Council as the parent body with some school P&Cs being subcommittees of the Council.
Strengths
- P&Cs that are subcommittees of the Council would be relieved of the need to register as an association or not for profit organisation, thus reducing their administrative work load.
- They would therefore not feel pressured into finding office bearers or appoint Public Officers.
- There would be less pressure on them to maintain records and prepare annual reports.
- They would be covered by the Council’s overall liability insurance.
- They would still provide a forum for school parents and citizens to work with the school principal.
- They would still be able to raise funds and conduct activities.
- They may not need to have their own bank account, as monies can be deposited directly into the Council account.
- Payments may be paid for them by the Council office.
- They could still have a delegate or member to represent them at P&C Council general meetings and would still have input to broader educational and schooling matters.
Weaknesses
- The parent group may lose some focus or impetus if it is seen as just a subcommittee of the Council.
- As a subcommittee it will be required to abide by Terms of Reference for subcommittees.
- If they are raising substantial funds, they will still need to find a subcommittee treasurer to oversight the handling of monies and to report to the Council for the consolidation of the annual financial accounts and audit.
- This will place additional workloads on the Council office, which may require additional staff if the number of P&C subcommittees is high.
Opportunities
- The reduction in administrative and management requirements as an association may encourage more parents to join the subcommittee and participate or volunteer.
- It would also make it easier in the future should they wish to reform as an association in their own right.
- Each subcommittee could have its own set of financial account numbers within the Councils set of accounts so that the can track their finances as required.
Threats
- If too many P&Cs chose to become subcommittees of the Council, it could over burden the Council office.
- This could require additional staff and therefore additional funding to handle the increased work load, particularly on the financial aspects.
- Some parents may not like to be “managed” by the Council office.
- It could be cumbersome for the Council office to get information from the subcommittees for our insurance renewals and annual audits.