Constitution Of The Waitakere Area Principals’ Association

Note: The last full review of the constitution was completed in October 2015.

Clause 15 was ammended in 2017, Clauses 4,5 & 7 were ammended in 2018.

  1. Name

The name of the organisation shall be: Waitakere Area Principals’ Association

  1. Mission Statement

The purpose of the Association is to:

  • Promote and develop exemplary leadership for student success in Waitakere schools.
  • Provide collegial guidance and support for its membership.
  • Promote continued professional development opportunities for its membership
  • Advocate on behalf of education as a public good.
  1. Objectives

The objectives of the Association shall be:

  • To be the accepted political voice of education in Waitakere.
  • To be the accepted voice in educating the public on matters pertaining to schools and education in Waitakere.
  • To act as the guardian of the reputation of schools and education in Waitakere.
  • To promote and support as appropriate professional development activities in Waitakere.
  • To be the key player in the collegial and social support for Principals in Waitakere.
  1. Membership

To uphold the professional status of Principals, membership shall be open to all school Principals in Waitakere, provided that the principal holds a current registration as a New Zealand teacher. Acting Principals may – as of right – attend general meetings with full speaking and voting rights, provided they meet the criteria of current registration as a New Zealand teacher.

The Association may invite persons employed in the field of education to be Associate Members with full speaking but not voting rights.

The Association may invite persons employed in the field of education to be Associate Members with full speaking but not voting rights.

  1. Subscription

The annual subscription shall be fixed by the Executive Committee prior to the Annual General Meeting and shall be confirmed by majority vote at the Annual General Meeting. The agreed subscription shall be payable within twelve(12) months of the Annual General Meeting.

  1. Meetings

The Annual General Meeting shall be held in the March each year.

General meetings of the Association shall normally be held at least once per term.

At least ten (10) days’ noticeof each meeting shall be given to each member by the Secretary.

  1. Officers & Executive Committee

At the Annual General Meeting the following officers of Association shall be elected from amongst the current financial members of the Association:

  • President
  • Vice President

A third office, that of Immediate Past President, shall be an ex officio member of the Executive Committee until such time as  the election of a new President creates a new Immediate Past President.

In addition to the three officers, each of the six regional and sector clusters may appoint to the Executive Committee one principal to represent the cluster on the Executive. Appointments are to be made by the end of February following the Annual General Meeting. Each cluster shall have the power to fill casual vacancies.

The incumbent Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of Learning Network New Zealand shall be a member of the Association’s Executive Committee as of right.

The Executive Committee shall have power to co-opt three (3) further Executive Committee members from the Association membership.

The Executive Committee may fill any casual vacancies that may arise within the office of President and Vice President.

The Executive Committee shall be responsible to the Association and shall present an Annual Report including an audited financial statement to each Annual General Meeting.

  1. Elections
  • Nominations shall be called for by the Secretary a minimum of one calendar month before the Annual General Meeting. Nominations to be returned, in writing, to the Secretary not less than ten (10) days prior to the Annual General Meeting to enable names of nominees to be included in the notice of meeting.
  • In the event of a single nomination being received for any office, the candidate so nominated shall be declared elected.
  • In the event that no nominations are received prior to the Annual General Meeting for any office, nominations may be called for at the Annual General Meeting to fill these vacancies.
  1. Quorums
  • The quorum at a General Meeting shall be twenty (20) members.
  • The quorum at an Annual General Meeting shall be twenty (20) members.
  • The quorum at an Executive Committee meeting shall be six (6) members.
  1. Secretary / Treasurer

A Secretary shall be appointed and employed by the Executive Committee of the Association on behalf of all the members of the Waitakere Area Principals’ Association

The Secretary may also act as Treasurer as decided by the Executive Committee.

An honorarium shall be paid in quarterly instalments and shall be reviewed annually at the last Executive Meeting of the calendar year.

  1. Sub Committees

In addition to the six regional and sector clusters the Executive Committee may appoint sub-committees for specific purposes and/or representatives on other organisations if required. The President shall be an ex officio member of all such clusters and sub-committees.

  1. Finance

Any moneys received shall be deposited in agreed accounts at the ASB Bank.

The accounts shall be in the name of the Waitakere Area Principals’ Association. Such accounts shall be operated by any two of the following: President, Vice President, Immediate Past President, Secretary or Treasurer.

From time to time the Executive Committee may, for the purposes of efficient management, appoint one additional signatory.

A statement on the financial well-being of the Association shall be given at each monthly Executive Meeting by the Treasurer.

A general meeting may decide to levy members for special purposes. At least ten (10) days’ notice must be given to members of any meeting where a resolution to levy members is proposed.

  1. Life Members

The Association may elect to Life Membership such person or persons as the Association considers suitable for such an honour.

The privileges of Life Membership of the Association shall be the right to attend all meetings of the Association and to have speaking rights, but not voting rights. A list of Life Members shall be kept with the Association minute book and names noted on all membership lists.

  1. Honorary Members

Honorary Membership shall be open to former full members who have retired or resigned provided that Honorary Membership dates from within sixty days of the retirement or resignation.

Each Honorary Member shall pay a subscription that shall be set at 50% of the current yearly subscription for general members.

Honorary members shalt be entitled to attend all meetings of the Association and to have speaking rights, but not voting rights. A list of Honorary Members shall be kept with the Association minute book and names noted on all membership lists.

  1. Constitutional Changes

This constitution may be amended by any General Meeting of Association – a quorum being present – by a two thirds vote of all members present or by any electronic voting system at any time, provided that the number of total votes received exceeds the quorum requirement and the same two thirds majority is obtained. In either format notice of such proposed amendments shall have been distributed to each member at least ten (10) days before the vote is called.

The regional and sector cluster are:

  •    North West Cluster
  •   South West Cluster
  •   Te Atatu Cluster
  •   Kelston Cluster
  •   Henderson Cluster
  •   Waitakere Area Secondary Schools