The role of the board secretary
Your board is not legally required to have a board secretary, but we recommend having one.
It helps to have someone other than a board member taking minutes and providing administrative support, meaning that board members can participate fully in meetings.
A board secretary also plays a vital role in ensuring the integrity of board documents and assisting the presiding member.
Keep reading to learn more about this role and how having a specific person to undertake secretarial duties can support your board.
Who can be a board secretary?
Anyone who has the appropriate skills can be a board secretary.
They don’t have to be currently employed at the school.
They do, however, need to understand and maintain the confidence of the board.
It’s up to your board to decide what support you need and the best person(s) for the role.
Depending on the availability and skills required, some boards choose to have a minute secretary who attends meetings and records the minutes, leaving the school secretary to focus on providing all other administrative support to the board.
Other boards use the principal’s personal assistant or school secretary/support staff to fulfil all the functions of board secretary.
What skills does a board secretary need?
Your board should decide what level and types of skills are required, but they usually include:
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The ability to record board meetings accurately and in a timely manner (take minutes).
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Fluency with the technology used by your board.
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Good organisational and time management skills.
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The ability to adapt and work within a team.
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The ability to maintain a high level of integrity and confidentiality.
What does a board secretary do?
A board secretary may be required to not only take minutes but also work on behalf of the board every time the board officially meets.
This includes meetings where the public has been excluded and committee meetings (such as student suspension meetings) to ensure these meetings run smoothly and that accurate records of decisions are kept.
Therefore, it is essential that the board formally delegates and documents what tasks the board secretary is doing on its behalf.
What tasks does a board secretary undertake?
While all boards are different, these are some common tasks.
Preparing for board meetings
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Arrange an appropriate venue and (if required) catering for all scheduled board meetings and functions.
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Work with the principal and presiding member to prepare meeting agendas.
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Receive, collate, and respond to correspondence as directed by the board.
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Publish the meeting agenda and associated board papers, including the last meeting minutes (where appropriate).
Managing board documentation (with the presiding member or delegated board member)
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Ensure that the minutes of the board meeting accurately reflect and record the board’s processes, key discussion points, resolutions made, and actions agreed to, along with any amendment to board policy.
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Maintain a centrally organised, accessible, and publicly available collection of all board policies and other public board documents while maintaining the privacy of non-public information.
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Ensure there are procedures for the appropriate storage, retention, retrieval and destruction of all board documents.
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Keep up-to-date board membership records—including a register of each board member’s position on the board, contact details, way of getting on the board (elected, selected, appointed, co-opted), start date, term of office, skills and background, delegated tasks, and when they left office.
Supporting the induction of new board members
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Provide access to board documents, log-in details, links or copies of the relevant documents (Code of conduct, key legislative requirements, core policies, strategic plan, board member register, etc.)
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Ensure the School Board Updatesopen_in_new form is completed whenever the board’s membership changes.
Can a board member undertake the duties of a board secretary?
Yes, but it is hard to fully participate in board discussions while also carrying out the role of board secretary.
We recommend your board employ someone for this important role.
Can a board secretary speak during board meetings?
Yes and no.
Board secretaries are not board members, so they don’t have automatic speaking rights, nor should they participate in board discussions or voting.
However, they can ask for clarification on how a matter will be recorded in the minutes, such as asking for something to be repeated or a complex resolution to be written down.
They may also remind the presiding member if a motion has not been put to the vote or other procedural requirements have not been followed.
Can a board secretary remain during public-excluded business?
If you employ a board secretary, they work for your board as an employee.
As an employee engaged to perform a particular task, they are not considered to be a member of the public during the meeting.
The board secretary is, therefore, not excluded when your board moves to public-excluded business (unless they cannot be present due to a conflict of interest).
Your board will need them to continue to perform their role, although they must understand the need for confidentiality of all public-excluded business.
Knowing this will help them decide which records should be available to the public and which should be stored securely in your public-excluded business files.
How do you employ a community member to be the board secretary?
Your board can hire someone externally using an individual employment agreement based on the School support staff collective and individual employment agreementsopen_in_new.
An employment agreement reflects an employer-employee relationship.
This means the person effectively becomes part of the school’s support staff.
Payment for your board secretary would normally come from your board’s operational expenses in the school’s operational budget.
Questions your board could ask
If you don’t have a board secretary:
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Do we understand the role of a board secretary?
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Is it something that would benefit our board?
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What tasks do we require a board secretary to perform, ranging from most important to least important?
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Can we afford to employ someone to do this work?
If you already have a board secretary:
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Have we clearly defined their role description, and are we all aware of what is in it?
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Does our board secretary understand their role?
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How do we support our secretary in performing their duties efficiently and effectively?
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What support and training do they require to do this work more effectively?
Templates, resources, and references
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Links from us
Ministry of Education