their constituents.
Trustees work as part of a team (the Board) and only the team has the authority to make decisions or take action. A school board must place all students first when making decisions.
Responsibilities of school board trustees:
- Boards, in consultation with their administrators and their school communities (principals, teachers, support staff, and school councils) set local policies, priorities and budgets within the framework of provincial legislation and policy.
- Boards establish their local budgets within the scope provided by their funding allocation. They are responsible for ensuring that their schools and staff have the professional capacity and the appropriate resources to meet both provincial and local board policies and priorities. They are equally responsible for spending the public funds they receive from the province in a cost-effective and appropriate way.
- Boards hold their directors of education and, through their directors, their superintendents, principals, teachers and support staff accountable for meeting provincial and board policies and for ensuring that the board’s funding allocation is spent in keeping with the board’s budget.
- Boards are accountable to their communities (their electors) and to the Province for continuous improvement in the level of student achievement in their schools.
Learn more about the roles and responsibilities of school board trustees on the UGDSB website.
Information courtesy of OPSBA