Questions & Answers from the Returning Officers webinar on 15 March 2013 11.30am

QUESTION:Do all schools receive the same base rate amount or do smaller schools receive less?
ANSWER: Yes all boards receive the same base rate regardless of size. The per pupil component of course is different for each school.

QUESTION:Is it possible to have two people registered as ROs for a school?
ANSWER: No, only one person can register. However it is up to the Returning Officer if they want to share the workload with a friend/colleague. That is an individual choice.

QUESTION: Where is the district court for Rangiora area?
ANSWER: I do not have locations for the district courts at present. Feel free to ring the helpdesk and we can find out.

QUESTION: Do we do staff election the same time as parent?
ANSWER: Most boards will hold their parent and staff elections at the same time, using the common date of 30 May. Elections must be held between 8 April and 30 May. The timeline is the same for both elections.

QUESTION:On what page in the election book do I find what we need to send to MOE at end of voting?
ANSWER: Page 20. Please note that the forms are not in the Handbook but are on the election website. This is noted on page 20.

QUESTION:I haven't yet received a letter from the board re my appointment etc. I guess I would talk to the board chair about that? I am the Exec Officer for the school so it has kind of been taken for granted.
ANSWER: Yes I would talk to the board chair. It saves trouble further down the track if you have your appointment confirmed in writing before the process begins.

QUESTION:Do you need to nominate all current board members even those who have said they want to stay on?
ANSWER: These elections are the same as Parliamentary and city council elections. That is: everyone goes out of office and must be nominated and then voted back on. In other words their term of office has come to an end at election time.

QUESTION:When advising staff of dual eligibility - is email sufficient to count as writing.
ANSWER: That would be suitable as long as you get an acknowledgement that the email has been received. You see the Election Regulations do not specify how the Returning Officer must advise of dual eligibility. The response from individuals must be in writing so that the Returning Officerhas a record of that. An email response would be sufficient record if printed off and stored by the Returning Officer.

QUESTION:Can people nominate themselves? If they do, what do we do?
ANSWER: If you are on the relevant election roll you can nominate yourself. If you are not on the election roll, someone on the roll must nominate you. Regardless, the nomination form must be filled in and signed in both sections. I'm not sure about your second sentence?

QUESTION: Do staff members have to be permanent staff members? What about fixed term staff who have been employed for more than 2 months prior to elections?
ANSWER: Fixed term staff who have been employed for 2 months on the day the roll closes are eligible to be included in the staff election.

QUESTION:I have a student who is cared for by both parents separately (week about). Both parents live with one of their parents. Does this mean that there are four eligible voters for this student?
ANSWER: As the student lives with each parent for equal time - week and week about - then other people as caregivers do not give "more care" that any other caregiver. Consequently only the 2 natural parents get a vote.

QUESTION: Please remind me of the postmark date required for acceptance of voting papers after noon 16th May?
ANSWER: As NZ Post no longer time stamps envelopes, the postmark date would need to be the day before Election Day.

QUESTION:With our foreign fee paying students, do their homestay parents get to vote as well as their natural parents overseas?
ANSWER: Natural parents get a vote. The homestay parents are classified as caregivers and if there is a Mum and a Dad it can be argued that they give equal care and therefore do not qualify. However the Helpdesk thinks that is unfair so we suggest that Mum probably gives more care in practical terms. Therefore feel free to send one voting paper to her and it is no concern of anyone’s if that voting paper is shared/discussed across the kitchen table.

QUESTION:If the natural parent has a non-access order against them and is not the guardian legally, do they still get a vote?
ANSWER: If a parent is restricted from having any contact with a child, they would not be involved. It is more usual that any court orders do give restricted access. Ring the helpdesk if need be.

QUESTION:Do we have to put ads in newspapers calling for nominations and then giving results?
ANSWER: Yes an advertisement must be put in a newspaper circulating in the area of the school both calling for nominations and declaring results.

QUESTION:Where are the templates for these?
ANSWER: All election forms and advertisements are on the election website under the "returning officer" tab.

QUESTION:I assume Returning Officer who is also a parent can vote?
ANSWER: Yes. A returning cannot stand as a candidate in the election they are returning officer for, but can vote if eligible.

QUESTION:The pamphlets we have received recently - are they to be handed out or sent out with the nomination forms?
ANSWER: They should be distributed as soon as possible as they are an awareness raising mechanism.

QUESTION:When is a good time to place the ad in the local papers?
ANSWER: If you are going with the common date of May 30 the advert calling for nominations must be published by the 2nd of May. Therefore any time before then is suitable. How about in the last week of this term?

QUESTION:Can you clarify that a returning officer can vote in a staff election if they are eligible?
ANSWER: Yes a returning officer can vote in a staff election if eligible, but cannot stand as a candidate if they are the returning officer for that election.

QUESTION: I am not entirely clear as to what the staff election is?
ANSWER: At the triennial election time boards must hold both a parent election and a staff election. The staff election elects the staff representative to the board for the next three years.

QUESTION: We are a small rural school - would the local bulletin distributed to all properties in the area suffice as a 'newspaper' for notification of nominations/results to the local community?
ANSWER: Very difficult to give a clear answer to that but if the 'bulletin' is distributed to all addresses in the school community's area and is known to be widely read then I guess that is OK. Especially if something like the ODT and regional weekly papers are less widely read.

QUESTION:How many votes per child?
ANSWER: Each voter is entitled to one vote regardless of how many children they have at the school.

QUESTION:If we already run mid-term elections does the staff rep have to be renewed at the triennial or can it be mid term?
ANSWER: The staff representative position is not included in any arrangements for mid-term elections. That only involves parent rep positions. Therefore the staff trustee position must always be dealt with at triennial election time.

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