Casual vacancy for a staff representative
Tūranga wātea pokerehū mō tētahi kanohi kaimahiopen_in_new
When a staff representative leaves the board for any reason, it creates a “casual vacancy” for their position.
Our casual vacancy of elected board member flowchartopen_in_new provides an overview of the process your board must follow to manage a vacancy.
Schedule 23 of the Education and Training Act 2020open_in_new contains the provisions relating to this, but we're unpacking it here in simpler language.
How does a casual vacancy happen?
A casual vacancy occurs when a staff representative:
- Resigns in writing to the board
- Dies or is incapacitated
- Leaves the school
- Is no longer a permanent member of staff
- Becomes the acting principal for an extended period
- Is no longer eligible to be a board memberopen_in_new
- Misses three board meetings in a row without the board approving "prior leave".
A casual vacancy can also occur if no nominations were received for the staff representative position after an election.
Does the casual vacancy have to be filled?
Yes.
Your board must always have a staff representative as required by its constitution.
Note: Requirements to fill vacancies are different in a triennial election year. If a vacancy arises, please contact our Advisory and Support Centre team. We can provide advice for your individual circumstances.
How can your board fill the casual vacancy?
Your board must fill a casual vacancy for a staff representative by holding a by-election.
Your board needs to set the by-election date and appoint a returning officer by passing a resolution.
When setting the election date, please note that the election process takes 31 days (remember to take holidays into account).
You can use the election planner toolopen_in_new to input your board's chosen election date, and it will generate a timeline for all critical dates during the process.
Once appointed by your board, the returning officer should register on the School Board Electionsopen_in_new website and download the Elections handbookopen_in_new.
This handbook details the legislated timetable and election processes they must follow.
Be sure to give your returning officer a letter of appointment, setting out the election date, the number of vacancies to be filled, and their fee (if any).
When the returning officer prepares the voting roll, all permanent staff members go straight on the roll (except the principal).
Fixed-term employees must have been continuously employed for two months on the date the roll closes.
Some staff are also parents or caregivers, so they are eligible to opt onto the parent voting roll at the triennial elections.
Staff who have opted onto the parent roll at the last triennials cannot participate in a staff by-election.
They stay on the parent roll until the next triennials when they can decide to opt back onto the staff roll.
Go to our School Board Elections websiteopen_in_new for everything you need to run your by-election.
Remember, the Ministry of Education can reimburse you for any actual and reasonable by-election costs (up to $96 for a staff by-election) – refer to their website for more information on school board elections fundingopen_in_new.
Once there is no longer a vacancy, update your board member registeropen_in_new and complete the School Board Updatesopen_in_new form.
After a voting election, the roll and voting papers should be taken to the district court.
Questions your board could ask
- Is the casual vacancy for a staff representative position?
- Have we passed a resolution and recorded our decision?
- Do we understand our next steps from here?
Templates, resources, and references
Click on the link(s) below to access this topic’s templates, resources, and references.
Depending on your device, these may download or open in a separate browser.
Links from us
- Casual vacancy of elected board member flowchartopen_in_new
- Guide to board structureopen_in_new
- Board member registeropen_in_new
School board elections website
- School board elections websiteopen_in_new
- Eligibility declaration formopen_in_new
- Eligibility criteriaopen_in_new
- Sample notice open_in_new
- Election planner tool open_in_new
Ministry of Education
Education and Training Act 2020