ELECTIONS FOR BOARDS

School boards must hold elections for parent and staff representatives every three years (i.e. at each triennial election).  The next Triennial Election is scheduled for 2025.

Elections for student representative board members must be held annually in September in schools with students in years 9 and above.

A board may also decide to adopt a staggered (mid-term) election cycle where half the parent representatives are elected at a mid-term election (18 months after the triennial election), and the remainder is elected at the triennial election. 

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Board member eligibility
Before anyone becomes a school board member they must confirm they are eligible to be a board member. You can view the main reasons someone cannot be on a board here.

Data collection on school boards
For data on school boards, including elections results, go to Education Counts.

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BECOMING A BOARD MEMBER​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​Why join a school board? 

School board members are active leaders in our schools. They have an important role of supporting strong professional leadership and ensuring effective teaching for all students through informed governance.

Parents/caregivers and people in the wider community can be parent representatives. School boards need to represent the diversity of their school communities to ensure a bright future for all our children.

The school board elections are the opportunity to vote for candidates who will make a positive difference for children’s education. We need more people willing to use their skills and experiences for the benefit of students!

"Board members are entrusted by the community to ensure the success of our schools and a bright future for our children. We need an education system where all children are expected to succeed and one where we all take shared responsibility in ensuring this happens. As a member of a school board you can make things happen - you can make a difference."

- Lorraine Kerr, NZSTA President

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Our communities need great boards to help build great schools 

School trustees (now known as school board members) share their experience on what it's like to be on the board.

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What sort of skills do board members need?

Every board member brings their own unique set of skills and experiences to the board.

As a member of your school's board, you will need to work well in a team and have good communication skills. It can help to have an understanding of the education sector. You may have financial skills and experience in managing people, knowledge and understanding of particular communities within your school, or experience working within your school and wider communities.

Every school board member can access NZSTA online professional development to learn about governance and upskill in areas of interest.

Kōrari is a set of introduction courses that provide an overview of school governance for people who’ve never been on a school board. Register for the Kōrari programme here.

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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​How do I become a board member?

Contact your local school for information on who is on the school board. Ask the board chair about going along to a board meeting to see how it works. ​​​​​​​Take the opportunity to ask the board members questions about their role and the board’s work.

Contact your school for a nomination form.

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You can find more information on New Zealand School Board Elections here.