Site Based Decision Making Committee Members & By-Laws
Committee Members
Sharon Erickson, Principal
Tammy Shaw, Assistant Principal
Rosy Belden, Teacher
Alejandra Ramirez, Teacher
Maria Mora, Teacher
Pam Pingree, Teacher
Medely Galdamez, Teacher
Maria Aguilar, Teacher
Nefertiti Burden, Teacher
Amy Langlinais, Professional Staff Member
Tysha Jackson, Professional Staff Member
Ms. Wendy Carter, Professional Staff Member
Ms. Maria Seid, District Representative
Ms. Ana Castillo, Parent
Vacant Position , Parent
Cathy Phillips, Community Member
Tim Griffy, Community Member
Wiliam Shaw, Jr, Business Community Member
Vacant Position , Business Community Member
Campus By-Laws
Article I - Name
The campus‐level team shall be known as the Mark Twain Elementary Site‐Based Decision-Making Team.
Article II - Purpose
The purpose of the Mark Twain Elementary Site‐Based Decision‐Making Team is to improve the level of student achievement for all students at Mark Twain Elementary School.
Article III - Membership
Section 1 - Size and Composition
The Mark Twain Elementary SBDM team must have a core group of 15 members.
The CORE group of fifteen members shall be established annually, no later than Labor Day of each school year, and will consist of:
- The campus principal
- Six classroom teachers (nominated and elected by teachers only to serve on the Site‐Based Decision-Making Team, with the elected supervised by the Principal and members of the Site‐Based Decision-Making Team). Teachers are professional personnel with classroom teaching responsibilities of at least four hours during the instructional day.
- One campus-based non-teaching professional staff member (nominated and elected by non-teaching professional staff only with the elected supervised by the Principal and members of the Site‐Based Decision-Making Team). Campus-based non-teaching professional staff includes those who hold a professional certificate but do not teach for at least four hours during the instructional day.
- One district-level professional staff member (nominated and elected by professional staff with the elected supervised by the Principal and members of the Site‐Based Decision-Making Team). A district-level staff member is one who serves multiple campuses.
- Two parents (elected by parents only with the election to be supervised by the campus parent group; membership in the campus parent group is not required). A parent is a person who is a parent of, or who stands in parental relation to, a student enrolled at the campus.
- Two community members (selected by the Principal and elected members). Community members must reside in the district and must be at least 18 years of age. [Education Code 11.251(c)(4)]. They must not be a parent or a District employee. They must be representative of the community’s diversity.
- Two business community members (selected by the Principal and elected members). Business representatives need not reside in nor operate businesses in the district. [Education Code 11.251(b)] They should be representative of the community’s diversity.
- In addition, individuals, as determined by the fifteen core members, may be added so that all the school’s major constituent groups are adequately represented (i.e. classroom teachers, parents, teacher assistants, other support personnel, community and/or business representatives, and/or students); however, the overall committee shall be balanced with no one constituent group over‐represented on the committee. The core group of fifteen shall ensure that racial and gender diversity is reflected on the team.
- At least two‐thirds of team members who represent campus-based selected staff must be teachers (professional personnel with classroom teaching responsibilities for at least four hours of the instructional day).
The Principal shall furnish an up‐to‐date list of names and addresses of all members on the Site‐Based Decision-Making Team to the Superintendent or designee no later than 15 working days after Labor Day.
When team members are added or replaced during the school year, the Principal is responsible within 15 working days for sending to the Superintendent or designee an updated list with the names and addresses of new members.
Section 2 - Elections
a) Parent Representatives
The predominant parent group supervises the election of parent representatives.
Parents’ representatives may be nominated by all stakeholders and are elected during the first
quarter of the academic school year.
b) Teacher Representatives, Campus‐Based Non‐teaching Professional Staff Member, and District‐Level Professional Staff Member.
The election of teacher representatives of the campus‐based professional staff member and the district‐level professional staff member is supervised by the Principal and members of the Site‐Based Decision-Making Team. Teachers vote for teachers, campus-based professional staff members vote for the campus‐based professional staff representative and all professional staff vote for the district‐level professional staff member. The Site‐Based Decision-Making Team shall elect the Site‐Based Decision-Making Team representative among the Site‐Based Decision-Making Team faculty member representatives.
Teacher representatives are nominated and elected by their peers during the first quarter of the academic school year.
Campus-based professional staff members are nominated and elected by their peers during the first quarter of the academic school year.
Professional staff members nominate and elect district-level professional staff member representatives during the first quarter of the academic school year.
Section 3 - Terms
Each member has a term of one academic school year. If a member is elected by their peers for an additional school year than one academic school year, he/she may serve for each academic school year, up to two (2) consecutive terms. There are no limits to how many total academic school years a member may serve.
Section 4 - Officers (Co-Chaired by the Principal)
Chair
- Prepares committee meeting agendas with the assistance of the Principal
- Guides meetings and encourages input from all members
- The SBDM committee will select each officer
- Each member has a term of one academic school year. If a member is elected by their peers for an additional school year than one academic school year, he/she may serve for each academic school year, up to two (2) consecutive terms. There are no limits to how many total academic school years a member may serve.
Vice-Chair
- Performs Chair’s duties in his/her absence
- Serves as the chair of the Evaluation and Modification Committee
- The SBDM committee will select each officer
- Each member has a term of one academic school year. If a member is elected by their peers for an additional school year than one academic school year, he/she may serve for each academic school year, up to two (2) consecutive terms. There are no limits to how many total academic school years a member may serve.
Scribe/Recorder/Secretary
- Prepares and maintains minutes of committee meetings
- Maintains committee membership roster and by-laws
- The SBDM committee will select each officer
- Each member has a term of one academic school year. If a member is elected by their peers for an additional school year than one academic school year, he/she may serve for each academic school year, up to two (2) consecutive terms. There are no limits to how many total academic school years a member may serve.
Facilitator/Timekeeper
- Monitors committee’s energy and interaction
- Keeps committee on track and ensures activities are completed in a timely manner
- The SBDM committee will select each officer
- Each member has a term of one academic school year. If a member is elected by their peers for an additional school year than one academic school year, he/she may serve for each academic school year, up to two (2) consecutive terms. There are no limits to how many total academic school years a member may serve.
Section 5 - Attendance
Each committee member must attend at least 50% of committee meetings during the academic school year in order to remain on the roster as a member.
Section 6 - Vacancies
A vacancy in an elected position must be filled by election. A vacancy in a selected position is filled by selecting the remaining members of the team.
Article IV - Committees
Standing committees, subcommittees, special committees, or task forces may be established or abolished as necessary to examine issues in-depth and develop recommendations to bring to the Site‐Based Decision-Making Team. The Principal shall co-chair all committees and subcommittees.
Article V - Meetings
Section 1 - Regular Meetings
At least four meetings per year outside of the school day are required by policy. The regular
meetings of the team shall be held
● October 11, 2023 at 3:30pm
● November 29, 2023 at 3:30pm
● February 29, 2024 at 3:30pm
● April 4, 2024 at 3:30pm
Section 2 - Special Meetings
Special meetings may be called with 10 days’ notice.
Section 3 - Submission of Items for the Meeting Agenda
If a committee member would like to suggest or add a topic to an upcoming meeting agenda, they may submit the item topic to the SBDM Committee Chairperson 10 days in advance of the meeting via email.
Topic items that will be considered for meeting agendas will be approved by the Principal and Chairperson if they align to the goals and intended outcomes in the Campus Improvement Plan, as well as align with the District Improvement Plan.
Section 4 - Communication of members with the larger school community
a) Meeting times, agendas, and minutes
The work of the SBDM and the outcomes of the committee work will be shared with the larger community through weekly communications and campus events.
b) Annual Meeting
A public meeting will be held once a year, after receiving the annual campus rating from the Texas Education Agency, to discuss the performance of the campus and the campus performance objectives.
c) The SBDM committee is the representative body through which the faculty may bring forth questions, concerns, and recommendations for the SBDM team to consider for the benefit of the school.
Section 1 - Defined role in Decision Making
The Principal is to consult regularly and receive input from the team in planning, budgeting, curriculum, school organization, staffing patterns, and staff development. The Site‐Based Decision-Making Team must approve the staff development portions of the Campus Improvement Plan (CIP).
The Principal is responsible and accountable for all decisions made at the campus level. The Principal’s responsibility is to ensure that all decisions comply with local and state policy. The Site‐Based Decision-Making Team’s role is advisory, and its input into decision-making is intended to improve the quality of decisions made by the Principal.
Section 2 - Methods for reaching agreement
The committee will work together to reach a consensus through methods such as the sharing of ideas, review of relevant data, input from stakeholders, and a majority vote.
