Site Based Decision Making Committee Members & By-Laws
Committee Members
- Principal- Stephanie Gonçalves
- Assistant Principal – Catherine Cassias
- Teachers-Hillary Reid, Caroline Rodgers, Leigh Ann Taylor, Cindy Fernandez, Tammy May
- Paraprofessional- Margaret Kizzia
- District Rep- Jeffrey Wilson
- Parents- Carrie Newnham and Meredith Pendleton
- Community Members- Sherrill Seger and LeeAnn Wetterau
- Business Community Members- Melanie Frazier and Vickie Ulrich
Campus By-Laws
Article I - Name
The campus‐level team shall be known as the Prairie Creek Elementary Site‐Based Decision-Making Team.
Article II - Purpose
The purpose of the Prairie Creek Elementary Site‐Based Decision‐Making Team is to improve the level of student achievement for all students at Prairie Creek Elementary School.
Article III - Membership
Section 1 - Size and Composition
The Prairie Creek Elementary Site-Based Decision-Making 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
Parent Representatives
The predominant parent group supervises the election of parent representatives.
Elections are to be held and finalized by the end of each school year.
The process for nominating parents and staff members for voting will be done through the school and staff newsletter.
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.
Elections are to be held and finalized by the end of each school year.
The process for nominating parents and staff members for voting will be done through the school and staff newsletter.
Section 3 - Terms
Elections will take place each school year for all positions.
If nominated and selected, teachers/staff can serve up to three consecutive years with the option to step down or remain on the committee each school year. Elections will be held at the end of each school year to fill any vacant spots. PCE administrators and counselors will always serve on the SBDM Committee.
PCE teachers must have one year of experience on our campus to be eligible to serve on the committee.
Parent members may serve up to two consecutive years on the SBDM Committee if they are nominated and selected.
Officers for SBDM Committee will be nominated and elected by the committee at the first meeting of the school year. Officers will serve a one-year term but can be elected for consecutive years.
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
- Vice-Chair
- Performs Chair’s duties in his/her absence
- Serves as the chair of the Evaluation and Modification Committee
- Scribe/Recorder/Secretary
- Prepares and maintains minutes of committee meetings
- Maintains committee membership roster and by-laws
- Facilitator/Timekeeper
- Monitors committee’s energy and interaction
- Keeps committee on track and ensures activities are completed in a timely manner
Section 5 - Attendance
SBDM Committee members must be present for at least three of the five meetings. If any committee member misses a third meeting, the spot would go to the runner up in the position. In the event that the runner up cannot join the committee, elections must be held to fill the spot.
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 at Prairie Creek Elementary.
Section 2 - Special Meetings
Special meetings may be called with 3 days’ notice.
Section 3 - Submission of Items for the Meeting Agenda
Committee members will communicate any new agenda items with the campus principal (via email) at least 7 days prior to the date of the meeting.
The officers and campus principal will make the decision regarding which items are placed on the meeting agenda.
Section 4 - Communication of members with the larger school community
Meeting times, agendas, and minutes
SBDM meeting times and agendas will be communicated to the community via the campus newsletter. Minutes will be taken and available
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. The Site‐Based Decision-Making committee is the representative body through which the faculty may bring forth questions, concerns, and recommendations for the Site‐Based Decision-Making Team to consider for the benefit of the school.
Article VI - Meetings
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 SBDM Committee will use a majority vote system should we need to reach an agreement on a matter.
