65% of trustees planning to re-stand in school elections

MEDIA RELEASE
18 March 2013

65% of trustees planning to re-stand in school trustee triennial elections

65% of school trustees are planning to re-stand in the 2013 triennial trustee elections, with a further 7% yet to make up their mind says the President of the New Zealand School Trustees Association.

This is a very encouraging result says Lorraine Kerr, and at this point in time, indicates that the percentage re-standing may be higher than in previous years, which has traditionally run at round 50%.

NZSTA, which is undertaking the national promotion and school support for the 2013 triennial elections, has recently surveyed boards to assess the current state of play leading up the launch of the national election campaign in early March. Some 950 responses to the survey have been received.

Those trustees deciding to re-stand identified a number of reasons why they have made this decision:- 42% identified they are enjoying the experience, 21% feel they have something to offer, and 14% indicated they are re-standing to provide continuity between boards. Other reasons for standing again include:- Unfinished business (7%), child still at school (6%) and just learning the role (2%).

For those 28% that will not be re-standing, 77% identified children leaving/left the school as the reason for not standing, while 5% thought it was time for some “new blood”. Other reasons included lack of time (4%) and feeling it is time to move on to other things (3%).

Overall, 95% of trustees described their experience as a school trustee as very positive (58%) or positive (37%) while 5% described their experience as neither positive nor negative. No negative feelings were expressed about the trustee experience.

90% of trustees considered that the time on the board had benefited them in terms of personal growth, with 98% saying they would not only recommend school trusteeship, but would encourage others to stand.

This survey paints a very positive picture of the value of trusteeship in NZ, both for the school and students, and for trusteeship itself, says Lorraine Kerr, and provides a very positive outlook for the triennial election process in May 2013.

The common date for the 2013 triennial trustee elections is set for 30 May 2013.

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