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MILTON — The Santa Rosa County School Board voted Feb. 15 to revise bylaws for School Advisory Councils at Milton, Navarre and Gulf Breeze High Schools.
The school district first adopted the advisory councils in 2002, and the bylaws were amended in June 2017.
Each school in the district has an advisory council to assist in the enhancement of school site decision-making, to serve in an advisory capacity to the principal and to assist in the development of the educational program and in the preparation and evaluation of the School Improvement Plan required pursuant to Florida Statutes, according to the law.
The bylaws for MHS, NHS and GBHS will see a handful of small adjustments including the advertisement of meeting agendas on the school websites and via call-out or email for council members.
The duties of the advisory council include:
• Reviewing the results of any needs assessments conducted by the school administration
• Assisting in the development of the school improvement plan
• Defining adequate progress for each school goal
• Monitoring student’s and school’s progress in attaining goals
• Preparing and distributing information to the public on the status of the school improvement plan
• Making recommendations on accumulation and reporting of data
• Serving as a resource for the principal and advise in school program matters
• Providing input on school’s annual budget, make waiver recommendations
• Identifying problems and possible solutions
• Acting as a liaison between school and community
• Assisting in feedback report preparation
• Determining programs of projects to be funded by school improvement funds
At MHS, the council should include 15 members, 51 percent of which aren’t employed by the school board: the principal, three teachers, one education support employee, four students, four parents and two business or community representatives. The member terms are for three years, in the exception of students who may graduate.
At GBHS, the council should comprise five teachers, four students, five parents, one education support employee, one past chairperson, the principal and three to five business or community representatives at the direction of the principal. The member terms are for two years, except students, community representatives and the past chair, who will serve one year.
At NHS, the council should include a minimum of 11 members, including the principal, parents, teachers, educational support employees, students and community representatives, but no numbers are specified; however, an appropriate balance of numbers from each peer group should be considered, and should represent the ethnic, racial and economic community, according to the bylaw. The member terms are for two years, in the exception of students who may graduate.
Elections for members are at the beginning of each academic year and are subject to school board approval.
At NHS and MHS, officers consist of a chairperson, vice-chairperson, recording secretary and publicity chairperson. At MHS, the publicity chair is the principal. At GBHS, the officers include a chairperson, vice-chairperson, recording secretary and treasurer. The terms of officers are one year.
All School Advisory Council meetings are open to the public and are voted upon for each school year for a minimum of seven meetings per year. Meetings are advertised on the school website one week prior to the meeting.
The next scheduled School Advisory Board meeting is for MHS on Feb. 28.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: School Board amends advisory council bylaws