Rules of Order

Rules of Order and Procedure for Valley View Elementary Community Council  

To promote ethical behavior and civil discourse each council member shall:

• Attend council meetings on time and prepared
• Make decisions with the needs of students as the main objective
• Listen to and value diverse opinions
• Be sure the opinions of those you represent are included in discussions
• Expect accountability and be prepared to be accountable
• Act with integrity

Rules of Procedure:

All meetings are open to the public and the public is welcome to attend.

The agenda of each upcoming meeting with draft minutes of the prior meeting will be made available to all council members at least one week in advance and will be available to the public through the school office or website.

Minutes will be kept of all meetings, prepared in draft format for approval at the next scheduled meeting.

The council will prepare a timeline for the school year that includes due dates for all required reporting and other activities/tasks that the council agrees to assume or participate in.  The timeline will assist in preparation of agendas to be sure the council accomplishes their work in a timely manner.

The chair or a co-chair conducts the meetings, makes assignments and requests reports on assignments.  In the absence of the chair or co-chair, the vice-chair or other co-chair shall conduct meetings.

Meetings shall be conducted and action taken according to very simplified rules of parliamentary procedure as required in 53A-1a-108.1(9)(i).  Items on the agenda take priority over other discussions coming before the council.  Action of the council will be taken by motions and voting.  The motions and voting are recorded in the minutes.

A motion (or an action to be taken by the council) is stated as a motion.  Someone else on the council “seconds” the motion indicating that at least one other person on the council feels the motion is worthy of discussion.  Then the council members may provide input and discussion as called upon by the chair.  When discussion seems complete the chair may call for a vote on the motion.  Or when a member of the council “calls the previous question” (a motion to end discussion of the first motion), a second is required and then, without discussion the chair calls for a vote that must pass by 2/3.  If the vote on the previous question fails the council goes back to discussing the first motion.  If the motion to call the previous question passes, the chair directly calls for a vote on the first motion.  A vote to call the previous question is usually used to move business along.

Attached is a chart that could be used if the council feels they would like to use additional motions of Parliamentary Procedure in their meetings.

Membership:

Council membership will include:  the principal, 2-4 school employees, 4-6 parents with two more parent members than employees (including the principal).  Membership will be by nomination and election (if a position is contested) and if not filled, then voted and appointed by the council.  Members will serve for a two-year term; after that time they must follow the nomination and election process to continue to serve on the council.  There are no term limits however, terms should be staggered so that only part of the council will be up for election at one time.  Members must attend at least half of the council meetings each year (six meetings per year are anticipated) to retain their seat on the council; failure to do so will result in dismissal.  If a member is dismissed, they may appeal to the council to remain for the rest of their term.  If a member is dismissed, the council will appoint a new member to fill the vacated seat for the remainder of the term.  The council will have the minimum offices of:  a parent chair or parent & employee co-chairs, vice-chair, and secretary.

Elections:

Every public school in Utah has a School Community Council. The councils are made up of school employees who are elected by employees and parents who are elected by parents of students attending the school. Membership terms are for two years. Elections are held at the beginning of each school year.
Parent members must have a student attending the school at least one of the two years of their term of service. Employees must be employed by the school district at the school.

ELECTION OF SCHOOL COMMUNITY COUNCIL (SCC) MEMBERS
A Checklist
Effective June 2016
53A-1a-108(4-5)
1. Are there at least two more parent/guardian members* (through the remainder of this document referred
to as parent members) than school employee members**, including the principal, on the school community
council?
2. Are there fewer parents, who are licensed district employees (not employed at the school), than parents
who are not licensed district employees?
3. Are there at least two employee members on the SCC, including the principal?
4. Did the principal (or designee) provide notice of an election that included the dates and times of the election
with the positions up for election and instructions for becoming a candidate? Was the notice provided at
least ten days in advance of the election?
5. Was the race uncontested, not requiring ballots and voting?
If the answer is yes, skip questions 6-8.
6. Did only parents of students at the school vote for the parent positions at the election?
7. Did only employees at the school vote for the employee positions (except the principal) at the election?
8. If the race was contested, was each parent member elected by secret ballot by a majority vote of the
parents voting in the election and each school employee elected by secret ballot by a majority vote of the
school employees voting in the election?
9. If there were vacant positions on the council after the elections, did parents on the committee appoint
parent members, and the employee members appoint employee members?
10. Did the SCC elect a chair from the parent group, and a vice-chair from the parent group or employee group?
11. Were elections and subsequent appointments, where necessary, completed according to a timeline in which
councils could complete the required school website postings and the principal could complete the fall
online reports on the School LAND Trust website prior to October 20th?
53A-1a-108.1(6) and 53A-1a-108(5)(g).
* Parent member means a SCC member who is a parent or guardian of a student who will be enrolled at the
school at any time during the parent member’s term. A parent member may not be a licensed employee at the
school. ** Employee member means a member of an SCC who is a person employed at the school, including the
principal.

Miscellaneous:

If the council is unable to have a quorum meet to do business, all the council members will be notified with the necessary information and an e-mail vote may be taken.

Laws concerning school community councils, accessed at www.schoollandtrust.org, will be followed.

Website:

The school website will provide the following information:  parent opportunities, proposed yearly meeting schedule, council member contact information, current agenda, previous minutes, grant amounts received in the past, report on previous year's usage of funds & accomplishments, rules of order, optional election information

Simple Motions of Parliamentary Procedure

• A tie vote is a lost vote.
• A main motion may be amended.
• Nominations can be closed by saying, "I move to close nominations."
• Most motions are main motions.
• A point of order is offered when there is some question if procedure had been followed correctly.
• To stop debate or discussion on a motion and force the vote a member would say, "I move the previous
question." This requires a second and a 2/3 vote.
• Hasty action may be corrected by use of the motion to reconsider. This motion may be made only
by one who voted on the prevailing side.
• A person who made the motion may withdraw the same motion.