Academics Plus By-Laws

Revised March 2002     CHICO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 1163 East Seventh Street Chico, California 95928-5999 (530) 898-3000   Academics Plus Program Parent Advisory Council By-Laws   No articles, sections, or subsections of these by-laws shall in any way override the authority of the Chico Unified School District Board of Education or the Board’s appointed Administrative and Teaching personnel. Academics Plus Program Parent Advisory Council will be known as the PAC throughout this document.  The PAC was established in the spring of 1974 by a group of CUSD parents.   ARTICLE ONE: STATEMENT OF PURPOSE, GOALS   A.            Goals and Mission Statement of the group: -         The goal of the PAC shall be to advise and assist the school district in the overall dissemination of programmatic information, planning, development, implementation, and evaluation relative to the goals and philosophy of the Academics Plus Program (see Appendix One). -         The PAC is also responsible to raise funds in support of extra curricular needs.  One of the primary goals of the PAC is to support Academics Plus teachers and the Sierra View School Community.  The PAC meetings are open for parent participation and comments relative to the educational goals and philosophies of the Academics Plus Program. -         The PAC governs the Academics Plus Program Guidelines (Appendix Two) and the “Academics Plus Program Guideline for Success” parent contract (Appendix Three). ARTICLE TWO: MEMBERSHIP                  SECTION 1            COMPOSITION OF THE PARENTS ADVISORY COUNCIL Membership of the PAC shall consist of six parents whose children are enrolled in the Academics Plus Program, and the Principal as ex-officio member.  All council members shall enjoy full rights and obligations of membership.               SECTION 2            SELECTION OF COUNCIL Membership to the PAC shall be by ballot and direct election.  Notification of PAC vacancies and election will be announced in the school newsletter.  Any parent interested in being included in the election should contact a Council member.  Three new members shall be elected to the Academics Plus parent population in the spring of each year.  The seats on the Council shall be awarded to the candidates with the most votes.          SECTION 3            TERM OF OFFICE Members shall serve for a two-year term, consisting of two full school years.  Any person elected shall take office the month following the election.                    SECTION 4            VOTING RIGHTS Members shall be entitled to one vote and may cast that vote on each matter submitted for a vote.  Proxy voting and absentee ballots shall not be permitted.          SECTION 5            RESIGNATION Any member may resign by filing a written resignation with the PAC.          SECTION 6            VACANCY Any vacancy on the council shall be filled in accordance with the procedure outlined in Section 2 of the article, or by a special election called by the PAC.     ARTICLE THREE: OFFICERS, JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES                                                  SECTION 1             OFFICERS The officers of the Advisory Council shall be Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Fundraiser Chair and Special Events Officer.  Officers will be elected for a one-year term at the final May meeting of each school year.               SECTION 2            CHAIRPERSON The Chairperson will chair all meetings and share in the development of the agenda. The Chairperson will keep a “calendar of events” schedule starting in September.               SECTION 3   VICE-CHAIRPERSON The Vice-Chairperson shall take the place of the Chairperson in his/her absence. The Vice-Chairperson will organize the PAC spring elections.  The Vice-Chairperson will also distribute the “Academics Plus Program Guideline For Success” parent contract to incoming kindergarten students and again at the beginning of fourth grade.                SECTION 4            SECRETARY The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the meetings, both regular and special and shall see that all notices are duly given in accordance with the provisions of these By-laws. As custodian of the PAC’s records, the Secretary shall update permanent records of the PAC with current year’s records.  The Secretary shall keep a register of the address and telephone number of each member of the PAC and in general perform all duties incident to the office of Secretary.                 SECTION 5            TREASURER The treasurer shall be entrusted with all financial records of the PAC, and will be responsible for an accurate accounting of all income and expenditures. In July of each year an independent party shall audit the treasury books and the program.  A report of the findings shall be forwarded to the Chairperson.  The Chairperson shall report the audit results at the first PAC meeting of the school year.           SECTION 6            FUND RAISING CHAIR The fund raising chair is responsible for overseeing all fund raising activities (i.e. Mathathon).           SECTION 7            SPECIAL EVENTS CHAIR The Special Events Chair is responsible for assisting with the Mathathon and arranging educational assemblies.  The Special Events Chair shall also represent PAC at informational meetings such as New Parent Orientation and the district sponsored Kindergarten Parent Orientation Meeting.   ARTICLE FOUR: HIRING OF STAFF              SECTION 1            TEACHER SELECTION WITHIN DISTRICT A.     One member of the PAC will serve on the screening committee of teacher applicants for the Academics Plus Program.   B.     Any member of the screening committee shall recuse himself/herself from the screening process should there exist a conflict of interest with the applicant.   C.     All members of the committee and ex-officio members shall hold any personnel matter discussed in the committee in the strictest of confidence.   D.     The final decision(s) as to who is hired rests with the Chico Unified School District.          SECTION 2            TEACHER SELECTION OUTSIDE DISTRICT A.     All items listed in Section 1 above are incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof as though fully set forth.   B.     The Affirmative Action policy of the Chico Unified School District will be followed in the selection of personnel.   ARTICLE FIVE:  MEETINGS              SECTION 1            MONTHLY MEETINGS The PAC shall meet regularly on a monthly basis during the academic year.  In addition, a General meeting shall be held each May.  These meetings are open to all parents.  The general meeting should be the last one of the year.                         SECTION 2            NOTICE OF MEETINGS The Chairperson and Principal will develop an agenda.  Parents wishing to place items on the agenda need to contact the PAC Chairperson and/or Principal one week prior to the scheduled meeting.  The agenda will be posted one week prior to the meeting.             SECTION 3            DECISIONS OF PAC All recommendations of the PAC shall be made only after an affirmative vote of a majority of its members in attendance, provided a quorum is in attendance.              SECTION 4            QUORUM The presence of a majority of the members will constitute a quorum necessary for the transaction of the business of the PAC.  No decision of the PAC shall be valid unless a majority of the members of the PAC concur by their votes.              SECTION 5            MEETINGS OPEN TO SCHOOL REPRESENTATIVES All regular and special meetings of the PAC, and of its standing or special committee, shall be open at all times to representatives from the school district.              SECTION 6            CLOSED SESSION All personnel matters shall be deemed to be in closed session.  Any discussion thereof shall be deemed to be in the strictest of confidence.   ARTICLE SIX: COMMITTEES              SECTION 1             STANDING AND SPECIAL COMMITTEES The PAC may from time to time establish and abolish such standing or special committees as it may desire.  No standing or special committee may exercise the authority of the PAC.               SECTION 2            MEMBERSHIP                         Membership in the committees shall be voluntary.              SECTION 3            RULES Each committee may adopt rules for its own government consistent with these By-laws or with rules adopted by the PAC.    ARTICLE SEVEN: TEACHER INVOLVEMENT              SECTION 1   FUND ALLOCATION The PAC will work with staff to determine guidelines for the expenditure of allocated funds every year.               SECTION 2            STUDENT CLASSROOM PLACEMENT The PAC has voted, in collaboration with Academics Plus Program faculty, to facilitate student movement between each of the primary Academics Plus classes, grades 1-3.  Teachers, working together, shall make the assignments.  This will not affect the student’s priority number for the fourth grade, which was established in kindergarten and/or when they entered the program.  If a concern arises about a child’s placement for an academic reason, the parent(s) should include this information in a note to the child’s current teacher. The deadline for this note is published in the Sierra Viewer every April.  The class lists will not be available until August.              SECTION 3            TEACHER REPRESENTATION AT PAC MEEETINGS Teachers are requested to sign up to attend one or two PAC meetings every school year.     ARTICLE EIGHT: AMENDING THE BY-LAWS   SECTION 1            By-law amendments must be placed on the PAC agenda.  Notification to parents and staff will be through the Sierra Viewer.  A vote will be held at a PAC meeting following quorum requirements.  Notification to staff and parents will be the responsibility of the PAC.  The date for implementation must be included.   IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Superintendent of Schools of the Chico Unified School District and the Chairperson to the PAC have caused these By-Laws to be duly executed on __________, 2002 at Chico, Butte County, California.  ______________________ Scott Brown, Ed.D. Superintendent Chico Unified School District _____________________ Sally Carter, Chairperson Parent Advisory Council Academics Plus Program         Revised March 2002