Last modified: December 19, 2024

Community Council Rules of Order and Procedure

Adopted by the Council on 10/1/2024

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:

Council members will receive training to understand the responsibilities of the council. Council members receive training before preparing and taking action on School LAND Trust Plans and reports.

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 posted on the school website. The agenda will include the date, time, and location of the meeting, and any proposed action items. The agenda will be created by the Chair, Co-Chair, and Principal.

Written minutes will be kept of all meetings, prepared in draft format for approval at the next scheduled meeting. Approved minutes will be retained for three years.

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 the preparation of agendas to be sure the council accomplishes its work in a timely manner.

The suggested timeline is as follows:

• August/September: Elections, Vice-Chair Election, Meeting Calendar, Welcome New Members, Clarify Role of Community Council, Training Items
• October: Internet Safety, District Filtering
•  November: Report on last year’s plan & Data Discussion
• December: Brainstorm Plan based on Data
• January: Brainstorm Plan based on Data, Draft Plan
• February: Finalize Plan
• March: Vote on Finalized Plan for District School Board
• April: Revise the plan as directed by the School Board and submit it to the State
• May: Complete any State-required revisions. Elect Chair for the following year

The council shall establish a timeline for the election, including noticing the election at least ten days in advance of it taking place.

Election Process

Anonymity: Fair election while ensuring one vote per voter.

Representation: Everyone can vote as long as they are a parent or guardian of a Westridge Elementary student. Everyone can vote even if they don’t have transportation to the school or access to the internet.

Security: The Principal, Chair, and Vice-Chair will tally the votes to determine the winner of the election

• Elections will be held once annually at the beginning of the school year.
• Notification of election will be announced ten days prior to the election.
• Parents will be notified by email of the upcoming election and candidate process.
• Parents/guardians interested in becoming a candidate must complete and return a Candidate Form, which will be emailed home with the election notice. 
• Candidate Forms will be due three days before the election.
• Parents will be notified of the election dates, the candidates for the council, where they can find the ballot, and how they can vote for a council member. Ballots will be available in the office, where parents can come to vote.
• The Chair and Principal will meet to create the ballot or certify that there are no more nominees than vacancies on the council. At this point, no election is required, and the nominees are appointed to the council.
• In the case of a resigned council seat, the remaining members of that represented body of the council (i.e., parents or school employees) will vote to appoint a replacement for the duration of the vacated seat.
• In the event there is a tie vote in an election, the principal shall flip a coin to determine the outcome; “heads” belongs to the candidate whose last name comes first in the alphabet, and “tails” belongs to the candidate whose last name comes later in the alphabet.

The council consists of the principal, an ex officio voting member, one school employee who is elected in even years, and six parent members. Three parent members are elected in even years, and three parent members are elected in odd years.

When a full council is not seated in the election, or a seat is vacated, the parent members of the council shall appoint members to fill unfilled parent positions, and school employee members shall appoint school employee members.

The council shall elect a chair from the parent members and a vice-chair from the parent or school employee members at the first meeting of the year after the council is seated each year. The principal cannot hold office.

The chair conducts the meetings, makes assignments, and requests reports on assignments. In the absence of the chair, the vice-chair shall conduct meetings. The chair may delegate responsibilities to other council members.

The council must have a quorum to vote. A quorum is a majority of council members. If a quorum is not in attendance, the action items will be “tabled” until the next meeting when the quorum is present. If a parent member is absent from two consecutive meetings, the chair will notify the member that if the member does not attend the next meeting, the council will consider the seat vacant, and the remaining parent members will appoint a parent to fill the unexpired term.

In the event that council decisions must be made urgently before the next scheduled meeting and schedules don’t allow for a physical or Zoom meeting, the meeting may be held via email, and voting may be submitted electronically.

Meetings shall be conducted and action taken according to very simplified rules of parliamentary procedure as required in 53G-7-1203. Council actions will be taken by motions and voting with votes and motions recorded in the minutes.

Simple Motions of Parliamentary Procedure

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.  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.

• •  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.” is requires a second and a 2/3 vote.
  • Hasty action may be corrected by use of the motion to reconsider. is motion may be made only by one who voted on the prevailing side.
  • A person who made the motion may withdraw the same motion.