Vote Schooled to handle your board elections
The only trusted online election provider since 2022 & our 2025 returning officer service is
NEXT LEVEL
You might remember us as CES, but we are now SCHOOLED. Even though our name has changed, we are still here to deliver Take your business to the
Next level with our expert solutions!
Election services for your kura, and we are the ONLY people who have been accredited to provide online elections since 2022!
We have been supporting schools with board elections since 1992, bringing nearly three decades of specialized experience to your election process. Our team understands the unique challenges faced by school boards and has developed systems specifically tailored to the education sector.
Our commitment to excellence has made us the trusted partner for hundreds of schools across Aotearoa. With our rebrand to Schooled, we’re bringing the same expertise but with enhanced services and improved technology to make your election process even smoother.
2025 Elections Timeline
Triennial school board elections are happening again in September this year, but you need to get the process started much earlier than that. The very last day you can appoint a Returning Officer is the 9th July but we recommend getting this sorted well in advance to make sure the process goes as smoothly as possible.
Our recommended election date of 10th September means we can deliver election results before the end of Term 3, and means you need to appoint your RO no later than the 9th July.
| Event | Date | Term Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Close Main Roll | Wednesday 25th June | T2 Week 9 |
| Call for Nominations by | Friday 18th July | T3 Week 1 |
| Close Supplementary Roll | Monday 4th August | T3 Week 4 |
| Nominations Close (at 12pm) | Wednesday 6th August | T3 Week 4 |
| Voting Papers Issued by | Wednesday 13th August | T4 Week 5 |
| Election Day | Wednesday 10th September | T3 Week 9 |
| Close Poll | 4pm on Election Day | T3 Week 9 |
| Accept Postal Votes until | Monday 15th September | T3 Week 10 |
| Count Votes & Declare Results | Tuesday 16th September | T3 Week 10 |
| Board Takes Office | Wednesday 17th September | T3 Week 10 |
Planning ahead ensures your school community has ample time to engage with the election process. Early appointment also allows us to prepare customized resources for your kura and establish a clear communication plan for community.
Our Returning Officer Services
Improved Election Management
We have made a number of changes and updates to how we handle elections to make things easier, more secure and easier to understand for school staff, as well as candidates and voters.
Our comprehensive returning officer service handles every aspect of your election process, giving you peace of mind and ensuring compliance with all legislative requirements.
Aligned with Ministry of Education Funding
We have changed the way we bill you to align this with how elections are funded by the MoE. Our fees align with the election funding provided by the MoE, with fees based on your roll numbers, 70% being billed when the electoral roll closes and the additional 30% only due if your kura goes to an election. This means that the fees for your parent elections will align with the funding you receive from the MoE and have no additional cost to your school.
There are additional fees for us to run your staff elections or student elections, for schools with students at year 9 or above, but we have kept these as low as possible and can run staff and student elections online to make the process easier for you.
Regular Updates and Communication
During the nomination voting periods we will send regular updates on response rates to key contacts you provide, (including an election contact, the Principal and the current Presiding Member).
This will provide you more visibility of engagement by your community in the election, and if response rates are low, allow you to utilise your existing communication channels, (such as emails, newsletters, Facebook pages, school apps etc), to remind whanau of the election process and its importance.
Comprehensive Resources
As part of our Returning Officer service, we will provide a set of resources for your kura including detailed timelines of election process including who is responsible for each aspect.
We will also provide a number of template articles that your kura can send to your community to explain the election process, why it is important, and what your school whanau can do to be involved.
Technology Improvements
We have made some massive changes to our online election system, based on what we have learnt after running over 650 online elections since 2022.
Our new election system will integrate directly with your SMS system. This enables us to access the electoral roles with less work needed from school staff and as the integration is a secure connection, this is also means that voter’s personal information is secure.
References
Our pricing is as follows
| Fee Type | Amount |
|---|---|
| Base Fee | $710.33 |
| Per Student Fee (All Schools Except Intermediates) | $8.14 |
| Per Student Fee (Intermediate Schools Only) | $12.17 |
| Staff Count | Regular Rate | Discounted Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 24 | $200.00 | $160.00 |
| 25 to 49 | $300.00 | $240.00 |
| 50 to 99 | $400.00 | $320.00 |
| 100+ | $500.00 | $400.00 |
Note: Discounted rate applies if we are also running your parent elections.
| Fee Type | Amount |
|---|---|
| Per Student Fee | $0.33 |
| Minimum Fee | $100.00 |
All prices exclude GST.
Parent elections are invoiced in two parts. 70% at the close of the electoral roll and the remaining 30% after declaration of results. Note: the additional 30% is only invoiced if the election proceeds to a vote, in line with MoE funding.
Why Online Elections
Overcoming Traditional Challenges
One of the biggest challenges that kura have faced with board elections has been making sure that whanau and families get the information. Legislation requires that the nomination forms and voting papers are posted to whanau and families if you aren’t using an accredited online voting provider, but this can lead to a few issues…
We all know that reliability and timeliness of NZ Post services have not been great over the last few years, and the prices for postage have increased significantly over recent years.
The accuracy of the data of the electoral roll is also a challenge that Returning Officers have been dealing with for some time. If the postal address is out of date, then not only are members of your school community missing out on the opportunity to be involved in the democratic process but your kura is also paying to post documents out, only to have them returned.
Modern Communication for Modern Communities
Most kura have moved their communications towards email. Most communication with whanau and families is via email or other electronic means, and the accuracy of your whanau’s email address is likely very high.
When you choose an online election, any whanau in your community that don’t have an email address will be automatically send a hardcopy version, so no one is excluded from the board election process.
Online elections also provide real-time updates on participation rates, allowing schools to send targeted reminders through their existing communication channels to increase engagement. This approach has consistently resulted in higher participation rates compared to traditional postal voting methods.
With our online system, you’ll also benefit from faster results, enhanced security, and a significantly reduced environmental footprint by eliminating thousands of paper ballots across New Zealand’s schools.
Why Choose Schooled
The short version… We have been supporting schools with board elections since 1992 and we are the only people to have been accredited to run online elections by the MoE since they were introduced.
Elections have a lot of rules to follow, and if you aren’t doing this regularly it is easy to make mistakes. We are experts, and we do this all year-round supporting schools with by-elections, as well as the triennial elections.
Schooled are the only provider that have been able to provide online elections for the last three years. We have invested in the technology to provide online elections that are secure, but also easy to use for your school community. We have also learnt from running online elections for the last three years what works and what could be done better. And because of this, we are rolling out our updated system that is easier to use and provides more communication to schools.
Supporting Education Across Aotearoa
To top it all off, Schooled is a non-profit that supports the wider education sector. Any profits Schooled makes are returned to the CES Foundation which is a registered charity that has a purpose of supporting ECE, Primary, Intermediate and Secondary education across Aotearoa.
