Gulf Coast High School
School Advisory Council
Operations Manual
Amended 09/28/15
I.
Mission
The School Advisory Council (SAC) serves in an advisory capacity to the School
Principal. It assists in the development, monitoring, implementation, and evaluation
of the School Improvement Plan. The SAC shall not assume any of the powers or
duties now reserved by Florida Statues for the School Board, the Principal or other
administrative or instructional staff.
II.
Duties and Functions
Each SAC shall:
A. Assist in the preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of
the School Improvement Plan. (F.S. 229.58(2)) and the Annual Report
of Educational improvement.
B. Determine how the school improvement funds allocated to the school
for projects or programs included in the School Improvement Plan are
to be spent.
C. Determine with staff the allocation of any applicable School
Recognition Program money.
III.
Membership
SAC membership shall include the School Principal, a minimum of 3 teachers, a
minimum of 1 education support employee, a minimum of 3 students, a minimum of
6 parents, and a minimum of 2 community representatives. The majority of the SAC
members shall not be employees of the school, excluding the Principal.
A. The term “teacher” as used herein, shall be defined as anyone eligible
for membership in the Collier County Education Association and
includes classroom teachers, certified student services personnel, and
media specialists.
B. The term “education support employee,” as used herein, shall refer to
any person who is employed in the school for twenty (20) or more
hours during a normal work week and who does not meet the definition
of instructional or administrative personnel pursuant to Section
228.041, Florida Statues.
C. SAC positions classified as “parent,” “business member,” or
“community member” shall not be filled with persons who are
employees of the school.
D. SAC positions classified as “community member” shall not be filled
with persons who are regularly employed by the school system, but
they may be filled by parents of GCHS students.
E. Membership shall be representative of the ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic community served by the school.
F. The Principal of the school is a member of the SAC.
1
IV.
Selection of School Advisory Council Members
New Council members shall be elected by their respective peer group, except for
community representatives and the School Principal. By September 15th annually,
the SAC will analyze the SAC membership to determine vacancies. The process for
filling the vacancies will include nominations, ballots, and an election.
A. Nominations:
1. The SAC shall post a vacancy notification in a prominent location
as well as place the vacancy notification in at least two general
notifications to the peer group. For example, parents could be
informed by a letter or newsletter and teachers could be informed
via e-mail. Notification to parents will occur in at least two
languages. Notification shall reference election timelines, an
orientation opportunity for all perspective candidates, and the
proposed SAC meetings times.
2. The nomination process shall require only the candidate’s name,
address, contact information, and peer group affiliation. Parents
will submit grade levels of their students and a list of applicable
school groups to which they belong.
3. The SAC shall set a deadline for submittal of nominations.
B. Ballots:
Upon completion of the nomination process, the Principal or
designee shall establish a ballot of nominees in each peer group in
alphabetical order.
C. Election:
The following council members shall be nominated and elected in a
fair and equitable manner as determined by their respective peer
group:
1. Teachers and education support employee(s) shall be
elected by their peers in votes using ballots. The
balloting may be conducted via e-mail.
2. Students shall be selected through the Student Council
or by using another option approved by the SAC and
documented in its public records.
3. The SAC shall select community member(s) to serve on
the SAC after reviewing the list of nominees prepared by
the school principal.
4. Elections will occur by October 1 of each year.
5. All members will be elected for a one-year term. There is
no maximum number of terms of membership.
6. If a member has two consecutive, non-excused absences
as determined by the SAC, the SAC may remove the
absent member from the SAC.
2
7. After elections, the SAC may appoint, by majority vote,
new community members in one of three situations:
a) a SAC member has resigned,
b) a SAC member has been removed for nonattendance, or
c) the membership does not reflect the racial
background of the student body.
V.
Officers
A. The SAC will have a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and
Recording Secretary.
B. Officers will be elected no later than the October meeting.
Nominations will be made from the floor. If there is more than
one nominee for any office, the election will be by ballot. A
majority vote of those present is required for election.
C. Officers will serve for a term of one year and may be re-elected.
D. If there is a vacancy in any office, an election to fill the position
will be held at the next regularly scheduled meeting.
VI.
Meetings
A. The organization will hold at least eight monthly meetings each
school year at a place, date, and time determined by the
members. A meeting may include a program or business
session, or both. There will be at least five days advance notice
in writing to all members of the advisory council of any matter
that is scheduled to come before the council for a vote.
B. All meetings of the SAC shall be open to the public, reasonable
notice of the meetings shall be given, and minutes of the
meetings must be taken, as per the Government in the
Sunshine Law, pursuant to Florida Statues 286.011.
C. The SAC shall be subject to maintaining records pursuant to
Article 1, Section 24, and Article XII, Section 20 of the Florida
Constitution, and Florida Statues 119 and 286.011. Every
person has the right to inspect or copy SAC documents within
five (5) business days of the original written request or within
five (5) business days after the SAC meeting. Any charge for
copying of documents should be within district guidelines. The
School Principal (or his/her designee) is responsible for the
maintenance of and access to SAC public records. For
clarification, copies of applicable Constitution and Florida State
Statute language shall be attached to SAC Operations Manuals.
The following applicable Florida State Statutes shall include:
24.121(5), 229.58, 229.555(1), 229.591, 229.592, 230.23 (16),
286.011, 119.01, 119.011, 110.07.
D. Parent participation is encouraged on all standing and ad hoc
committees.
3
E. A quorum, defined as at least 50% plus 1 of the members, must
be present at a meeting for a vote to be taken.
VII. Alternate Voting
In the situation where an immediate decision must be made prior to a regularly
scheduled meeting, the membership may be polled individually, either by telephone,
e-mail or in person. An attempt to reach all members must be documented and
more than 50% of the entire membership must respond.
VIII. Amendments
This Operations Manual may be amended by a majority vote at any regularly
scheduled meeting by those members present.
IX.
Compliance Disclaimer
The Gulf Coast High School SAC By-Laws shall remain in compliance with the
current Florida State Statute #1001.452 and shall remain compliance with the
current version of the Collier County School Board Policy #2125.
Rev: 9/30/2015 SAC: Operations Manual
4