Chebucto Heights Elementary School Advisory Council Bylaws

Membership
The Chebucto Heights School Advisory Council will have 15 voting members which include:
 Five (6) parents
 Three (3) teachers
 One (1) members of school’s support staff
 Five (6) community members
 The principal (permanent, non-voting member)

Eligibility for Membership

Parents/Guardians

• Must have a child at Chebucto Heights Elementary and cannot be a Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) employee on staff at Chebucto Heights Elementary.

• The chair cannot be a Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) employee.

Teachers
• Must be a teacher on staff at Chebucto Heights Elementary

Support Staff
• Must be on the support staff at Chebucto Heights Elementary (e.g. secretary, EPA, lunch monitor, caretaker)

Community Member
• Must not be an employee of Chebucto Heights Elementary School
• Must not have children registered at Chebucto Heights Elementary
• Must reside in the geographical area served by  or provide a service to or within the geographical area served by Chebucto Heights Elementary

Elections and Appointments
Elections will be held in September and are usually by secret ballot.  Appointments of community members will occur prior to the October meeting.

Parents/Guardians
A call for nominations may be made during the first two weeks of September through the school website and/or a newsletter sent home, with a meeting designated for voting in late September.  Nominations will close one week prior to a duly advertised voting day.  Nominations will be received by the school principal and forwarded to the school advisory council chair.  Election will be by a simple majority vote of eligible parents/guardians at a designated voting day. Eligible voters who cannot vote on voting day can contact the school to make arrangements to vote prior to voting day. Eligible parents/guardians are those who have children enrolled in Chebucto Heights Elementary.  In the event of a tie, a run-off election will be organized.
 

Teachers and Support Staff
Teachers and support staff will elect/choose their own representatives in September by the method of their choice.

Community Members
The community member will be appointed to the school advisory council by the SAC prior to the October meeting so that the executive can be selected.  The position will be advertised on the school website.  All applicants may be asked to submit, in writing, a brief resume and a letter of interest. 
 

Terms of Service
Terms of service for each representative group are the following:
• Parents/guardians are elected for a term of three years.  Parents/guardians elected or appointed to fill a vacancy are elected or appointed for the remainder of the term.
• Teachers and support staff are elected/chosen from their respective group for a term of three years.  Teachers and support staff elected or appointed to fill a vacancy are elected or appointed for the remainder of the term
• Community members are appointed for a term of two years.  Community members appointed to fill a vacancy are appointed for the remainder of the term.
• All members can re-offer for election or appointment to the SAC at the end of their term, to a maximum of three consecutive terms.
• The principal position is permanent
• A council member elected to an executive position may serve in that position for a maximum of two consecutive one-year term
 

Vacancies
Should a vacancy arise, it will be addressed as follows:
• Vacancies on the SAC will be filled from the relevant membership group
• Vacancies of less than 6 months may be filled by a SAC appointment
• Vacancies of longer than 6 months will be filled according to the bylaws governing elections or appointment of the appropriate membership groups to fill the remainder of the vacated term.
 

Executive
 The executive will consist of a chair, vice chair, secretary and principal.  The selection of the chair, vice chair and secretary will be done annually at the September meeting.  The chair, vice chair and secretary will be selected from those SAC members other than the principal and will serve no more than three consecutive years as chair, vice chair or secretary.  The chair should not be an employee of the Halifax Regional Centre for Education.
 

Agenda and Meeting Summary
The chair will develop the meeting agenda in consultation with the principal and the agenda will be available at least five days prior to each meeting. Copies of the agenda will be distributed to each member by email, along with any other information that is relevant to the agenda items. Agendas from each meeting will be kept in Hillside Park Elementary School’s records, in either print or electronic format. Agendas will be made available to the public upon request and posted on the school website.
The secretary will prepare a meeting summary for each school advisory council meeting which will include highlights of key decisions and actions. Once approved at the subsequent meeting, the meeting summary will be provided to the principal of Chebucto Heights Elementary School to be included in the school record in either print or electronic format. Meeting summaries will be made available to the public upon request and posted on the school website.
 

Meetings
Council will meet not less than six (6) times per year. Dates and times will be determined by the School Advisory Council.

Meetings will be conducted according to the following guidelines:
• A regular meeting schedule will be determined at the initial meeting of the school year with a minimum of 6 meetings annually.  Additional meetings may be scheduled as determined by the Chebucto Heights Elementary SAC.  Meetings will be no more than 60 minutes in length unless the SAC agrees by consensus to go longer.
• Members of the public who wish to address the SAC are asked to inform the SAC through the chair or school principal in writing at least one week prior to the meeting.  They may address the meeting at the discretion of the chair.
• Agendas will allow for a period of a 10 minute period for input on the agenda items from the public in attendance at the council meeting.
• Members who are not able to attend a meeting will notify the SAC secretary or the chair by noon of the meeting date
• Any member absent without cause for three consecutive meetings will be considered to have vacated their position.  Vacancies will be filled as per these bylaws.

Quorum
A quorum will be established when the meeting is called to order.  A quorum will consist of a minimum of eight (8) of the SAC voting members present.  Representative groups consist of parent/guardians, staff and community members.

In addition the principal or designate shall be present.

Decision Making Process
The following principles and procedures will be used in making decisions.
Principles
• All council members are responsible for making decisions that ensure the best education possible for our students
• All council members will have the opportunity to participate in decision-making
• Council decisions will be by consensus whenever possible

Procedures
• Agenda items will be discussed in a structured way prior to a decision
• When background information is needed on an agenda item, the principal will provide council members with that information and the time required to review it in advance of a decision
• Whenever possible, decisions will be made by consensus
• If consensus cannot be reached, the decision is delayed until the following meetings, which must occur within 30 days.  If at that time, consensus cannot be reached, a majority vote will be required of those members present. 
• Decisions and recommendations will be recorded in the minutes of the meetings.

School Improvement Plan and Annual Report
The school improvement plan for Chebucto Heights Elementary will be developed by the principal and staff of the school and shared with the SAC.  The SAC will work in collaboration with the principal and participate in efforts to improve student achievement and student and community well-being by regularly receiving information on the school improvement plan and monitoring progress and improvements under the plan.

In additions, in accordance with the terms of the SAC agreement, the SAC will determine priorities for spending the funds allocated to support the mandate of the school advisory council including student achievement and report annually on the expenditures of funds to the Minister.

The SAC will prepare an annual report in the form and containing the information determined by the Minister.  The report will be presented at the June SAC meeting and then submitted to the regional center for education by the end of June. 

Adopting and Amending Bylaws
A notice of motion, given one meeting in advance, is required to amend the bylaws.  Bylaws will be amended following the established decision making process.  The amended bylaws will be forwarded to the regional executive director for approval, and the bylaws or amendments become effective upon receipt of the approval. 

Parties to the Agreement:

We, the undersigned, understand and agree to follow these bylaws.

________________________________________________ ________________________
Chebucto Heights Elementary School Advisory Council Chair   Date

________________________________________________ _________________________
HRCE Regional Executive Director of Education   Date


Appendix A

SAC Membership Name Term of Service
Principal  Craig Myra/Nancy Bradfield Permanent Member
Chair/Parent Tanya Conrad 2022-2024 Third Term
Parent/Guardian Beth MacLellan  7
Parent/Guardian Jennifer Falkenham 6
Parent/Guardian Chris Harding 3
Parent/Guardian Odette Bakam 1
Parent/Guardian  Fesobi (Lara) Ajimati  1
Parent/Guardian  Shawn Simamha 1
Community Member Sean Sangster   5
Community Member Dawn Myra 7
Community Member Kate Newton 7
Community Member Glenda Tran  3
Community Member Maja Kondali 1
Community Member  Vacant 
Teacher Heather Lynch   3
Teacher Anisa Ramoutar 4
Teacher Cynthia Rigby  2