Community Council

The Utah State Legislature passed a law in 2000 requiring every public school in the state to establish a School Community Council at the school-site level (Utah Code. Section 53A-1a-108).
Community Council consists of the principal, school employees, and parents or guardians of students in the school. This group approves the school’s yearly School Improvement Plan, the Professional Development Plan, and the Walking/Safe Routing Plan. They are also responsible for the writing of the annual Trustlands Plan. This plan looks at the school's greatest academic needs and then designs a plan using the funds allocated from the state to meet those needs best. The plan for this school year was written in the spring of last year. If you would like further information about the Trustlands program you can go to https://trustlands.utah.gov/

Meeting Dates

September 30, 2025

January 27, 2026

March 10, 2026

May 19, 2026

West Elementary School Library

Time: 3:45 PM-4:45 PM

All parents and guardians of West Elementary
students are invited to attend.

Members 2025-2026

Thomas Trotter – Principal

Jennifer Andrews – Employee

Vacancy – Employee

Kristina Hansen – Parent

Brooke Bevan – Parent

Vacancy - Parent

Contact Community Council

Agendas

Minutes

5/13/2025 Minutes Draft

Parent Involvement and Invitation to Serve

Creating Inclusive School Community Councils

Parent participation on school community councils is important. Councils prepare, adopt, and implement education plans at their school. A majority of Utah parents are still unaware and unengaged, and many school community councils are not reflective of the diverse communities they represent. Building equitable representation from within the councils will give our state a greater community asset.

Why Participate

Improved student success and wellbeing for ALL students
Engaged parent representation in decision making will allow for greater equity
A diverse pool of parent viewpoints helps bridge cultural gaps

How

Successful parent involvement on school community councils happens when:

Expectations are clear and happen logistically so all parents have the opportunity to participate.
Training is provided for all. Councils may need to pay attention to the time of the meetings, cultural nuances, language barriers, childcare, etc.

Investing in parents allows them to see results from their involvement.
They choose to continue being involved, and encourage others to participate.
Parents now become advocates , mentors and community assets for increased parental involvement.

Invitation to Serve

Candidate Form

During elections at the beginning of each year, we have a Google form for applicants to submit their interest in running. Please visit the following link to express your interest in running for our Community Council. Constituents will then be able to cast their vote during the election period in person at the school.

https://forms.gle/oxkCP541jRmgYJUu8

No election was required for the 2024-2025 school year.

School Community Council Candidate Form

Serving on the School Community Council

Serving on our School Community Council is a wonderful way for parents and teachers to contribute and help improve academic performance at our school. The school receives an annual dividend from the school trust lands. Our council decides how these funds will be used. This year our school received

$ from the School LAND Trust Program. The council reviews and prepares other academic plans for our students each year. All plans are reviewed for final approval by our school board. Councils also act in an advisory capacity to school and school district administrations.

Qualifications

Every public school in Utah has a School Community Council. The councils are made up of school employees who are elected by employees and parents who are elected by parents of students attending the school. Membership terms are for two years. Elections are held at the beginning of each school year. Parent members must have a student attending the school at least one of the two years of their term of service. Employees must be employed by the school district at the school.

For more information please visit www.schoollandtrust.org.

Please fill out EITHER the Parent member information OR the Employee member information. The form is due to the school principal before:

The School Community Council Election will be held:

YES! I would like to serve on the School Community Council.

Parent/Guardian Information:

Parent/Guardian Printed Name: _

Phone: Email:

Name

Grade

I am the parent/guardian of students:

I am also a licensed employee of this school district. Yes No

School Employee Information:

School Employee Printed Name: _

Phone: Email: _

Signature Date

Rules of Order

Rules of Order and Procedure

To promote ethical behavior and civil discourse each council member shall:

· Attend council meetings on time and prepared

· Make decisions with the needs of students as the main objective

· Listen to and value diverse opinions

· Be sure the opinions of those you represent are included in discussions

· Expect accountability and be prepared to be accountable

· Act with integrity

Rules of Procedure:

All meetings are open to the public and the public is welcome to attend.

The agenda of each upcoming meeting with draft minutes of the prior meeting will be made available to all council members at least one week in advance, will be posted on the school website and made available in the main office. The agenda will include the date, time and location of the meeting.

Minutes will be kept of all meetings, prepared in draft format for approval at the next scheduled meeting.

The council will prepare a timeline for the school year that includes due dates for all required reporting and other activities/tasks that the council agrees to assume or participate in. The timeline will assist in preparation of agendas to be sure the council accomplishes their work in a timely manner

The council consists of the principal, 2 school employee(s) who is/are elected in even years , and 5 parent members, half of whom are elected in even years and half in odd years. In the event there is a tie vote in an election, the principal shall flip a coin to determine the outcome. (Size of the council should be determined by the council, but councils are required to consist of the principal, at least one school employee, and at least four parents with a two-parent majority on the council. Elections are required to be staggered)

The chair conducts the meetings, makes assignments and requests reports on assignments. In the absence of the chair the vice-chair shall conduct meetings.

The council must have a quorum to vote. A quorum is equal to a majority of council members.

If a parent member is absent from two consecutive meetings, the chair will notify the member that if the member does not attend the next meeting, the council will consider the seat vacant and the remaining parent members will appoint a parent to fill the unexpired term.

The council must determine a procedure for a council member to disclose a conflict of interest if required by the local school board.

Meetings shall be conducted and action taken according to very simplified rules of parliamentary procedure as required in 53G-7-1203(10). Council actions will be taken by motions and voting with votes and motions recorded in the minutes.

Simple Motions of Parliamentary Procedure

Used by some organizations to assist those new to the process

_MOTION	_{DOES IT REQUIRE A 2ND?}	_{IS IT DEBATABLE?}	_{CAN IT BE AMENDED?}	_{IS A VOTE REQUIRED}
Adjourn	yes	no	no	majority
Amend a motion	yes	yes	yes	majority
Close nominations	yes	no	yes	2/3
Main motion	yes	yes	yes	majority
Point of Order	no	no	no	ruled on by chair
Previous Question	yes	no	no	2/3
Reconsider	yes	yes	no	majority
Withdrawal of Motion	no	no	no	majority

A motion (or an action to be taken by the council) is stated as a motion. Someone else on the council “seconds” the motion indicating that at least one other person on the council feels the motion is worthy of discussion. Then the council members may provide input and discussion as called upon by the chair. When discussion seems complete the chair may call for a vote on the motion. Or when a member of the council “calls the previous question” (a motion to end discussion of the first motion), a second is required. Without discussion the chair calls for a vote that must pass by 2/3. If the vote on the previous question fails, the council goes back to discussing the first motion. If the motion to call the previous question passes, the chair directly calls for a vote on the first motion. A vote to call the previous question is usually used to move business along.

· A tie vote is a lost vote.

· Most motions are main motions. A main motion may be amended.

· A point of order is offered when there is some question if procedure had been followed correctly.

· To stop debate or discussion on a motion and force the vote a member would say, “I move the previous question.” This requires a second and a 2/3 vote.

· Hasty action may be corrected by use of the motion to reconsider. This motion may be made only by one who voted on the prevailing side.

· A person who made the motion may withdraw the same motion.