Principals shall work with parents, teachers and, when appropriate, students and members of the community to make school-based decisions. School-based decisions shall be consistent with Division and provincial goals, priorities and decisions.
- All schools shall develop and implement a school-based decision making model.
- The focus of the school-based decision making model employed by each school shall be teaching and learning.
- The roles, responsibilities and relationships associated with the collaborative decision making process utilized in each school shall be defined by the Principal in consultation with the staff and School Council.
- The principal shall provide opportunities for the staff and School Council to be meaningfully involved in school-based decisions on programs, budgets and procedures.
- The Division shall establish through the budgeting cycle annual Resource Allocations for Division schools to provide for school staffing requirements and for supplies, equipment, and services (SES).
- Resource allocations shall reflect a projection of average staffing costs.
- The Associate Superintendent of Business and Finance shall be responsible for identifying resource allocations for each school, based on board budget parameters and, subject to the approval of the Superintendent, and for advising principals of these allocations.
- Principals shall be responsible within the constraints of resource allocations for developing School Education Plans which address school and Division Priorities. Draft Education Plans are to be reviewed with the Head of the Education Department and the Superintendent. School budget plans shall be part of the School Education Plan and shall include proposals targeted and general funds.
- It is the responsibility of the principal to exercise sound accounting and management procedures in monitoring the annual school budget, school generate funds and to maintain the operations of the school within the total budget allocation.
- School budgets shall be submitted to the Associate Superintendent of Business and Finance for review.
- The Associate Superintendent of Business and Finance shall have the authority to recommend the School budget to the Superintendent for approval or to direct that the plan be amended.
- The Principal shall have the right to appeal to the Superintendent against the direction to amend the budget.
- The Superintendent shall, upon receipt of the Associate Superintendent of Business and Finance recommendations, either approve the budget or direct that the budget be amended.
- The Superintendent and/or designate will report to the Board annually on a timely basis respecting the whole of the Division and the Board reserves the right to direct further amendments to the budgets.
- Implementation of the Division Budget shall commence subsequent to Board approval.