What is a Parents & Citizens (P&C) Association ?
The P & C provides you with the opportunity to be informed and contribute to educational matters relating to the school including fundraising, school policies, canteen, uniform, special projects and more.
The P & C is a group that:
• Brings together parents, citizens, students and teaching staff to promote the best interests of the school
• Assists in providing facilities and equipment through fundraising efforts
• Promotes the recreation and welfare of students
• Encourages parent and community participation in curriculum, educational issues and policy development
The P&C of Erina Heights consists of the following sub committees:
• Social Committee
• Band Committee
If you want to be involved or have special skills or resources to offer, then please contact the office for further information.
The canteen is open every day, except Tuesday, and can only operate effectively with the assistance of volunteers. If you have one day a month or one day a term or even a few hours here and there, your assistance would be very much appreciated.
Social Committee
A very important element of the P&C is fundraising, whilst the school is allocated money from the government, it is generally allocated to specific learning / maintenance areas. Therefore the school needs supplementary funding in order to provide the children with up to date resources, play equipment, air-conditioning, photocopiers, SMART boards and other items not covered by government funding.
A structured Fundraising committee (Social Committee) is in the early stages of development and if you have any special skills, resources or ideas we would love to hear from you. Ultimately it is our children who benefit - so why not get involved, have some fun and meet some new people !
P & C Membership
In order to become a member of the P&C with full voting rights, parents, carers, citizens and teachers must pay the nominated membership fee. The annual fee for Erina Heights Public School is $1.00.
The reason for having a membership fee is to prevent non financial members from only attending meetings when important or highly controversial issues are being discussed. This can be seen as unfairly stacking the result by single issue one night stand members.
Membership fees must be payed at the close of one meeting, so the individual has full membership / voting rights at the following meeting. They cannot vote during the meeting at which their membership has been paid. Also, if payments are made by new members between meetings they are still not considered financial members until the close of the next general meeting.
All financial members have the right to stand for office, move motions and vote.
The following people are permitted to be members of the P&C
• All parents and carers with children at the school, as well as citizens living within the schools boundaries are eligible to be members of the P&C
• Teachers from the school and members of the school staff
• The Principal is an ex officio member - ie a member of the P&C by right of their position as a Principal and does not need to pay the membership fee. At general meetings, the Principal still has the right to vote and move motions however at the AGM the Principal does not vote but acts as Returning Officer for the election of the positions that are open.
Everyone is encouraged to attend
The membership register is updated at the end of the Annual General Meeting (AGM), which is the last meeting in the associations calendar. The first general meeting will follow the AGM on the same night and as it is a separate meeting, new members may pariticipate as full voting members providing they paid their membership before the close of the AGM.
Roles of the Parents & Citizens Association
President
The President is responsible for :
• The successful functioning of the P&C
• The attainment of the P&C objectives
• Ensuring the P&C is involved in the decision making of the school
• Fostering fair participation of all members - new and old
• Supporting volunteers
• Acting as the P&C spokesperson when statements / actions are needed
• Setting up / maintaining lines of communication with the Principal
• Being a signatory on the P&C bank accounts
• Chairing meetings
The president has the same voting rights as any member, but if chairing meetings often abstains from voting to preserve impartiality of the position.
The President is automatically a member of all P&C subcommittees
Secretary
The secretary is responsible for carrying out the decisions of the meeting and routine administrative tasks.
The Secretary is required to:
• Takes notes at every meeting to produce a set of minutes for distribution prior to the following meeting.
• Receive and table incoming correspondence
• Write and despatch outgoing correspondence
• Give notice of meetings & convene special meetings as required
• Provide information as requested by the P&C Federation
• Maintain official records of the P&C
Treasurer
The primary role of the Treasurer is to comply with financial accountability. The Treasurer:
• Receives and deposits money
• Maintains records
• Presents accounts
• Reports income and expenditure reconciled with current bank statements for each P&C meeting.
• Is responsible for all funds held in the name of the P&C and maintains a cash book / record of all financial transactions.
The information above has been adapted with permission from the NSW P&C Federation Website. For more details on the P&C Federation visit www.pandc.org.au