It has been an issue for quite some time for many schools to find sufficient, high quality Board members who are passionate about the purpose of the school, but also bring a range of skills that a Board needs in an increasingly complex environment. Not to mention finding people who are willing to volunteer a considerable amount of time and accept the risks associated with being a Board member. Board members and the governance role they play are a critical part of a healthy school.
Since 2010, every two years, Resolve Consulting Group and The Bursars Forum have undertaken a survey of Business Managers from non government schools of all different sizes and demographics from right across Australia. The survey asks them to identify the biggest challenges that their school faces. “Finding Quality Board Members” has been in the Top 10 Challenges Facing Schools in 7 of the 8 surveys conducted. In 2024 it was 4th in the issues identified, with 39% of schools stating that this was an issue for their school.
In a survey of Christian Schools from across Australia and New Zealand recently undertaken by one of the Partners at Resolve, as part of his Doctoral research, the issue of Board vacancies arose again. Some of the findings of this research when it came to Board composition included:
86% of the schools who completed the survey indicated that their current Board was less than the maximum board size as per their constitution.
The average level of vacancies across all Boards was 1.9 members, with a range of vacancies of between 1 and 7 empty Board positions.
24.7% of respondents had Boards of 5 or fewer Members
The most common Board size was in the range of 6-8 members (42.9% of schools)
Schools with <300 students had the largest level of Board vacancy, with on average 3.0 missing Board members from each Board
Schools even with >900 students were still missing on average 1.7 Board members
The following table shows Board vacancy levels based on the current size of Boards
Size of current Board | Schools by Board size | Boards with vacancies | Average number of vacancies |
5 or less members | 24.7% | 94.7% | 3.0 |
6-8 members | 42.9% | 84.8% | 2.5 |
9-10 members | 24.7% | 57.9% | 0.9 |
>10 members | 7.7% | 66.7% | 1.3 |
Total | 100% | 85.9% | 2.1 |
The following table shows Board vacancy levels based on enrolments in the school
Enrolments | Average number of vacancies |
<300 students | 3.0 |
300-599 students | 1.9 |
600-900 students | 1.8 |
>900 students | 1.7 |
Total | 2.1 |
Some of the issues that arise from this data:
Many Boards are at risk of not complying with the requirements of their own organisation’s constitution in relation to numbers of Board Members
Being a smaller Board than desired can create difficulties where there are just not enough minds or experience to handle governance issues.
The smaller the Board, the harder it is to have a good mix of skills and experience in the Board Room
The additional workload that a small Board places on the individual Board Members and also back on management to cover governance issues is significant
The ongoing challenge of keeping Board members fresh and enabling them to step off when needed/required to is an issue for all Boards to keep in front of them.
It would appear that there are some very real risks in respect of Board composition that Boards urgently need to attend to.
If you are on a Board, or involved with a Board, here are some ideas on where to start:
Understand your current Board composition and how it relates to your constitution. How many should we have (minimum and maximum)? What are our quorum requirements? Do we have Board member term limits and rotation requirements?
Undertake a Board Skills matrix to understand your current gaps and also upcoming issues for your Board
Develop and implement a strategy for identifying and recruiting new Board Members
Examine the size and health of your Moral Owners group and potentially work on developing that group of people.
Develop and implement an onboarding and induction process for new Board Members.
Perhaps the need to discuss seriously how governance works in your organisation, what are the impediments in finding new Board members and confront issues that are facing you.
If you would like further assistance on the issue of Board composition, Board Training or any other governance matter, please do not hesitate to contact Resolve Consulting Group via our website www.resolve.consulting
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