Member Terms and Elections...2 Responsibilities and Timeline...3 Rules of Order, Procedure, and Conduct...4 Decision-making...5 Procedural Guidelines...6 Appendix I: Parliamentary Motions... 7 Appendix II: District Timeline...8 Developed 4 Oct 2015/ Adopted 1
Member Terms and Elections 1. Eastwood Community Council members shall serve for a term of two years. Terms run from Oct. 1- Sept. 30. 2. Council size is determined by each individual school council - a minimum of four patrons and two employees (including the principal) for an elementary school. 3. Parent members must exceed the number of faculty members (including the principal) by two. 4. Eastwood requests Council members attend at least 80% of the meetings to remain in good standing. 5. Councils may determine procedures for replacing SCC members should they fail to meet attendance requirements as set by the council. Refer to timeline for election schedules. Elections may be held online through the Granite Communications Department (385-646-4529), or at the school during parent-teacher conferences or another school activity. Only parents/guardians of students at the school may vote for parent members, and only school employees may vote for employee members. Individuals who do not appear on school records as the parent or legal guardian of a student are required to provide reliable proof of parentage or guardianship in order to vote. Each parent/guardian and employee shall receive one vote and the signatures of individuals who cast votes shall be obtained. Ballots, listing alphabetically the names of eligible candidates, will be prepared (one for parents/guardians and another for employees). Each ballot shall declare the number of vacancies and allow voters to vote for up to that number of candidates. Ballots shall be deposited in a secure ballot box. The principal, accompanied by at least one parent/guardian observer and at least one employee observer from the sitting council, shall process the ballots. Ties shall be decided by the members of the respective groups of the sitting council using a method of the group's choice (e.g. lot, consensus). Results of elections shall be made public as soon as reasonably possible and tallies and ballots shall be retained by the school for one year and made available to the public upon request. If the number of candidates equal the number of vacancies, the candidates can be voted in by the sitting council with a unanimous vote UNFILLED POSITIONS AFTER ELECTIONS If a position remains unfilled after an election is held because of a lack of declared candidates, the continuing and newly elected parent/guardian and employee members of the council shall appoint a parent/guardian or employee who meets the criteria. Only parent members appoint new parent/guardian members, and only employee members appoint new employee members A vacancy, which occurs for any reason other than the expiration of a member's term, shall be filled by a qualified person to serve out the unexpired term through appointment by the other respective (parent/guardian or employee) members. Members will be replaced if they miss three consecutive meetings. Developed 4 Oct 2015/ Adopted 2
RESPONSIBILITIES OF COUNCIL CHAIRS AND VICE-CHAIRS At the first meeting of each council year, or whenever necessary, councils shall elect one chair and one vice-chair to serve throughout the council year. The council year runs from Oct. 1 - Sept. 30. Parents/guardians are elected by the council to fill the positions of chair and/or vice-chair. An employee may serve as vice-chair. The principal may not serve as chair or vice-chair. There are to be no co-chairs. With assistance from the school administration, the chair/vice-chairs shall: Ensure the adoption of rules of order & procedure to govern meetings. Responsibility of training council members falls on the council chair. Attend council member trainings as provided by the District (see timeline). On behalf of the council, provide ongoing support for implementation of approved school action plans. Responsibilities of the chair/vice-chair may be delegated to members of the council, as reasonable and needed. The chair is responsible to be sure delegated assignments are completed. The principal sup-ports the officers in completing the requirements in the law and board rule. Timeline The council will prepare a timeline for the school year that includes due dates for all required reporting and other activities/tasks that the council agrees to assume or participate in. The timeline will assist in preparation of agendas to be sure the council accomplishes their work in a timely manner. Annually, on or before October 20th, state law requires each council to make the following reports to the school community: The council's proposed meeting schedule for the school year A list of council members' phone number, email address or both (school email or phone numbers are not acceptable for parent members). A summary of the annual report about how the School LAND Trust program funds were used to enhance or improve academic excellence at the school, consistent with Section 53A-1a-108.1(5)(b). These reports may be communicated in the following ways: Post on the school website and/or using one or a combination of the following methods of delivery to ensure that all parents or guardians receive the information: Send to each student's household by mail, voicemail, or email Give to parents and guardians, in written form, during annual registration or with report cards. Principals shall ensure that school websites fully communicate the opportunities provided to parents to serve on the school community council and how parents can directly influence the expenditure of the School LAND Trust Program funds. Developed 4 Oct 2015/ Adopted 3
Rules of Order, Procedure, and Conduct To promote ethical behavior and civil discourse each council member shall: Attend council meetings on time and prepared Make decisions with the needs of students as the main objective Listen to and value diverse opinions Be sure the opinions of those you represent are included in discussions Expect accountability and be prepared to be accountable Act with integrity Rules of Procedure All meetings are open to the public and the public is welcome to attend. Meeting dates and times will be posted on the Eastwood website at the beginning of the school in compliance with stat and district law. The meeting agenda of each upcoming meeting with draft minutes of the prior meeting will be prepared by the chair/vice chair in consultation with the principal or designee and made available to all council members at least one week in advance. An open agenda is used so that individual members of the council may introduce business items or points of view for consideration. Council members shall not be discouraged or prohibited from discussing any issue or concern not prohibited by law. Minutes will be kept of all meetings, prepared in draft format for approval at the next scheduled meeting. Once minutes have been approved by vote of the members, they become the official record of the proceedings. Official minutes must be posted on the school website as soon as possible after they have been approved. Conduct The chair conducts the meetings, makes assignments and requests reports on assignments. In the absence of the chair, the vice-chair shall conduct meetings. Meetings shall be conducted and action taken according to very simplified rules of parliamentary procedure as required in 53A-1a-108.1(9)(i) [Granite School District SCC Handbook]. Items on the agenda take priority over other discussions coming before the council. Action of the council will be taken by motions and voting. The motions and voting are recorded in the minutes. Developed 4 Oct 2015/ Adopted 4
A motion (or an action to be taken by the council) is stated as a motion. Someone else on the council seconds the motion indicating that at least one other person on the council feels the motion is worthy of discussion. Then the council members may provide input and discussion as called upon by the chair. When discussion seems complete the chair may call for a vote on the motion. Or when a member of the council calls the previous question (a motion to end discussion of the first motion), a second is required and then, without discussion the chair calls for a vote that must pass by 2/3. If the vote on the previous question fails the council goes back to discussing the first motion. If the motion to call the previous question passes, the chair directly calls for a vote on the first motion. A vote to call the previous question is usually used to move business along. An appeal to overrule a chair's decision or contest a procedure must be passed with 2/3 votes. An SCC may create subcommittees to advise or make recommendations to the council or to develop all or part of a plan. Individuals who are not council members, including parents, school employees, or other community members, may serve on a subcommittee. Any plan or part of a plan developed by a subcommittee is subject to the approval of the SCC. A group of parents who feels that they are not adequately represented on the SCC may petition the council for an additional representative position. The SCC can accept or reject the petition. Petitioners may appeal the SCC decision to the District's Shared Governance Committee Decision-making Under shared governance, groups strive for consensus. Consensus is a collective opinion arrived at by a group whose members have listened carefully, communicated openly, been able to state their opposition to other members' views, and sought and considered alternatives in a constructive problem- solving manner. All members, because they have had the opportunity to influence the decision, should understand and support it. Consensus evolves from open discussions, until participants feel satisfied with their decision. Reaching consensus should be the goal in all councils and committees of the district. Consensus does not mean one hundred percent agreement. Seldom will everyone be wholly satisfied with any decision. Consensus does require that all participants be able to accept and support a decision. Consensus takes time, and decisions should not be rushed. When the process is effectively implemented, it provides the opportunity for compromise and precludes the unilateral, capricious, or arbitrary exercise of power. When it is clear a decision cannot be reached through consensus, the law requires a simple majority vote using parliamentary procedures that must be recorded. Developed 4 Oct 2015/ Adopted 5
Procedural Guidelines The following guidelines have been modified from the Simplified Rules of Order by the UBC. 1. A council should agree on and adopt an agenda format that it will follow at regular meetings. 2. Action items on the agenda require: A motion by a council member A second to the motion A discussion of the motion by the school community council A vote by the school community council 3. Each motion should be limited to one idea or issue. 4. No new motion may be made while another is being discussed. 5. A motion may be amended and votes on the amendments must be taken before acting on the original motion. 6. Before a vote on a main motion is taken, business can be interrupted by a motion: To table the main motion To postpone action To refer the motion to a committee To withdraw it from consideration To adjourn the meeting The subsidiary motions must be disposed of prior to action on the main motion. 7. Debate can be closed formally with a motion to move the question and a two-thirds affirmative vote. 8. When the council chair senses the discussion has ended, a vote may be taken without a formal motion to close debate unless a member objects. 9. Some motions are not debatable, such as a motion to adjourn or to appeal a decision to the chair. See the chart of "Simple Motions of Parliamentary Procedure. 10. A community council member, but no one else, may question a council procedure by rising to a point of order at any time. After the point is stated, the chair issues a ruling that may be appealed to a vote of the full council. Council policy should specify the number of votes required to over-rule the chair or to suspend a rule. 11. Before a motion is voted upon, it should be read aloud by the secretary. 12. The chair, by virtue of membership on the council, is expected to vote on each issue before the council. 13. The chair should indicate before each vote whether a simple or special majority is required. 14. The chair should keep readily at hand a reference guide, such as the chart of parliamentary motions (Appendix I) Developed 4 Oct 2015/ Adopted 6
Appendix I Parliamentary Motions Developed 4 Oct 2015/ Adopted 7
Appendix II District Timeline **dates and times in the following table are for that specific year, the table is to be used as a general guideline ** Developed 4 Oct 2015/ Adopted 8
"Where Eagles Strive to do our best Own our choices Achieve our goals Respect ourselves and others" Developed 4 Oct 2015/ Adopted 9
** This document was disinherited in part from the following documents. Both can be found and downloaded in their entirety from the World Wide Web. Developed 4 Oct 2015/ Adopted 10