WCHS  SBDM By Laws Revisions for January 2004 

| Meetings | Open & Closed Sessions | Agendas | Composition | Vacancies| Training | Standards of Conduct| |Consensus/Voting | Minutes |

COUNCIL RESPONSIBILITIES

1. What the Council will do

The council shall set policy on:

• Achievement
• Committees
• Consultation
• Curriculum (including development and needs assessment)
• Discipline
• Extracurricular Activities
• Instructional Practices
• Procedures: Standards, Technology, Appraisal
• Schedule
• School Space
• Staff Time
• Student Assignment to Classes
• Student Support Services
• Textbooks
• Instructional Materials

2. What the council will not do

The council shall not:

• Recommend the transfer or dismissal of any staff
• Violate federal or state law
• Take any action that will unreasonably risk students, staff, or others
• Take any action that will expose the district to unreasonable risk or liability
• Authorize unreasonable purchases
• Take any action that violates contractual obligations already made to personnel
• Exceed responsibilities given by state law and board policy

COUNCIL MEETINGS

1. How the council sets meetings at the beginning of the year

• At the first meeting of each council term, the council shall set one regular meeting date per month through July of the following year.

2. How the meetings are publicized  

• The principal or designee shall post a copy of the date and agenda of each council meeting in the teacher's lounge and on parent accessible bulletin boards three days prior to the meeting.  Local news media shall be notified in advance of the scheduled meeting.

3. How Special Meetings are called and who calls them

• Special meetings may be called by the principal or a majority of council members. Notice of the meetings shall be published 24 hours prior to the meeting.
• Posting information about special meetings
• Content of written notice: Persons calling the meeting must prepare a signed note stating the date, time, place, and agenda of the meeting.
• Delivery of notice: Persons calling the meeting must deliver notices to every council member and any media organization that has been asked to be informed of council meetings. Deliveries may be made by hand, fax, mail, or email but must be made at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.
• Posting of the notice: Notice of the meeting must be posted conspicuously at the school at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.

4. Quorum for Meetings

• A quorum or two-thirds of the council members including at least two parents, three teachers and one administration representative must be present for action to be taken.

 HOLDING OPEN AND CLOSED SESSIONS

1. Open Sessions

• Anyone can attend and address the council during open council meetings. The council may, however, limit the time allotted for discussion initiated by any individual or group.
• Visitors should sign-in and indicate a desire to address the council.

2. Closed Sessions

• When closed sessions are allowed
• When the council is discussing proposed or pending litigation by or against the council
• When the council is discussing selection of a new principal or staff member
• Announcement of closed sessions
• Chair or council members must make an announcement in open session stating:
• The council needs to discuss business involving a topic that the law allows to be discussed in closed session.
• The general nature of business  that needs to be discussed in closed session
• The specific section of the law that allows the session to be closed (KRS 61.810(1)(c)
• Required motion and vote
• The chair or other council member must make a motion to go into closed session
• Conduct of closed session
• Only the business stated for the closed session can be discussed, and no decision can be made
• Return to open session
• After discussion, the council must return to open session to make any official decision and record the decision in the minutes.

COMPLETING AND SUBMITTING AGENDAS

What to include in every agenda

• Reviewing, amending, and approving previous minutes
• Reviewing, amending, and approving agenda for current meeting
• Receiving reports from committees when applicable
• Opportunity for public comment

How to submit agenda items

• Anyone can submit agenda items to the principal one week prior to the scheduled meeting, and he will keep a record of this and include it in the preliminary agenda.

How to announce preliminary agendas

• The week before each regular council meeting, the principal shall prepare a preliminary agenda.  Copies shall be posted in the staff lounge and in a location frequently passed by parents three school days prior to the meeting. The principal shall also mail or hand deliver copies to each member of the council with supporting information.

How to set the final agenda

• Setting the final agenda shall be the first order of business at each council meeting. At special meetings the council may not add items to the list, but may subtract them.

COUNCIL COMPOSITION

·         The School Council shall consist of six (6) WCHS teachers, four (4) parents of current WCHS students, the principal and an assistant principal appointed by the principal.  The membership of the council may be increased or decreased proportionately by vote of the council.

·         Individual candidate experience, including committee and other service to the school, shall be shown by the individual named on the ballot. 

·         New council members are encouraged to meet with the Council from their election until taking office July 1.  They will be unable to participate in the decision making process until July 1.

·         The principal shall be the chair of the council.

·         A vice-chair shall be elected by the council at its first meeting each year.  The vice-chair shall preside at any council meeting that the principal is unable to attend.

·         A minority member is required if the school had 8% or more minority students on the preceding October 1.  The principal is responsible for seeing that special elections are held when a minority member is needed and should follow the procedure as written in KRS 160.345.   

PARENT MEMBERS

·         Selection of parents to the council shall be made by the parent representative group, the PTO, according to school district policy and state law.  Annual elections shall be held in May with an attempt to be in conjunction with a typically well-attended school event. 

·         A parent, stepparent, foster parent, or legal guardian with whom the student resides is eligible for council elections if their child is preregistered to attend the school during the term of office.   

·         Ineligible parents include employees or relatives of an employee of the school in which that parent serves, employees or relatives of an employee in the district office, and local board members or a board member’s spouse.   

TEACHER MEMBERS

·         Selection of teachers to the council shall be overseen by a committee of teachers and will be completed in the month of May. 

·         Teacher members are elected to council by a majority vote of those present plus the absentee ballots. 

·         Teacher members must hold a position at WCHS that requires a state certificate and must not be a principal or assistant principal. 

·         Any teacher may nominate himself, herself, or another teacher for the office of teacher member.   

COUNCIL TERMS

·         Three teacher members and two parent members shall be elected each year. 

·         All elected positions shall serve from July 1 of the year when elected to June 30 two years later. 

·         A candidate may run for and be elected to council for indefinite successive terms.  

COUNCIL VACANCIES  

A vacancy is created when a council member resigns, dies, or is removed.  The principal shall post vacancies in the staff lounge and on the SBDM bulletin board along with a copy of this by-law.  If there is a parent vacancy, the president of the PTO shall also be notified via phone or e-mail and posted mail. These actions shall be taken within one full week after the principal learns of the vacancy.  

Replacement teacher member election.  Nominations shall be submitted to the nominating committee within ten school days after the vacancy notification, and the election shall be held five school days after that, following the procedure described in the teacher election section of these by-laws.   

Replacement parent member election.  The president of the parent-teacher organization shall call an election to be held not less than ten or more than twenty school days after the vacancy notification occurs. Notice of the vacancy and election shall be published in the local newspaper.  

Replacement minority parent or teacher member election shall be conducted following the procedure outlined in the appropriate election section of these by-laws.  

SBDM TRAINING

All council members shall receive training in the process of school-based decision making conducted by a trainer endorsed by the Kentucky Department of Education.  Reimbursement for training shall be available under the district’s reimbursement policy.

New Members.  Members elected for the first time shall complete at least six hours of training no later that 30 days after the start of their terms.  They can get the training anytime between the date they are elected and the 30 day deadline.

Veteran Members.  Members who have served on a school council before shall complete at least three hours of training no later than 120 days after the start of their term.  They can get that training up to one year before the 120 day deadline.

Midterm Vacancies.  Members who are elected to fill a vacant position shall complete the appropriate training within 30 days of their election.

STANDARDS OF CONDUCT 

Attendance.  Council members shall attend all council meetings unless there is an extenuating circumstance and the council chair is notified of the absence before the meeting or as soon after the meeting as possible.  Any member who misses three meetings without notifying the chair shall resign.

Ongoing eligibility.  Any member who ceases to be eligible to serve on the council shall resign.  Examples include teachers who are no longer employed at the school; parents who no longer have a student at the school; or any other changes that makes a person ineligible to serve.  Any member who enters into a business dealing with the school that creates a conflict of interest under KRS 45A.340 shall resign.

Intentional Interference with School-Based Decision Making.  No board member, superintendent of schools, district employee or member of the school council shall intentionally engage in a pattern of practice which is detrimental to the successful process of the council working toward meeting the goals of the Kentucky Education Reform Act or to make decisions in areas of policy assigned to a school council.

Any affected person who believes a violation of this subsection has occurred may file a written complaint with the school council, the superintendent, and ultimately with the Kentucky Office of Education Accountability.

Consensus and Voting

Consensus

Consensus is a unanimous agreement on the part of all members of the Woodford County School Based Decision Making Council to make and implement a decision.

How are recommendations, proposals or motions made?

When applicable, the council shall charge each new issue requiring decision, to an appropriate committee that will be responsible for researching, gathering input and developing a formal recommendation, motion or proposal.  The council shall discuss each issue to the extent that all members fully understand it and have had an opportunity to provide input. 

What happens if there are questions?

If discussions reveal concerns, questions or unclear points, the council may: 

1. Return the issue back to committee for further work, taking up any subsequent committee   recommendation as a new recommendation or proposal when it is received back by council.  Only in those events where action is urgently needed will a recommendation or proposal not be sent back to committee. 

2. The council may form an ad hoc committee to investigate, gather input and make a recommendation or proposal. 

How is a decision adopted?

When a recommendation or proposal is presented to council, a member may move to adopt it by consensus.  The chair shall ask when discussion is complete, if there is consensus.  Any person who is in disagreement or is not willing to support the motion, recommendation or proposal is obligated to say so at this time.  Members who support the motion, recommendation or proposal shall indicate this by word or other sign that they believe there is consensus.  Once consensus is attained, then the chair shall direct the secretary to record that the motion, recommendation or proposal passed by consensus in the official minutes.  For those items that require a first and second read, such as with policy and procedure, after a motion is accepted for a first reading, it shall be considered again at the next regular council meeting or at a special meeting if necessary.  If approved at the second reading, the secretary shall note that it has been officially adopted as a council decision.

Consensus Failure:

What happens if consensus fails?

When a motion for consensus fails, the council will have the following options.

1.         Ask a (the) committee for a new recommendation or proposal.

2.         Schedule a fact finding session at which all members of the school community are invited to present factual information about the issue.  The information will be recorded. The purpose of the session is to get a common focus on the knowledge base for deciding an issue. 

3.         Seek the help of a trained mediator to find a consensus solution.

4.         Decide the matter by vote; a two thirds majority but at no time less than 7 decides the issue.

A member of council may move to take any one of these options and then vote on that motion.  If no motion passes to take one of these actions, then the original recommendation, motion or proposal shall be deemed rejected when the council meeting adjourns.

Note:  No Kentucky law requires councils to operate by consensus.

Minutes

Why do we have minutes?

Pursuant to KRS 61.835 part of the Open Meetings Law, the secretary will take minutes of actions taken at every meeting of the council setting forth an accurate record of votes and actions taken at such meetings.  If the action is adopted, such as with written policy and procedure or a written statement of some decision, the entire text shall be included with the minutes.

Who takes the minutes?

The secretary can be a council member who volunteered, was appointed by the chair or elected by the council.  The secretary can also be a non–council member who volunteered and whose sole purpose is to accurately record actions, decisions, motions and votes.   

What is in the minutes and who are they available to?      

Within 7 school days after each meeting, the secretary shall:

.

1. Prepare typed hard copy or electronic copy of the minutes.

2. Sign his or her name at the bottom of the minutes.

3.    Attach copies of any policy, budget, by-law, amendment or other  document approved by the council.

4. Send draft copies to each council member by hand carry, e-mail, postal    service or courier.

5. Post a draft copy in the teachers lounge and on the SBDM bulletin board.

6. Place the original in the official binder of council minutes. The council shall review, amend and approve the minutes at its next meeting.  The minutes then shall become official public record of council action.