Educational Excellence School Advisory Council

5961 Winston Park K-8 Center

The bylaws for this school were last modified on Sep. 15, 2008.

The bylaws are as follows:

WINSTON PARK K-8 CENTER
Educational Excellence School Advisory Council
By-Laws

1. PURPOSE
The purpose of the Winston Park K-8 Center Educational Excellence School Advisory Council is to work to ensure improved student achievement. The Council is to "be the sole body responsible for final decision-making at the school relating to the implementation of the provisions of ss.229.591, 229.592, and 230.23(16)." This responsibility is to implement the state system of school improvement and accountability, to assist in the preparation and evaluation of the school improvement plan, and to assist in the preparation of the school's annual budget. Also as part of this responsibility the Council is to jointly decide, with the school's staff, how to utilize the Florida School Recognition Program funds. A portion of the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund (lottery money) is distributed to each school (through their districts) for the EESAC or Council to use for programs and projects to enhance school performance through the implementation of the School Improvement Plan (SIP). The money may not be used for capital improvements or for projects or programs with duration of more than one-year. A principal may not override the selection of the use of the money. The amount for discretionary use by the Council is currently ten dollars per unweighted FTE student.

(School board of Miami-Dade County 6Gx13 - 1B-1.031 and DPS Memorandum dated May 29, 2002, page two)

2. COUNCIL MEMBERS COMPOSITION
The Winston Park K-8 Center Council shall be made up of:
a. 7 parents
b. 1 student
c. 5 teachers
d. 1 Educational Support employee
e. UTD steward
f. Business/Community representative
g. Principal
h. Alternate - One or more alternates for each group listed above should be selected in the same manner used to elect the representatives for each group and shall have all rights and privileges when representing their peer group.

3. MAJORITY REQUIREMENT
The EESAC shall maintain a sufficient number of parents and/or
Business/community members in order to make the majority of the members persons who are not employed at the school. (School Board of Miami-
Dade county 6Gx13 - 1B-1.031)
The Council will be representative of the ethnic, racial, linguistic, disabled, and economic community served by Winston Park Elementary School.

4.ELIGIBILITY All teachers, student services personnel, and the media specialist, employed by the school are eligible to be elected teacher representatives to the Council. All other persons employed by the school, including paraprofessionals, and those who are not defined as instructional or administrative personnel and whose duties require 20 or more hours in each normal working week are eligible to be elected as the education support employee representative. All parents, guardians, or significant others responsible for a child enrolled in Winston Park are eligible to be elected as parent representatives, with the exception of those parents who are also employed by Winston Park School.

5. TERMS
The terms of office shall begin on the first day of the school year and end on the last daay before the new school year.
Teachers shall be elected for a 1 year period.
Parents and students shall be elected for one-year terms.
Business-Community representative shall be appointed for a one-year term.
Annual elections shall be held for any vacancies. The vacancies shall be filled by elections held by the respective peer group whose group has a vacancy. (ex.: parents elect parents, teachers elect teachers, etc.)
6.RESPONSIBILITIES Council members are expected to:
a. attend all regular and special meetings,
b. communicate with constituents to collect data and opinions for decision making,
c. report to constituents the actions taken by the Council, and
d. consider the needs of all students when making decisions.7.


7. UNEXCUSED ABSENCES
Any member who has two consecutive unexcused absences from council meetings shall be considered to have resigned. The alternate shall replace the member.

8. ELECTION PROCESS
Teachers and Education Support Employees will be nominated and elected to office by their respective peer group at a regular scheduled staff meeting in August of each year.
School wide notification letters sent to parents in May will nominate parents. School wide ballots sent home in MAY will hold the election.
Students will be selected based on the Winston Park K-8 Center Student Council election. The President and Vice President will serve as the student representatives with one being the alternate student representative.
The school shall give proper notice of the election of council members in accordance with the Florida's Government in the Sunshine Law.
The school shall also make it's best effort to hold elections for each constituent group during hours that are convenient for each constituent group.
The Chairperson shall be elected annually at the first meeting of the school year. The chairperson should not be a school employee.

9. MEETINGS
a. Regular Meetings
Regular meetings of the Council will be held on the third Thursday of each month. The meetings will be held in the Media Center at 8:00 am.
b. Special Meetings
In the event a special meeting is needed, the Principal, Chair or a majority of the Council members may call a meeting.
c. Cancellation
A regular Council meeting may be canceled by the Council, Chairperson or Principal.
d. All meetings shall be open to the public and shall not be held in any facility or location which discriminates on the basis of sex, age, race, creed, color, origin, disability, or economic status or which operates in such a manner as to unreasonably restrict access to such a facility.

10. QUORUM
A quorum must be present before a vote may be taken. A majority of the voting members shall constitute a quorum. Definition of Majority= 1/2 of members plus 1.

11. DEFINITION OF VOTING MAJORITY-
A majority of school employee group plus a majority of non-school employee group will constitute a voting majority.

12. AGENDA
a. The Chair shall prepare and distribute the agenda for all regular and special meetings.
b.. Adding to the Agenda
1. Council members may add items to any regular meeting agenda by contacting the Chair - 10 business days in advance.
2. Non-Council persons may propose an agenda item by contacting a Council member.
3. The agenda may be amended at the meeting by a majority vote.
4. A three-day written advance notice must be given to all council members when a matter is coming before the council that requires a vote. Notice will be given by adding "VOTE" to the agenda.

13. MINUTES
Written minutes of each regular and special meeting shall be kept as an open, permanent record of the activities of the Council and posted on the MDCPS web site. The minutes shall include the names of those in attendance and any actions taken by the Council. The minutes shall be approved at the next regular meeting of the Council

14. INPUT FROM NON-COUNCIL PERSONS
Those who are in attendance at the Council meetings shall be provided an opportunity to discuss issues under consideration in the following manner:
Anyone can come to the meetings and speak before the Council. He/she shall request to speak, on a given agenda item, to a Council member. The Council member will introduce the speaker and that person will have three minutes to speak to the item. The chairperson may ask the Council to call the question to a vote or pull the item in order to limit redundant discussion. Additional issues will have a limit of three minutes.

15. AMENDMENTS
These by-laws may be amended at any regular meeting by a 2/3 vote of the membership of the Educational Excellence School Advisory Council, provided that at least 5 working days written notice of the proposed change has been given to all members of the council.