School boards are corporations pursuant to section 58.5(1) of the Education Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.2. As a result, both school boards and directors of education are required to comply with certain corporate requirements under the Education Act, the Corporations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.38 and the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.M.50.

Directors' Obligations

Directors of education have a number of responsibilities under the Education Act, including:

  • Developing, implementing and monitoring a multi-year plan that establishes the school board's priorities and identifies specific measures and resources that will be applied to meet those priorities;
  • Advising the school board or the Deputy Minister, where appropriate, of any act or omission by the board that, in the director's opinion, may result in or has resulted in a contravention of the Education Act or any guidelines or regulations made thereunder; and
  • Acting as the school board's chief education officer and chief executive officer, requiring them to develop and maintain an effective organization and the programs required to implement such policies.

Record Keeping Obligations

Directors also have responsibilities under the Corporations Act by virtue of being the designated secretary of the school board corporation pursuant to the Education Act. These responsibilities include ensuring the following records are maintained:

  • Keeping a full and correct record of the proceedings of every meeting of the board in the minute book provided for that purpose by the board and ensuring that the minutes when confirmed are signed by the chair or presiding member;
  • Maintaining all by-laws and special resolutions;
  • Transmitting to the Ministry copies of reports requested by the Ministry;
  • Giving notice of all meetings of the board to each of the members by notifying the member personally or in writing or by sending a written notice to his or her residence;
  • Calling a special meeting of the board on the request in writing of the majority of the members of the board;
  • Maintaining a register of ownership interests in land (this requirement came into force on December 10, 2018 following a two year transition period); and
  • Maintaining a registry identifying conflicts of interest that have been declared pursuant to the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act (this requirement comes into force on March 1, 2019).

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.