Educational Excellence School Advisory Council

7291 JOSE MARTI MAST 6-12 ACADEMY

The bylaws for this school were last modified on Sep. 20, 2023.

The bylaws are as follows:

I. PURPOSE

The purpose of the José Martí MAST 6-12 Academy Educational Excellence School Advisory Council is to work together to ensure improved student achievement. One of the ways the council will do this is by preparing and evaluating the School Performance Excellence Plan as required by Blueprint 2000.

II. COUNCIL MEMBERS

A. The José Martí MAST 6-12 Academy Educational Excellence School Advisory Council shall be made up of five teachers, four parents, four students, one education support employee, the UTD steward, one business/community representative and the principal. With the exception of the principal, business/community representatives, and the UTD steward, all other members shall be elected by their constituent groups. Teachers, parents, students and education support employees shall also elect an alternate representative. The Council will be representative of the ethnic, racial, linguistic, and economic community served by José Martí MAST 6-12 Academy.

B. 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 education support employee representative. All parents and guardians responsible for a child enrolled in José Martí MAST 6-12 Academy are eligible to be elected as parent representatives, with the exception of those parents who are also employed by José Martí MAST 6-12 Academy.

C. Terms
All elected persons will serve for Four years. The Council will serve during the summer and remain the same until the new elections are held by October of the new school year.

D. Responsibilities
Council members are expected to
1. attend all regular and special meetings,
2. communicate with constituents to collect data and opinions for decision making,
3. report to constituents the actions taken by the Council,
4. consider the needs of all students when making decisions.

E. Members
Any member who has two consecutive unexcused absences from Council meetings shall be considered to have resigned. The member shall be replaced following election/selection procedures as stated in these bylaws.

F. Chairperson
The Chairperson will be elected within the EESAC committee for a term of four years. The current EESAC chairperson can seek re-election.

III. ELECTION PROCESS

A. Regular Meetings
All meetings will be held at a time that is convenient to parents, students, teachers, and business/community representatives. The regular meeting of the Council will be scheduled monthly.

B. Special Meetings
In the event a special meeting is needed, the principal, chairperson or a majority of Council members may call a meeting.

C. Cancellation
A regular Council meeting may be cancelled by the Council or Chairperson.

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, or economic status or which operates in such a manner as to unreasonably restrict access to such a facility.

IV. QUORUM
A majority of the voting members of the Council shall constitute a quorum. A quorum must be present before a vote may be taken.

V. AGENDA

A. The chairperson 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 chairperson in advance.
2. Non-Council members may propose an agenda item by contacting a Council member.
3. The agenda may be amended at the meeting by council vote.
4. The deadline for submitting additional items to be included in the agenda to the chairperson is the
Wednesday prior to the meeting.
5. All EESAC members must receive advance notice in writing of any matter that is scheduled to come
before the Council for a vote.

VI. CONSENSUS DECISION MAKING
The primary method of decision making shall be by consensus. This process is not defined by a majority or two-thirds vote. Consensus allows teachers, administrators, support personnel, parents and community members, as a group of professionals, and student representatives to reach agreement on common goals and on strategies to reach those goals.

VII. MINUTES
Minutes shall be kept for all meetings of the EESAC. 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. Copies of the approved minutes shall be maintained by the school as a public record. An official copy will be kept on file in the principal’s office. A copy of the minutes as of July 1, 2002, will be posted electronically by the school on the Internet.

VIII. INPUT FROM NON-COUNCIL MEMBERS
Those who are in attendance at the Council meetings shall be provided an opportunity to discuss issues under consideration in the following manner:
-Non-Council members may address issues that are presented according to Robert’s Rules of Order.

COMMITTEES
Special committees can be formed with a vote from the majority of the council.

The committees will determine the areas they want to concentrate on by surveying the needs, prioritizing them, and developing a plan that will be implemented.

The membership, council and non-council members, of the committees should reflect the makeup of the council. Each committee will be chaired by a council member. Committee membership will be voluntary.