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Bylaws of the School Advisory Council
South Olive Elementary School
Prepared by: Bylaws Committee - January 8, 2001
Adopted: February 13, 2001
Amended / Updated: April 3, 2001: September 15, 2003: March 21, 2006:
October 20th, 2009: November 15, 2011, May 21, 2013, October 15, 2013
April 8, 2014
Article I
Name of Organization
The name of this organization shall be The School Advisory Council of South
Olive Elementary.
Article II
Purpose and Function
Section 1:
The School Advisory Council (SAC) is a resource for the school, its
teachers and its principal. Its function is to develop and oversee the
implementation of a School Improvement Plan (SIP) that will serve
as a framework for school improvement; to oversee and to
implement systematic evaluation.
Section 2:
The primary function of the SAC is to provide all of the stakeholders
(school board employees, parents, business and community citizens
who are representative of the ethnic, racial and economic community
served by the school) an opportunity to be active participants in the
assessment of needs, development of priorities, and identification
and use of resources.
Specific functions include, but may not be limited to, the following:
a) To develop and review the implementation of the School
Improvement Plan, required pursuant to Florida Statutes, and with
technical assistance from the Department of Education, to assist in
the preparation of the School’s annual budget and plan, as required
by Florida Statutes.
b) Enlist, promote, and support greater interaction between school and
community.
c) To provide input in matters concerning disbursement of school
improvement funds and other monies related to school improvement,
and to ensure that such expenditures are consistent with the School
Improvement Plan.
d) To consult with the Instructional Innovation Team when making
decisions concerning educational practices within the school.
e) To consult with persons or departments impacted by the School
Improvement Plan.
f) To adopt bylaws including membership procedures, to review
bylaws annually for alignment with legislation and policy, and to
submit bylaws to the School Board with the School Improvement
Plan.
Article III
Representation and Membership
Section 1:
The SAC membership shall be elected by and from among the
Constituency and shall be responsible to them for voting upon and
for implementing the decisions of the Council.
a) The SAC shall be composed of elected members who comprise the
formal committee responsible for voting upon and for implementing
the decisions of the SAC
b) The Constituency shall be composed of the stakeholders (Article II,
Section 2) and all other interested persons who shall provide
recommendations to the SAC via public discussions at SAC
meetings.
c) Membership will consist of only 13 members.
Section 2: Reasonable efforts shall be made to:
a) Achieve a SAC that is representative of the ethnic, racial and
economic community served by the school (in accordance with
Florida Statutes); and
b) Include minority persons and persons of lower socioeconomic status.
Section 3:
The SAC membership shall be divided into two classes of
Representatives:
a) Persons not employed by the School Board and /or South Olive
Elementary School (hereafter “Non-School Employees); and
b) Persons employed by the School Board and/or South Olive
Elementary School (hereafter “School Employees”).
Section 4: Non-School Employee Representatives shall be of such a number
that, cumulatively, they enjoy and maintain an absolute, statutory
majority of at least 50% +1 of the total of SAC. This shall not be
construed to limit non-school employee participation. The NonSchool Employee members of the SAC shall represent the view of
parents, citizens and community organizations served by the school.
They shall act as resource persons for the SAC in matters that affect
the school and its pupils. They shall serve as a communication link
between the SAC and the community and parent groups.
a) Parents will be limited to 3 year terms.
Section 5:
School Employee Representatives shall be of such a number that,
cumulatively, they enjoy and maintain an absolute, statutory
minority of at most 49% of the total SAC. The School Employee
Representatives shall represent the views in the interest of the total
faculty and staff. They also will act as resources for the SAC by
making available specialized information regarding educational
programs, innovative ideas, and available resources. School
Employee Representatives shall serve as a communication link
between the SAC and the school staff, informing others of the
council’s actions and activities.
b) All Teachers, ESE and School employee representatives will
be limited to 3 year terms.
Article IV
Membership Composition
Section 1:
Non-School Employee SAC Members, with the exception of any
Business or Community Representatives, shall be nominated from
among and elected by the Non-School Employee constituency.
1a: New members – Elected to 3 year terms
1b: Existing SAC Members years of remaining service will be based on
the following schedule. The schedule is takes into consideration of
the amount of terms each member has already committed.
Classification
Term
Remaining
A
B
C
1
2
3
 Classification
o A = 1 year of Term remaining
o B = 2 years of Term remaining
o C = 3 years of Term remaining (New Member)
Section 2:
If an election fails to fill any seat, a canvassing effort shall be made
by the Principal. The Principal shall recruit and nominate, and the
SAC Chairperson shall select from among the nominees, a
Representative for such open seat. Priority shall be given to a
member of the representative group and secondarily from the
constituency at large.
2a: Any vacancy remaining the SAC board shall reach out to fill those
empty seats.
Section 3:
School Employee Representatives shall be divided proportionally
between groups of “Teachers” and “Education Support Employees”,
as those terms and/or groups are defined in State Statute; and
a) School Employee members shall be assigned and / or work at South
Olive Elementary School at the time of their election and term of
office; and
b) Teachers shall be nominated from, and elected by the Teachers; and
c) Education Support Employees shall be nominated from, and elected
by Education Support Employees.
d) Business and/or Community SAC Representative shall be appointed
by the Pricipal.
Section 4:
The Principal shall be a council member and officer with a vote.
Section 5:
Business and/or Community SAC Representative shall be selected in
accordance with the procedures established by the School Board,
and/or as required in Florida Statutes. In the event the School Board
fails to promulgate procedures, then the Business and/or Community
member seats shall be filled according to the bylaws as per Article
IV, Section 3. Business and/or Community SAC Representatives
need not to be elected by the constituency they represent.
Section 6:
No SAC member may miss more than two (2) SAC meetings during
the South Olive Elementary School year. No member shall be
penalized for missing a non-school year (summer) meeting. In the
event of removal due to recurring absences, the Chairperson shall
arrange for the replacement of the member by election. Individuals
so elected will serve for the remainder of the term to which they are
elected.
Section 7:
After term limits has been exhausted, individuals may revisit SAC
membership after 1 year grace period.
Article V
Meetings and Voting
Section 1:
There shall be at least one regular SAC meeting per month during
the calendar year. Meetings scheduled during the traditional
“summer months” (when school is not in session) can be cancelled
pursuant to theses bylaws and/or Florida Statutes. Meetings shall be
held at a time of day decided upon by the SAC. Subcommittees
shall meet as needed.
Section 2:
A special meeting of the SAC shall be held when directed and
properly noticed by the Chairman or the Officers, or when requested
in writing by not less than ten percent (10%) of all SAC members.
Section 3:
Meetings of the Council shall be held at South Olive Elementary
School or at any other place designated by the Board of Directors.
Section 4:
The SAC shall provide reasonable notice of all meetings. At a
minimum, written notice stating place, day and hour of the meeting,
and in the case of a special meeting, the purpose for which the
meeting is called, shall be delivered to all SAC members and
Constituents. The time for notice shall be not less than (4) calendar
days before the meeting.
Section 5:
The SAC will operate under Robert’s Rules of Order.
Section 6:
A quorum is required for any meeting at which actions will be taken.
Fifty percent (50%) of the SAC members represented in person shall
constitute a quorum at any meeting of the Council. If a quorum is
present, then the affirmative vote of a majority of the members
represented at the meeting shall be the act of the members, unless
otherwise provided in the bylaws.
Section 7:
Each member shall be entitled to one vote on each matter submitted
to a vote at any meeting of the SAC. Members are defined in Article
IV.
Section 8:
A member may vote in person only.
Section 9:
Meetings shall be advertised, conducted and memorialized in
accordance with Florida Statutes, collectively referred to as the
Florida “Sunshine Law”. In addition to statutory Notice
requirements, each parent of South Olive Elementary School will be
notified of Council elections and meetings by notices and/or
newsletters. At a minimum, all summer SAC meetings shall be
noticed prior to the end of the current school year.
Section 10: No member present at any SAC meeting shall abstain from any vote
but shall vote yes or no unless there appears to be a conflict of
interest by the Florida Statutes.
Article VI
Officers
Section 1:
The officers of this Council shall be a Chairperson, a ViceChairperson, Secretary and the Principal. Each officer shall have
one vote on any matter before the SAC.
Section 2:
SAC officers shall be regularly elected each May. Nominations
shall be made by and nominees from among the members at the
prior meeting.
Section 3:
SAC officers will be elected to one-year terms except for
Chairperson, which will consist of a 2 year term.
a) The officers term limits may be extended to fulfill the
requirement of the 2 year term for Chairperson or the 1 year
term for Vice Chair and Secretary.
Section 4:
No member shall be elected Chairperson who has not first served 1
school term as a SAC member.
Section 5:
In the event of a vacancy in any Council office, the vacancy will be
filled, by election, at the next scheduled meeting.
Article VII
Duties of Officers
Section 1:
Chairperson. -- In consultation with the Principal, shall prepare the
agenda and preside at all meetings of the Council. The SAC
Chairperson shall appoint the chairperson of all standing and ad hoc
committees, set the number of committee seat and be a de facto
member of all committees.
Section 2:
Vice-Chairperson. -- The vice-chairperson shall act as an aide to the
Chairperson and preside in the absence of the Chairperson. In the
case of a vacancy in the office of Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson
shall become the Chairperson until an election can be held. The
Vice-Chairperson will coordinate with the School Treasurer on SAC
expenditures. The Vice-Chairperson shall oversee all activities,
decisions and attendance of the Council and its committees for
accountability.
Section 3:
Secretary. -- The Secretary shall keep minutes of the meetings and
shall be responsible for such correspondence as is delegated to
him/her by the Chairperson. The minutes and all handouts will be
filed in the SAC Notebook. A review of this material for
completeness will be done once per year.
Section 4:
Principal. -- The Principal as a resource providing information
regarding the school education plan. The role of the Principal
includes the development, through positive actions, of feelings of
trust and mutual regard among the SAC, the community and the
staff. The Principal arranges for presentations of interest to the SAC
and encourages leadership from within the Council.
Article VIII
Committees
Section 1:
The School Advisory Council (SAC) is the statutory organization
that is responsible for voting upon and for implementing the
decisions for the organization. The use of various committees serves
several functions. It will allow greater participation of those who
wish to serve, while limiting the actual voting membership of the
SAC to a manageable number. Additional benefits include a wider
variety of ideas and greater sense of ownership by the constituents.
Section 2:
Committees are either Standing or Ad Hoc (Task Force) committees.
Standing committees are created for long-term, ongoing functions
and are expected to schedule regular meetings. The standing
committees focus on “large” issues.
Section 1:
The Standing Committees are: Budget, Bylaws and Communication.
The Chairperson of a standing committee will be appointed by the
Chairperson of the Council. Each Standing Committee will study its
issues and make recommendations to the SAC.
Section 1:
Ad Hoc (Task Force) committees are formed to deal with specific,
short-term concerns that are not appropriately assigned to the
Standing Committees. An example of an Ad Hoc Committee would
be a uniform committee, or a committee formed to deal with a bus
problem. Each Ad Hoc Committee will study its issue and make
recommendations to the SAC.
Section 1:
All committees shall be established by the SAC Chairperson in
accordance with Article VII, Section 1. Committee Chairpersons
will be members of the SAC. Committee seats shall be filled from
among the SAC membership, and by non-members at the discretion
of the SAC Chairperson.
Article IX
Amendments
Section 1: The bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the SAC
committee by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the members present and
voting. Notice of the proposed amendment shall be given twenty
(20) days prior to the meeting at which it is to be voted upon. A
quorum is required at any meeting for action to be taken.
Section 2:
The Bylaws Committee shall review, and when appropriate,
recommend revisions of the SAC Bylaws at least once every year.
The adoption of the revised bylaws shall follow the procedure for
amendments. The updated and current bylaws shall be maintained in
the SAC Notebook.