Community Council

Meeting Dates

September 20, 2023- Introductions, Elections, Resources, DOJ Review, Teen Center
October 18, 2023 - Digital Citizenship, Emergency Safety, Student Support, Teen Center
November 15, 2023- , District community council training,
December 20, 2023 - Viking Gives Review, Review current year goals
January 17, 2024 - Outline of 2024-2025 TSSP
February 21, 2024 - Review next year's TSSP draft and timeline.
March 20, 2024 - Edit, finalize, vote on TSSP.
April 17, 2024 - Review elections/by-laws

Time and Place

Meetings are held the third Wednesday of each month at 2:30 pm in the main office conference room, unless posted otherwise on the school calendar and as notified through email.

Click here to access the most recent School Improvement Plan and the Final Report for the previous school year.

Last school year (2022-2023), Viewmont High School had $192,517 distributed in Land Trust funding. For the 2023-2024 school year, Viewmont High will have $209,811 in projected new funding.

Serving on the School's 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.

All plans are reviewed for final approval by the district school board. Councils also act in an advisory capacity to school and school district administrations.

All parents interested in serving on Community Council are invited to notify the office by August 11, 2023. Please email najones@dsdmail.net with the following information:

• Name
• Students attending VHS
• Short bio (3-4 sentences)

Elections are held at the beginning of the school year.

Additionally, there may be occasional vacancies during the year that the council fills by appointment. If a vacancy occurs, notice of the vacancy and an application form for those interested in serving will be posted in the office and on the school website.

Parents without internet access will receive a phone call informing them that all information is posted in the office and they may receive a printed copy, upon request.  This includes the meeting schedule, council members email, and a summary of the previous years School Plan Final Report.

A - Total funding for 2022-2023 ....................................................... $ 192,687.00
B - Estimated total spending during 2022-2023 .................................$166,181.00
C - Expected carryover from 2022-2023 to 2023-2024 ..................... $26,506.00
D - Projected new funding for 2023-2024 .......................................... $209,811.00
E - Total projected funding for 2023-2024 ......................................... $236,317.00

School Trust Land Election Information Website

Rules of Order and Procedure – School Community Council 

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

CONDUCTING A MEETING

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

Meetings shall be conducted and action taken according to very simplified rules of parliamentary procedure as required in 53A-1a-108.1(10).  Items on the agenda take priority over other discussions coming before the council.  Council action will be taken by motions and voting with votes and motions recorded in the minutes.

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 and then, 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.

Attached is a chart that could be used if the council feels they would like to use additional motions of Parliamentary Procedure in their meetings.

• A tie vote is a lost vote.
• A main motion may be amended.
• Nominations can be closed by saying, “I move to close nominations.”
• Most motions are main motions.
• 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. 

Election of the Chair and Vice-chair

 After the school community council is seated each year, the school community council shall annually elect at the council’s first meeting a chair and vice-chair. The chair shall be elected from the parent members and the vice-chair shall be elected from the parent or school employee members, excluding the principal.   The principal will conduct the election for chair and vice-chair, in that order, according to the following procedure:  a) Members interested in either office may use the self-nomination process.  Nominations may also be made by other council members. b) Voting shall be by regular voice vote by the school community council.  A nominee must receive a majority vote of the council members present.  Should no nominee receive a majority vote, further nominations may be made, and subsequent elections will be conducted by secret ballot until a nominee receives a majority.  When a vacancy occurs in the office of chair or vice-chair for any reason, a replacement shall be elected for the unexpired term.

Removal and Replacement

If a member of the council fails to attend three consecutive meetings without being excused in advance, or fails to perform the duties of his/her office, the members of the council shall remove him/her from office and declare the position vacant.  The position shall be filled by the regularly established election procedure.

Conflict of Interest

A member who has a personal or private interest in any proposed or pending matter which presents a conflict of interest will disclose such interest and will not vote unless the member’s participation is necessary to obtain a quorum or otherwise to enable the Council to act. 

Laws and Rules

Elections:

Viewmont High Community Council elections will be held at the beginning of each school year, with the term starting on September 1st of that school year. Each elected member of the Community Council will serve a two year term. The next Community Council elections will be held in August.  

Election Timeline:

Parent member election nomination submissions - 7/25/2023 - 8/11/2023

Parent member voting (if necessary) available through MyDSD - 8/21/2023- 9/1/2023

Parents can access their ballots by signing into their guardian MyDSD account and selecting the survey folder. 

*For parents who do not use MyDSD, other voting methods are available. Contact Mrs. Jones via email for more information (najones@dsdmail.net)

Notification of parent member election results by - 9/6/2023

There will be 7 parent members and 3 teacher members. Four (4) parent positions are open for application/election for the 2023-2024 school year. 

Community Council Guidelines:

• Davis District Guidelines
• Checklist for School Community Council Officers
• Compliance Checklist
• Additional Resources for Safety and Digital Citizenship

Other Resources:

• Digital/Online Safety Resources
• USBE Data Gateway
• School Land Trust Website
• Utah School Grades

Training:

• School Community Council Welcome Video
• Land Trust Updates (from 2021-2022)
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Digital Citizenship and School Safety

Utah Code Detailing the responsibilities and the requirements of community councils:
*53G-7-1202 School Community Councils
*53G-7-1203 School Community Councils - Open and Public Meeting Requirements
*53G-7-1206 School LAND Trust Program