VPRS 19669 School Council Minute Books

This series comprises volumes recording the minutes of meetings held by the School Council for Victorian College for the Deaf (School No. 3774) (VA 5311). Local school committees and councils have existed in some form since the beginning of State education in Victoria. Until 1974, each primary school had a school committee made up of parents, while high schools and technical schools had councils comprised of parents and other community members. In 1975, changes to the Education Act 1958 allowed the establishment of school councils with common powers across State schools. In 1983, the Minister of Education released several new policies shifting the responsibility of decision-making from the State onto individual schools, with the principal and staff to report on and explain their education programs to their local school community. In late 1983 the Education Act was amended to give the school council responsibility for determining the general education policy of the school within the guidelines set by the Minister. The amendment became effective in 1984, by which time all school councils were re-constituted to fit government guidelines on membership. School councils in Victoria operate under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006, the Education and Training Reform Regulations 2017, Ministerial Orders, and the school council’s own constituting Order of the Minister of Education. Under this Order, the council’s membership, size and configuration, objectives, powers, functions and accountabilities, and the role of its executive officer (the school principal), is laid out. Members comprise the School Principal, representatives of the teaching staff, parents and the wider community. They share governance responsibilities with the Department of Education (VA 5283). Councils are responsible for a range of matters including the condition of the school grounds and buildings (including the organisation of maintenance, improvement and cleaning work), forming opinions about the school's conduct and management and other duties prescribed by regulations. The school council has functions in setting and monitoring the school’s direction, with primary responsibilities around governance, strategic planning, finance, policy and review. Critical functions of school councils also included maintaining school grounds and facilities; entering into contracts such as regulating and facilitating after-hours use of school premises and grounds; reporting annually to the school community and the Department; and representing and taking the views of the community into account. For each meeting of the school council, minutes of all proceedings are recorded together with the names of all members present and all who vote for and against motions. The minutes relate to the wide range of activities for which the council is responsible. They are written under agenda item headings and circulated by the principal prior to the next meeting of council, where they are confirmed as accurate and signed by the school council president presiding at the meeting. Records created by the former school committee, prior to the formal establishment of school councils, and sub-committees of the school council may also be included.本系列收录维多利亚聋人学校（第3774号学校，档案编号VA 5311）校董会（School Council）的会议纪要卷宗。维多利亚州公立教育自诞生之初，地方学校委员会与校董会便以不同形式存在。1974年以前，每所小学均设有由家长组成的学校委员会，中学与技术学校则设立由家长及其他社区成员构成的校董会。1975年，《1958年教育法》修订后，允许全州公立学校设立拥有统一权限的校董会。 1983年，维多利亚州教育部长发布多项新政策，将决策权责从州政府下放至各独立学校，要求校长与教职工向本地社区汇报并阐释其教育方案。同年年末，《教育法》完成修订，赋予校董会在教育部长划定的框架内制定学校通用教育政策的权责，该修正案于1984年正式生效，彼时全州所有校董会均需依照政府指南重构成员构成。 维多利亚州的校董会现行依据《2006年教育与培训改革法》《2017年教育与培训改革条例》、教育部长令以及校董会自身的教育部长组建令开展运作。根据该组建令，校董会的成员组成、规模与架构、目标、权限、职能与问责机制，以及其执行长官（即学校校长）的职责均有明确规定。 校董会成员包括学校校长、教职工代表、家长代表及更广泛的社区代表，与教育部（档案编号VA 5283）共同承担治理职责。校董会负责诸多事务，涵盖校园场地与建筑维护（包括组织修缮、改善与清洁工作）、对学校运营与管理发表意见，以及履行条例规定的其他职责。 校董会的职能包括制定并监督学校发展方向，核心职责围绕治理、战略规划、财务、政策制定与审查展开。此外，校董会的关键职能还包括维护校园场地与设施；签订相关合同，例如规范并便利非教学时段对校园场地的使用；每年向学校社区与教育部提交报告；以及代表社区并吸纳社区意见。 针对校董会的每一次会议，本数据集均收录全部议事纪要，包括所有出席成员名单，以及所有对动议投赞成票与反对票的人员信息。纪要按照议程条目分类撰写，由校长在下次校董会会议前分发传阅，经会议确认内容无误后，由主持会议的校董会主席签字生效。 此外，本数据集还可能包含校董会正式成立前的原学校委员会所产生的记录，以及校董会各附属委员会的相关文件。