REVISED ITEM
MEMORANDUM
September 19, 2011
TO:
Principals
FROM:
Academic Services
SUBJECT:
*CORRECTED COPY*—ELECTION OF 2011-2012 SDMC MEMBERS
CONTACT: Chip Zullinger, Academic Services, 713-556-7072
This is a slight revision from the memo issued on September 12, concerning SDMC Election
Date. I mistakenly identified September 29 as elections day. September 29 is a student
holiday. Election day has been reset to September 30. I apologize for the inconvenience this
may have caused.
The purpose of this communication is to provide the procedures and timeline for the election of
school SDMC members for school year 2011-2012. Classroom teachers vote for classroom
teachers, other school-based professionals vote for other school-based professionals and noninstructional staff vote for non-instructional staff. All terms are for two years.
Every school is required to have a fully functioning SDMC that meets following state and district
guidelines. Minutes of monthly meetings are kept on file and made available to all stakeholders.
SDMC Membership Ratio
Review your SDMC membership numbers to ensure that your committee reflects the proper
ratio as provided by Board Policy. This policy, based on the Texas Education Code, states that
professional staff membership consists of at least two-thirds classroom teachers and one-third
other school-based professional staff. When checking for the 2:1 ratio, the principal is not
included. Listed below are some examples of the ratio.
If the number of
classroom teachers is:
The number of other schoolbased professionals will be:
3 -----------------------------------------------------1
6 -----------------------------------------------------2
9 -----------------------------------------------------3
Composition
Classroom teachers are teachers who are responsible for taking student attendance at a
specified time of day. These teachers vary from elementary to secondary school. Other schoolbased professionals would include all other professionals in the building such as assistant
principals, librarians, counselors, elementary ancillary teachers, teachers with “pull out” classes,
Title I coordinators, and Magnet coordinators, etc.
SDMC membership includes one non-instructional staff member, who is elected to the
committee and serves a two-year term. The PTA/PTO selects two parent representatives.
Please note the following definition of parent as found in Texas Education Code:
Parent means a person who is a parent of or person standing in parental relation
to a student enrolled at a school and who is not an employee of the school or the
school district.
The principal appoints two community representatives and one business representative. Note
that community members may reside anywhere within the district, and business representatives
have no residence requirements.
Chairperson and Co-chairperson
The principal is chairperson of the SDMC as stated in board policy. Administrative procedure
allows the SDMC to elect a co-chair from the elected school members. This person’s
responsibilities may be defined by the committee.
Meetings
Texas Education Code requires that the SDMC meet regularly. Principals are encouraged to
hold meetings monthly. Schools must hold one public SDMC meeting each fall upon receipt of
the school’s TEA accountability report.
Timeline
The timeline below provides the dates for completing the election of classroom teachers, other
school-based professionals, and one non-instructional staff member. The current election will
involve only those persons whose term expired at the end of school year 2010-2011.
Election of SDMC Members
Timeline for fall 2011
ACTION
TIMELINE
Principal announces election procedures and opens
September 16, 2011
nominations. Note: if school has approved waiver days and staff
returns before August 18, 2011, the 10 working day
nominations process may be adjusted accordingly.
Professional staff members and non-instructional staff
members may submit nominations to the principal for SDMC
throughout the ten-day period. (Nominations must be open for
10 working days.)
September 16, Friday –
September 28, Wednesday
Nominations are closed at the end of the day.
September 28, Wednesday
School elections are held (secret ballot).
September 30, Friday
SDMC members should tally the results.
Principal announces election results.
September 30, Friday
PTO/PTA selects a minimum of two parent representatives.
September 16, Friday –
September 28, Wednesday
Principal appoints two or more community residents and only
one business representative.
September 16, Friday –
September 28, Wednesday
If you need additional information, please call Chip Zullinger at the number listed above.
AT:CZA