Last modified: December 17, 2024

School Community Council Rules of Order and Procedure

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 the council represents are included in discussions
• Expect accountability and be prepared to be accountable
• Act with integrity, including by disclosing any conflicts of interest between the member and the council’s business

Rules of Procedure

Council members will receive training to understand the responsibilities of the council. Council members receive training before preparing and taking action on School LAND Trust Plans and reports.

All meetings are open to the public and the public is welcome to attend.

The agenda of each upcoming meeting, with draft minutes of the prior meeting, will be made available to all council members at least one week in advance and will be posted on the school website. The agenda will include the date, time, and location of the meeting, and any proposed action items.

Written minutes will be kept of all meetings, prepared in draft format for approval at the next scheduled meeting. Approved minutes will be retained for three years. 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 the preparation of agendas to be sure the council accomplishes its work in a timely manner.

Elections of parent members will be held with the following guidelines:

• • The school community will be notified of the election on the school website and with a school wide email at least 20 days before the election begins.
  • Candidates may file for election by contacting the secretary with a short autobiography to be included in the election materials. Candidates will be gathered for at least 10 days.
  • Once the candidates have been gathered, an election will be open for at least 10 days. A link will be sent to allow school community members to vote electronically. Instructions for voting will be included with the link.

The council consists of the principal, 1 school employee who is elected in even years, 1 school employee who is elected in odd years, 4 parent members who are elected in even years, and 4 parent members who are elected in odd years.

When a full council is not seated in the election or a seat is vacated, the parent members of the council shall appoint members to fill unfilled parent positions and school employee members shall appoint school employee members.

The council shall elect a chair from the parent members and a vice-chair at the first meeting of the year after the council is seated each year.

The chair conducts the meetings, makes assignments, and requests reports on assignments. In the absence of the chair, the vice-chair shall conduct meetings. The chair may delegate responsibilities to other council members.

The council must have a quorum to vote. A quorum is a majority of council members. If a member needs to resign their position, they should notify the community. If a member misses 3 meetings without a viable excuse, then the person is considered to have resigned. In this case, the remaining parents on the council will appoint a new parent member or a school employee.

Meetings shall be conducted and action taken according to very simplified rules of parliamentary procedure as required in 53G-7-1203(10). Council actions will be taken by motions and voting with votes and motions recorded in the minutes.

Public Comments

If a member of the public has a comment, time permitting, the chair has the option to permit public comment.

Declaring a conflict of interest (see Local School Board Policy)

Conflicts of interest will be declared at the beginning of the meeting

Simple Motions of Parliamentary Procedure

Used by some organizations to assist those new to the process