Educational Excellence School Advisory Council

0801 Citrus Grove Elementary School

The bylaws for this school were last modified on May. 04, 2011.

The bylaws are as follows:

Educational Excellence School Advisory Council


0801 Citrus Grove Elementary School


School Name Citrus Grove Elementary School
Location # 0801
Regional Center III


The bylaws for this school were last modified on January 6, 2010.

The bylaws are as follows:

A. PURPOSE

The Purpose of the Citrus Grove Elementary School Educational Excellence School Advisory Council (EESAC) is to work to ensure improved student achievement.

One of the ways the EESAC will do this is by preparing and evaluating the School Improvement Plan as required by 1001.42(18) F.S. and 1001.452 (2) F.S.

Additionally, the EESAC shall assist in the preparation of the school’s annual budget and plan as required by 1001.452 (2) F.S. and School Board Rule 6Gx13- 1B-1.031 (1) (A).

The EESAC shall also be responsible for using funds as provided in the annual General Appropriations Act to implement the School Improvement Plan.

B. EESAC Members

1. Composition

The EESAC shall be made up of 5 teachers, 5 parents, 1 student, 1 education support employee, 3 business/community representatives, the UTD designated steward and the principal. With exception of the principal, the UTD designated steward, and the business/community representatives, all other members shall be elected by their constituent groups. Teachers, parents, students, and education support employees shall also elect an alternate representative. The EESAC will be representative of the ethnic, racial, linguistic, disabled, and economic community served by Citrus Grove Elementary School. Pursuant to 1001.452 (1) F.S., a majority of the members of the school advisory council must be persons who are not employed by the school district.

2. Eligibility

All teachers, student services personnel, and the media specialist employed by the school are eligible to be elected teacher representative to the EESAC. All other persons employed by the school 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 as defined by 1001.452 (1) (a) F.S. All parents, guardians, or significant others responsible for a child enrolled in Citrus Grove Elementary School are eligible to be elected as parent representatives, with the exception of those parents who are also employed by the school district. All fifth grade students who attend Citrus Grove Elementary School are eligible to be elected as student representatives.

3. Terms

The terms of office shall be for two consecutive school years, with the exception of the student member who will serve for one school year. EESAC members may be reelected for consecutive terms.

4. Responsibilities

EESAC Members are expected to:
a. Attend all regular and special meetings; prior notification of any absences is required before the start of the meeting.

b. Pursuant to 1001.452 (1) (d) F.S., any member who has two unexcused consecutive absences from EESAC meetings that have been noticed according to the procedures in these bylaws shall be considered to have resigned. The member shall be replaced following election/selection procedures as stated in these bylaws..

c. Communicate with constituents to collect input and opinions for decision making,

d. Report to constituents the actions taken by the EESAC, and

e. Consider the needs of all students when making decisions.


C. ELECTION PROCESS

Elections shall take place through a voting process by which teachers, parents, students, and education support employees will be nominated and elected to office. The school shall give proper notice of the election of EESAC members in accordance with Florida's Government in the Sunshine Law. The school shall also make its best effort to hold elections for each constituent group during hours that are convenient for each constituent group.



1. Teacher elections – Announcement of opening(s) and request for nominations/volunteer candidates for the teacher representative will occur at the faculty meeting preceding the incumbent’s end of his/her term in office. An election will be conducted immediately. The request for nominations/volunteer candidates, acceptance of nominations/volunteers, and the election will be conducted by the UTD Steward. The newly-elected teacher representative will not take office until the last day of the incumbent’s term.

2. Education Support Employee elections – Announcement of opening(s) and request for nominations/volunteer candidates for an education support employee representative will occur via letter or e-mail to all education support employees at least 30 days prior to the incumbent’s end of his/her term in office. Nominations/volunteers will be accepted for a designated period of 3-5 working days. A ballot will subsequently be provided to all education support employees. Ballots are to be returned within 5 working days. The ballots will be sent, received, and counted by the UTD Steward and the EESAC Chairperson. The newly-elected education support employee will not take office until the last day of the incumbent’s term.

3. Parent elections – Announcement of openings and request for nominations/volunteer candidates for the parent representative will occur via a letter sent home with all students at least 30 days prior to the incumbent’s end of his/her term in office. Nominations/volunteers will be accepted for a designated period of 3-5 working days. Subsequently, an election will be held for the purpose of voting for the EESAC parent representative. The designated EESAC Parent Representative Election will be held at a time convenient for the parents. In adherence to the Florida Government-in-the Sunshine Law, the election must be announced at least five working days in advance to the meeting date via a letter sent home with the students and via Connect Ed. In both the letter and Connect Ed. announcements, it must be clearly stated that the purpose of the election is to elect a parent representative for the EESAC and that all parents, guardians, or significant others responsible for a child enrolled in Citrus Grove Elementary School are eligible to vote. At the election, it must also be clearly stated that the election is being conducted to vote for an EESAC Parent Representative, and it must be identified as a school election. The election process for the parent representative will be conducted by the EESAC Chairperson or designee. Nominations can also be taken from the floor. The newly-elected parent representative will not take office until the last day of the incumbent’s term.

4. Student elections – Announcement of opening and request for nominations/volunteer candidates for the student representative will occur in each fifth grade homeroom class during the second week of the school year. Each homeroom class will choose a nominee/volunteer candidate. In the case that there are more than one nominee/volunteer candidate in a homeroom class, then the homeroom teacher will conduct a ballot election immediately and choose the one student with the highest number of votes. The name(s) of the student nominee(s)/volunteer candidate(s) will be given to the EESAC Chairperson by the last day of the second week of school. All student nominee(s)/volunteer candidate(s) shall be given the opportunity and encouraged to campaign for the office of EESAC student representative during the third week of school. They will also be provided the opportunity to present themselves to the fifth grade student body at a grade level assembly no later than the last day of the third week of school. The EESAC Chairperson, in cooperation with the Fifth Grade Level Chairperson, will set a date for all fifth grade students in Citrus Grove Elementary School to vote for an EESAC student representative from all the nominees/volunteer candidates. The voting for EESAC student representative must take place no later than the last day of the fourth week of school. The student election will be facilitated by the EESAC Chairperson and/or the Co-Chairperson. The newly-elected student will take office immediately.

*NOTE: If the number of nominees/volunteers is equal to the number of openings for any of the before mentioned peer groups, no election will be necessary, unless the positions consist of an alternate and a regular representative at the same time. In such a case, the individual with the majority of the votes shall fill the regular position and the individual with the next highest number of votes will fill the alternate position.


D. UNEXPECTED VACANCIES

As stated in Section B (1) of these bylaws, according to Florida Statutes, a majority of the members of the school advisory council must be persons who are not employed by the school district. Therefore, unexpected vacancies are of the utmost concern.

In the case that an unexpected vacancy occurs, the procedures delineated below for each of the peer groups shall be followed:


1. Teacher vacancy – One of the alternate teacher representatives shall be given the opportunity to fill the vacancy. When the alternate accepts the position, then the election process described in Section C (1) will be followed to elect another alternate teacher representative.

2. Education Support Employee vacancy – The alternate education support employee representative shall be given the opportunity to fill the vacancy. When the alternate accepts the position, then the election process described in Section C (2) will be followed to elect another alternate education support employee representative.


3. Parent vacancy – The alternate parent representative shall be given the opportunity to fill the vacancy.
When the alternate accepts the position, then the election process described in Section C (3) will be followed to elect another alternate parent representative.


4. Student vacancy – The alternate student representative shall be given the opportunity to fill the vacancy. When the alternate accepts the position, then the other students who were nominated or who volunteered for the position at the beginning of the school year, but were not elected, will be considered for the vacant alternate position. The vacant alternate position will be offered to each of these students in a descending ranking order according to the number of votes received during elections. The new student will take office immediately.

5. Community/Business Representative vacancy- The school principal shall be responsible for appointing a community/business representative to fill this vacancy as soon as possible.

NOTE: If the number of nominees/volunteers is equal to the number of openings for that peer group, no election will be necessary.



E. OFFICERS

1. Positions
The EESAC officers shall consist of a Chairperson, Co-Chairperson, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, and Parliamentarian.

2. Election Process
Officers will be elected by majority vote of the EESAC at the first EESAC meeting of each school year.

3. Term
Officers will serve until the first EESAC meeting of the following school year when new officers are elected. In the event there’s an open position during the school year, an officer for that position shall be elected by the EESAC. The officer’s term will begin immediately upon election.

4. Eligibility
Any EESAC member can be elected to serve as an EESAC officer.

5. Duties
a. The Chairperson will conduct election of parent and student representatives; call, conduct, and manage regular and special EESAC meetings; and prepare and distribute agendas for regular and special EESAC meetings.

b. The Co-Chairperson will assist the Chairperson as needed and will assume the responsibility of the Chairperson in the absence of the Chairperson.

c. The Recording Secretary will record, keep, amend, and distribute regular and special meeting minutes.

d. The EESAC Treasurer will keep a separate record of all financial and operational activities by working with the school’s treasurer to track expenditures of all EESAC funds. At each meeting, the EESAC Treasurer will provide the EESAC with an up-to-date financial status of all EESAC monies. In addition, the EESAC Treasurer will keep a record of any grant awarded to the school under EESAC.

e. The Parliamentarian will assist the Chairperson in conducting and managing regular and special EESAC meetings as needed to keep decorum and to ensure bylaws are followed. The Parliamentarian will also assist and keep the EESAC members informed in regards to Florida Statutes, School Board Rules, and UTD/M-DCPS Contract to ensure that laws and regulations are followed. Additionally, the Parliamentarian will ensure that Robert’s Rules of Order are implemented.


F. MEETINGS RULES AND PROCEDURES

1. Regular Meetings
All meetings will be held at a time that is convenient to parents, students, teachers, and business/community representatives. The regular, monthly meetings will take place the first Wednesday of each month.


2. Special Meetings
In the event a special meeting is needed, the principal, chair or a majority of EESAC members may call a meeting. The special meeting will be held only upon notice in writing to all EESAC members from the Chairperson at least 5 days prior to the meeting date. Required quorum must be attained to vote on any matter.

3. Cancellation
A regular EESAC meeting may be canceled by a majority of the votes of the EESAC members.

4. 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. If an individual notifies the EESAC that he or she will require accommodation in order to participate in the meeting, every effort will be made to accommodate the individual.

5. Quorum
A majority of the voting members of the EESAC (or accounted for by proxy) shall constitute a quorum. A quorum must be present to elect officers or take a vote on any matter .


6. Proxy
The teacher, education support employee, parent, and student representatives may assign their proxy for quorum and voting purposes to the alternates in their peer group. The designated steward may designate an alternate steward in their absence.

7. Voting
The primary method of decision making shall be by a majority vote providing proper quorum is in attendance.

8. The parliamentary procedure that will be followed is Robert's Rules of Order. However, Robert's Rules of Order shall not supersede these bylaws, Florida Statutes, and School Board Rules.


G. AGENDA

1. All EESAC members must receive at least 3-days advance notice in writing of any matter that is scheduled to come before the EESAC for a vote.

2. The Chair shall prepare and distribute the agenda to all EESAC members and post it publicly for all regular and special meetings at least 3 days in advance.

3. Adding to the Agenda

a. EESAC members may add items to any regular or special meeting agenda by contacting the Chair at least 4 working days in advance of the meeting.

b. Non-EESAC members may suggest an agenda item for a regular or special meeting by contacting an EESAC member at least 5 working days in advance of the meeting.

c. The agenda may be amended at the meeting by a majority vote.


H. MINUTES

Written minutes of each regular and special meeting shall be kept for all meetings of the EESAC. Copies of the approved minutes shall be maintained by the school as a public record. The minutes shall include the date, time, and location of meeting, the names of those in attendance and any actions taken by the EESAC.

All decisions must be recorded exactly in the minutes. If a vote is taken, the results must be recorded by listing the names of the members who voted in favor and those who voted against.

The minutes shall be approved at the next regular or special meeting of the EESAC and the school's principal should approve the minutes.


The official copy will be kept in the main office and will also be posted electronically by the school on the Internet. Minutes from the previous regular or special meeting will be distributed to all EESAC members at least three days prior to the next meeting.



I . INPUT FROM NON-EESAC MEMBERS

Any non-EESAC members who are present at a regular or special meeting may request to speak about any of the agenda items at least 5 minutes before the meeting starts. At such time, the Chair will write the person's name for the item that he/she will speak about.
Each non-EESAC member who requested to speak on an agenda item prior to the start of the meeting will be allowed to address the EESAC at the time that the item is presented and before a vote is taken by the EESAC.

Non-EESAC members who did not request to speak before the meeting, may speak at the end of the EESAC meeting.

J. SPECIAL AND STANDING COMMITTEES

All special and standing committees will provide a report of each committee meeting to all EESAC members within 2 weeks of the meeting.

1. The following are standing committees of EESAC:

EESAC Bylaws Committee
EESAC Discipline Committee
EESAC SIP Committee

2. Special committees will be formed as needed according to Robert’s Rules of Order and by the majority vote of the EESAC members.

3. All EESAC members and alternates are eligible to serve on standing and special committees.

4. All faculty members are eligible to serve on standing and special EESAC committees. Faculty members interested in serving on standing and special committees will notify the committee Chair.



K . AMENDMENTS

These bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting by a 2/3 vote of 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 EESAC.