School councils

Frequently Asked Questions

Every school in Ontario is required to have a school council. The majority of school council members must be parents, but the principal and staff reps also attend meetings. In this section, you can find information about school councils, the results of our school council surveys, and resources and tips to support school councils in their work.

  1. Nowadays, it seems that there is a graduation ceremony for everything – daycare, kindergarten, grades 6,8,12, etc. They can be expensive for families and often require parents to take time off work – what can we do about it? Harish S.

  2. Who has final control of the money that school councils fundraise? Janet S.

  3. Do parents have the right to see a school’s budget? B.W.

  4. Can a teacher be the chair of a school council?

  5. How can we get more people out to school council meetings?

  6. Do principals have a vote at school council meetings?

  7. What are PRO (Parents Reaching Out) grants?

  8. Is there funding available to support parent involvement?

  9. I heard that the Ministry of Education provides $500 in funding for every school council. Do we have to apply for this money?

  10. What is a school council?

  11. What do Parent Involvement Committees (PICs) do?