Logan High School
Community Council Bylaws
& Rules of Order
Community Council Bylaws
& Rules of Order
Adopted January 18, 2017
Article 1: Name
The name of this council shall be Logan High School Community Council, hereafter referred to as “the Council.”
Article 2: Applicable State Laws
All Utah School Community Councils function under the following laws and statutes:
Utah Code Ann.:
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Utah Administrative Code:
Title 52; Chapter 04 – Open and Public Meetings Act
R277-477-1, et seq.
R277-491-1, et seq.
The Council shall comply with all applicable Utah state laws. The Council Bylaws are in addition to existing Utah state laws. If any portion of the Council Bylaws conflict with existing Utah state laws then the state laws shall prevail.
Article 3: Organization of the Council
The voting membership of the Council includes:
- The school principal, and
- Up to nine (9) school employee members, including the principal, and
- Up to fourteen (14) parent or guardian members
- In any event, the membership of the council must include two or more parent/guardian members than the number of school employee members
- Any parent is eligible if they have a child who will be enrolled at the school during the first two-year term of office.
- They may be employed by the school district but not teach at LHS. If after the election there are more parent members who are licensed educators in the district than parents who are not, the parent/guardian members must appoint additional parents who are not educators to fill parent positions until there are more parents than parent/educators.
Members of the Council serve for 2 year terms beginning on June 1 of each year or on the first day after the parent elections have been completed, whichever is later. Terms shall be staggered so that approximately half of the council members stand for election each year.
A school community council member may serve successive terms provided the member continues to meet the definition of a parent or guardian member or school employee member as specified. The Council may appoint members to fill vacant positions if there are not enough parents or teachers elected.
Article 4: Elections of Council Members
Elections for parent members shall be held annually in the spring and continue for the number of days and processes specified by law as outlined in Utah Code Ann. § 53A-1a-108.
Elections for employee members shall be held annually at a general employee meeting and continue for the number of days as specified by law. Employee elections shall be completed before or concurrently with parent elections.
Notification of available Council parent member seats, election dates and procedures for declaring candidacy for the Council will be announced through the standard communication channels of Logan City School District.
If there are more candidates than available seats, two alternates will be selected from the remaining candidates in the order of the number of votes received. They will be appointed as voting members of the council if a seat is vacated prior to the next election.
Article 5: Duties of Officers and Members
The Council shall elect the following officers:
- Chair from its parent or guardian members; and
- Vice-Chair from either its parent/guardian members or school employee members, excluding the principal.
Officers will be elected by the Council at the September meeting each school year. The current Chair will serve through the summer months conduct the September meeting and assist the new leadership in the transition.
The Chair and Vice-Chair shall also select one Secretary either from the members of the council or from other parents or employees.
The Chair shall do the following:
- Prepare meeting agendas in consultation with the principal
- Assist the principal in preparing a calendar of meetings for the school year
- Conduct the school community council meetings
- Establish appropriate subcommittees/task forces and appoint members to serve on them
- Direct the activities of council members towards the Council's purpose
- Oversee that the Council's guidelines and bylaws are adhered to
- Perform other duties as assigned by the Council
- The duties of the Chair may be delegated to the Vice-Chair as needed
The Secretary shall do the following:
- Give public notice at least one week prior to meeting of the location, time and agenda of the meeting
- Record the minutes of all Council meetings
- Post approved minutes on the school website
- Keep accurate attendance records at meetings, including those excused
- Maintain a current copy of the Council's Bylaws
- Maintain a current Council membership list and keep a current Council membership list updated on the web site
- Conduct correspondence as required and requested
Representative Members shall do the following:
- Attend meetings regularly
- Review council minutes and respond with concerns
- Preview the meeting agenda and prepare for all meetings
- Provide input on the needs, interests or concerns of the group the member represents
- Attend and participate in appropriate subcommittee/task force meetings
- Assume other responsibilities as requested by the Council
Article 6: Rules of Order and Procedure
The Council will conduct its meetings using Robert’s Rules of Order as guidance; however, it is not the intent of the Council to allow debate of parliamentary rules to overshadow the main purposes and goals of the Council. Members of the Council may speak freely during discussion of agenda items regarding the current topic without the need to be recognized by the chair. All members shall conduct themselves professionally and show respect for other members and the publics’ positions even if they disagree with the stated position. In short, civil discourse is not only encouraged but expected. Council action will be taken by motions and voting with votes and motions recorded in the minutes
Due to the fiduciary nature of some of the Council’s responsibilities, any member with a conflict of interest regarding a specific agenda item shall disclose the conflict at the outset of the discussion. If the conflict is financial in nature, the member shall refrain from the discussion and recuse themselves from any vote on the matter. If the conflict is something other than financial in nature, the member may still participate in the discussion but shall recuse themselves from any vote on the matter.
Article 7:Removal and Replacement of Members
Members, parent and employee, have an expectation of attendance
- If for some reason a member cannot attend a scheduled meeting, notification should be given to the Chair prior to the meeting.
- If a Council member fails to attend three consecutive meetings without being excused in advance, or fails to perform the duties of his/her office, they will be invited to provide a written resignation or the members of the council shall vote to remove him/her from the council and declare the position vacant. The respective group (parent or employee) will appoint a replacement. If alternate members were selected, their appointment to the vacated seat will be ratified by the Council
Article 8: Standing Rules
Guests may share appropriate input on subjects that fall under the Council purview. A patron may bring a topic to the Council by contacting the Chair at least one week prior to the scheduled meeting and asking to be added to the agenda. The Council may invite any person/group to make a presentation on issues pertinent to the role of the Council. The items that are appropriate for discussion by School Community Councils include, but not limited to:
- School Improvement Plan.
- School LAND Trust Plan.
- Assistance in the development of the Staff Professional Development Plan
- Academic needs of the school, with the direction to determine the greatest academic need of the school for LAND Trust Plan expenditures.
- Advise and make recommendations regarding school programs and issues relating to the community environment for students.
- Parent/School communication and involvement. Items not to be discussed by the School Community Council include:
- Any personnel issues
- Individual student information
A quorum is defined as a simple majority. A simple majority requires one more than half of the given votes. All actions of the Council shall be by simple majority vote when a quorum is established.
The Council meetings will comply with the meeting notice and agenda posting requirements of Utah Code Ann. § 53A-1a-108.1. The Council will meet monthly with the exception of June, July and August. The majority of the council must approve of canceling and/or calling additional meetings.
Through the use of e-mail communication, the Council may take any action for which it has authority without convening a meeting. The consent to the action taken must be in writing, must set forth the action so taken, and must be approved by two-thirds of the membership of the Council.
Subcommittees may be established or dissolved by a majority vote of the council. Parent members may serve on one or more sub-committees.
- Each subcommittee will be chaired or co-chaired by at least one elected school community council member, which will report regularly to the Council on the committee’s progress
- Additional community members, both employee and parent, that are not elected Council members may serve on any subcommittee with the approval of the Council
Article 9: Amendments
These Bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the Council provided: (1) that notice of any proposed amendment shall be distributed in writing to all Council members at least seven days prior to the meeting at which the amendment is to be voted on and: (2) that a quorum must be present when the vote is taken.