SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL BY-LAWS
ARTICLE I. NAME
The name of this Council shall be the Pasadena Lakes ES
School Advisory Council.
ARTICLE II. PURPOSE
The primary objectives of the School Advisory Council
(SAC) shall be to help identify needs and recommend programs of action.
Through a community-wide commitment, the team will foster a positive
learning environment, which sets high expectations and meets the diverse
needs of the student body.
The School Advisory Council shall be a link between
the school and the local community and will serve as a means for
participatory management through which the various stakeholders in the
school community may assist the school and the school may assist the
community. The stakeholders are parents, business people, students,
other community representatives, professional educators, and other
school staff. The School Advisory Council shall be a resource to the
school and school principal. School Advisory Council functions shall
include:
- A. To facilitate the development of the School Improvement Plan (SIP)
- B. To monitor implementation of the SIP
- C. To evaluate the effectiveness of the SIP
- D. To provide assistance in the preparation of the school’s annual budget
- E. To make recommendations as to the alignment of instructional staffing and instructional materials to support the SIP
The responsibilities and duties of the School
Advisory Council will be in accordance with Florida State Statutes
1001.452 and Broward County School Board Policy 1403.
ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP
The School Advisory Council shall be representative
of the ethnic diversity of the school’s student population. In order
to satisfy this requirement, the minimum standards for representation
shall be as follows:
- Principal
- Teachers
- BTU Steward (or designee)
- Parents
- I-Zone Representative (must be a parent)
- SAF Chair (or designee)
- ESOL Parent of a student at the school
- ESE Parent of a student at the school
- Gifted Parent of a student at the school
- Pre-K (if applicable – parent or certified teacher)
- Non-Instructional Support Employees
- Community / Business Representatives
- Students (required on high school & adult/technical centers—optional at the middle school)
- Community School Representative (if applicable)
A majority (more than half) of SAC members must not
be employed by the Broward County School District. Required members
include the school Principal, BTU Steward, School Advisory Forum (SAF)
Chair (Co-Chair) or designee, Community School Representative, ESE,
ESOL, and Gifted parent representatives, and students (if applicable).
The ESE, ESOL, and Gifted representative must be a parent of a student
at the school. One SAC parent member will be elected as an Innovation
Zone (IZ) representative.
SAC members will be elected by their respective peer
groups (parents elected by parents, teachers by teachers, etc.)
Vacancies will be filled by special elections as needed in the same
general manner. Changes in the SAC Composition during the school year
must be approved by the Office of Service Quality and noted in SAC
meeting minutes.
If the elected team is not representative of the
school community, as determined by the Principal and/or the Chief School
Performance & Accountability Officer, the district school board
shall appoint additional members to achieve proper representation.
All stakeholders are invited to attend SAC meetings as non-voting participants without regard to membership on the SAC.
- Section 1. Voting: In accordance with the
Sunshine Law, a vote of the membership will be taken. All votes must be
conducted orally. All members of the Council shall have one vote each. A
voting member must be present (in person, by phone, or
Skype/Facetime/Google Hangout, Etc.) to vote. (See Section Article VI,
Section 9.)
- Section 2. Term of Membership: Members of the
SAC should attend SAC meetings on a regular basis. A SAC member will be
removed from membership after two (2) unexcused consecutive absences
from properly noticed SAC meetings. Vacancies will be filled as
described above.
- Section 3. Length of Term: Members of the School Advisory Council shall be elected for
year term(s).
- Section 4. Announcement of an election must be
made to the various peer groups at least one week in advance.
Announcements will be distributed in a manner that ensures the widest
dissemination possible within the peer group.
- Section 5. Election of the faculty representatives will take place at a scheduled general faculty meeting.
- Section 6. Election of the parent representatives will take place at a scheduled general meeting of parents.
ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS
- Section 1. Officers of this committee will consist of
and secretary.
- Section 2. The officers shall be elected annually at the
meeting.
- Section 3: Installation of new officers will be held at the
meeting of the school year.
- Section 4: If for any reason, an officer is
unable to complete the term of office, a new election will be held at
the next meeting.
- Section 5. Nominations of SAC Officers:
- A. There shall be a nominating committee
composed of three members who shall be elected by the School Advisory
Council at a regular meeting. The committee shall consist of at least
one, but not more than two, of current elected officers and the
remainder from the general membership.
- B. The nominating committee will present a
slate of candidates for each office at which time nominations from the
floor will be taken.
- C. Nominations for officers will be made from the floor at a School Advisory Council meeting.
ARTICLE V: DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS
- A. The Co-Chairpersons
shall preside at all meetings of the Council and will be an ex-officio
member(s) of all committees except the nominating committee. The Co-Chairpersons
will prepare an agenda at least 7 days in advance for all meetings. A
copy of the agenda shall be provided to anyone who requests it. The Co-Chairpersons
or designee shall represent SAC at Area Advisory meetings and as a
voting member of the school’s School Advisory Forum (SAF). The Co-Chairpersons will represent the SAC at District meetings and/or workshops and may choose a designee to attend as necessary. The SAC Co-Chairpersons will sign the school’s annual budget (per District Budget Guidelines) as an indication of SAC participation in both processes.
- B. The duties of the Vice-Chair shall be to
represent the Chair in his/her assigned duties, and to substitute for
the Chair during his/her absence, and to perform such other duties as
may be assigned to him/her by the Chair or the School Advisory Council.
- C. The Secretary shall be responsible for all
correspondence and notices of meetings. The Secretary shall keep the
minutes of all meetings and assure that copies of the minutes are
distributed in a timely manner to Council members. Minutes will be made
available to any stakeholder who requests them. The Secretary will
keep an accurate record of attendance at all meetings as well as a
current roster of all stakeholders.
ARTICLE VI. MEETINGS
The School Advisory Council shall meet regularly and
the schedule of meetings for the year will be determined and published
in September for the current school year. The SAC and School Advisory
Forum (SAF) will schedule a joint meeting semi-annually. Notification
of all regular meeting places will be included in the minutes.
- Section 1. Guests: All meetings are open to the
public under the Florida Sunshine Law; however, nonmembers / guests may
not vote on School Advisory Council issues.
- Section 2. Attendance of SAC members will be
kept for all meetings. The Secretary or a designee will take
attendance. Attendance records will be sent to the Area Superintendent.
- Section 3. Minutes of all meetings will be
recorded by the Secretary or a designee. Minutes will be sent to the
Area Superintendent, kept on file at the school and posted for public
view. Minutes of the previous meeting will be approved at the next
meeting, with any additions or corrections noted.
Minutes will reflect all motions (including:
maker of the motion, person seconding and the results of the vote) and
any decisions made.
- Section 4. Special meetings may be called by the Co-Chairpersons or by notice of any three (3) members in writing to the Co-Chairpersons.
- Section 5. All scheduled meetings, meeting
times, and places will be announced at least three days in advance. Any
matter that is scheduled to come before the council for a vote requires
at least 3 days advance written notice to all SAC members. Members
must be advised of a change in the established date, time or location.
All special meetings will require notification.
- Section 6. SAC meetings will be scheduled at
times and locations convenient for all stakeholders (parents, students,
teachers, business persons, and members of the community).
- Section 7. A quorum is the minimum number of
members who must be present at a meeting for business to be conducted
and for voting to take place. To establish a quorum, a majority of the
membership of the council (more than half the members) must be present
at the meeting.
- Section 8. SAC meetings will follow the approved
agenda. Each item on the agenda will be discussed to the satisfaction
of the members present. SAC meeting discussions will be restricted to
those topics on the agenda. Other matters will be deferred to another
SAC meeting, to the School Advisory Forum, the PTA/PTO, or the
principal.
- Section 9. Voting will be conducted orally by
asking all in favor to say “Yea” and those opposed to say “Nay”. If
there is any doubt as to whether or not there is a majority for or
against the vote, a roll call must be taken. Voting on high-stakes
issues such as Recognition Funds and Waivers shall be conducted by a
roll call. All votes will become part of the minutes. Alternates and
proxy votes are not permitted (per Florida’s Sunshine Law). All votes
will be scheduled early in the beginning of the agenda.
ARTICLE VII. COMMITTEES
- A. The Co-Chairpersons shall create such committees as may be required to promote the objectives of the School Advisory Council.
- B. Committees may include other stakeholders not belonging to the SAC.
- C. The SAC Co-Chairpersons are an ex-officio member(s) of all committees except the nominating committee.
- D. All committees shall bring recommendations to the School Advisory Council at the monthly Council meeting.
ARTICLE VIII. UTILIZATION OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT FUNDS
- A. A portion of the Education Enhancement Trust
Fund (lottery money) is distributed to the school (through the District)
for the SAC to use for programs and projects to enhance school
performance through the implementation of the SIP.
- B. Per the General Appropriations Act,
Accountability Funds may not be used for capital improvements or for
projects or programs with a duration of more than one-year. A principal
may not override the selection of the use of the money.
- C. School-based decisions concerning the
distribution of School Recognition Funds will be the responsibility of
the SAC in accordance with procedures established by the District.
ARTICLE IX. SAC TRAINING AND ACTIVITIES
- A. SAC members will have opportunities to engage
in training activities and workshops to build the team, orient new
members, develop skills, assist in the annual budget process, and gain a
better understanding as to their roles in the school improvement
process.
- B. School-based accountability funds may be used to support appropriate training.
- C. Members of the SAC will take an active role
in the development, implementation and evaluation of the School
Improvement Plan. Members will participate in monitoring the progress
of the SIP and will assist in completing a needs assessment each year to
determine how best to revise the current SIP.
- D. The SAC will have access to the necessary
data to successfully complete the SIP, including budgets, staffing
levels, instructional materials, and test data. School personnel, as
directed by the principal, may assist the SAC in gathering and
interpreting data.
- E. The SAC and its officers will follow all District policies, state rules, and state statutes in conducting its business.
ARTICLE X. AMENDMENTS
- A. Bylaws must conform to the State of Florida statutes and the policies of the School Board of Broward County, Florida.
- B. Amendments to the bylaws will be approved by a majority of the SAC members. Bylaws will be reviewed and approved annually.
ARTICLE XI. PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall govern (Pasadena Lakes ES) School Advisory Council.
Annual Ratification
Amended
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