144.The necessary amendments to the School Boards legislation to give effect to section 28 are included in Schedule 1.
145.Sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph 3 amends section 2A of the 1988 Act (which deals with elections) so as to remove the requirement to hold a by-election following a failed regular election of parent members or in order to fill a casual parental vacancy arising during a member’s term of office. It also replaces subsection (4) with a new subsection which allows up to two parent members to be co-opted should the Board have an insufficient number of parent members elected at a regular election. Such co-options have to be made within three months of the election.
146.That sub-paragraph also replaces subsection (5) of section 2A with a new subsection which requires the authority to hold a by-election to fill a casual vacancy, where one is requested under section 28(1) of the Act, within three months of that request.
147.Sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph 3 makes a consequential amendment of section 2A(8), under which it is not necessary to hold a by-election if a parent member resigns within 6 months of the end of his or her term of office.
148.Paragraph 4 makes consequential amendments of section 2B of the 1988 Act dealing with co-option of Board members and removes references to the by-election process. New subsection (3) will allow Boards to co-opt a parent member of the Board in the event of a casual vacancy within three months of the vacancy arising, where no by-election falls to be held. Where a by-election does fall to be held, but it does not produce a new parent member, the Board has three months from the date of the by-election to co-opt instead.
149.Paragraph 5(a) amends section 3 of the 1988 Act (which deals with terms of office of members). It inserts into that section a new subsection (4A) which provides that the term of office of parent members who are co-opted after a regular election will run to the end of the second regular election after the election which gave rise to the co-option (which would be for four years). It also inserts a new section 4B which provides that the term of office of a member co-opted as a result of a casual vacancy shall expire at the end of the next regular election period, i.e. the person co-opted would be a member for up to two years.
150.Paragraph 6(a) repeals section 20(5) of the 1988 Act which provides for a by-election should the regular election process produce insufficient numbers. It also replaces subsection (6) with a new subsection dealing with the circumstances in which a Board is not established, or in the case of an existing Board, is disestablished following an unsuccessful by-election, where held, and a failure of the Board to co-opt.
The Act Schedule 1 – Amendments of 1988 Act consequential on ending of by-elections for parent members of School Boards