Copies of Agendas and Meeting Minutes can be viewed in the Principal's Office located on the first floor of the Main Building. Electronic copies can be found on this site under Agendas and Minutes.
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Copies of Agendas and Meeting Minutes can be viewed in the Principal's Office located on the first floor of the Main Building. Electronic copies can be found on this site under Agendas and Minutes.
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CONSTITUTION Tucson High Magnet School Shared Decision Making Site Council Constitution / By-Laws Original Constitution August 17, 1995 Amended September 10, 1996 and July 1998 Revised May 16, 2001 Revised January 16, 2002 Revised May 11, 2005 Revised March 15, 2010 PREAMBLE We the members of the Tucson High Magnet School (THMS) community in accordance with the Laws of the State of Arizona, establish the THMS Shared Decision Making Site Council (SDMSC, School Council) for the purpose of providing the best education possible for students and improving student achievement. We recognize that the THMS student population is widely diverse and it is critical for all members of the THMS community to recognize and appreciate such diversity. We believe the School Council is an appropriate venue for dialogue about these issues and that through this process consensus can be built, allowing the THMS community to unite and meet the challenges of education. ARTICLE I: OBJECTIVES The objectives of the SDMSC are:
ARTICLE II: AUTHORITY TO ACT 1. Legislative Power The legislative authority of Tucson High Magnet School shall be vested in the School Council. The School Council shall make policy for Tucson High Magnet School but shall defer to the faculty, staff, and administration on the day-to-day operations of the school. However, the School Council shall retain such supervisory powers to insure that its policies, resolutions, and decisions are implemented. 2. Referendum For any action, the School Council may refer final decision making authority to any or all constituent groups. The School Council shall determine the procedures for the referendum vote. 3. Conduct Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the Arizona Open Meeting Law and all other applicable State laws, as well as R7-2-101 of the State Board Rules. Any question of procedure not otherwise covered by statute, State Board Rule, or Tucson Unified School District policies shall be governed by the current procedure of the School Council and may not be suspended except by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the entire School Council. 4. THMS AdministrationThe Administration shall faithfully implement the policies, resolutions, and decisions of the School Council. The Administration shall provide requisite information to the School Council so that the School Council may fulfill its purpose as stated in the Preamble and Article I of this Constitution. ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP Section 01: The full SDMSC shall be composed of member classes including representation as follows: (term of office is indicated in parentheses)
A teacher/faculty member shall be deemed to have resigned as of the date that teacher/faculty member no longer is employed at THMS. A staff member shall be deemed to have resigned as of the date the staff member no longer is employed at THMS. A community member shall be deemed to have resigned as of the date that community member no longer maintains a primary residence in the community. Section 02: The numbers of the SDMSC shall be set for the next school year by the first week in June by a vote of the SDMSC and will have a maximum number of 34 members. The majority of the members (as per State Law) will be made of equal numbers of parents and teachers.
Section 03:
Section 03.01: Elections for parent and teacher/faculty, and staff representatives shall be conducted before the first meeting of the SDMSC in August of each year. Notice of parent vacancies shall be distributed to all student families with the Fourth Quarter Progress Reports and also posted to the website at the same time. Interested parents shall notify the principal by May 15th of their desire to appear on the ballot. The principal shall prepare and disseminate that ballot by a method most likely to be received by each parent of an enrolled student not later than the summer mailer and posted to the website by June 30th. Ballots shall be available during the August registration process and in any event must be deposited with the principal not later than Friday of the first week of school. The ballots shall be counted and the results publically disseminated no later than the second Friday of the school year. Teacher/Faculty and ESP representatives shall be elected as follows: 1. The site council facilitator will, through district email, email the THMS faculty and staff with notification of the number of positions open by the Fourth Quarter Progress Reports. Faculty and staff will have one week to submit their name and a brief personal statement regarding their candidacy to the site council facilitator. 2. The site council facilitator will publish the candidate names and personal statements and open the election via district email. Faculty and staff will have two business days to vote. (Vote will be electronic. If an individual desires an anonymous vote s/he will print off the ballot, vote, and put the hard copy in the site council facilitator’s school mail box within the two day time period). 3. The site council facilitator will announce the results via district email. Community members shall maintain their primary residence within the THMS neighborhood boundary. Community members shall be selected as follows: The site council facilitator will obtain the names and email addresses of the presidents or their designees of the following neighborhood associations: Sam Hughes, Miramonte, Iron Horse, West University, Pie Allen, Rincon Heights <>. Community members will serve two year terms. Starting in August 2011 community members will be selected as follows: The site council facilitator will notify all neighborhood associations by email of the number of vacancies on the site council not later than the Fourth Quarter Progress Reports. The neighborhood associations may forward the names of nominees to the facilitator not later than May 15th. The members of the site council are the final authority in determining the qualification and seating of community members, if there are more candidates than seats. Present community members shall continue to serve until their successors qualify and are seated. Section 04: Members regularly elected or selected shall serve a term as designated in Section 01 or until such time as a successor is selected or otherwise designated. Section 05: Regular attendance of a member shall be required. Three unexcused absences at meetings may be considered cause for removal. Section 06: An affirmative vote of 70% of members present at any meeting of the SDMSC shall be sufficient to recommend removal of a member for cause. The SDMSC shall forward such recommendation to the appropriate member class group for its action. ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS Section 01: The officers of the SDMSC shall be the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and Secretary. Section 02: The Chairperson shall:
Section 03: The Vice-Chairperson shall assume the duties and powers of the chairperson in the absence of the Chairperson and succeed to the office on loss of the Chairperson. Section 04: The Secretary shall:
ARTICLE V: ELECTION OF OFFICERS Section 01:
Section 02: In the event the Vice-Chairperson or Secretary separates from the SDMSC for any reason, the Chairperson shall appoint an interim Vice-Chairperson or Secretary to serve until the next school year. Section 03: Elections shall be by a simple majority vote by secret ballot. Section 04: An officer shall assume office immediately upon election and shall serve for a period of 1 year. Where an office is filled by special election the term of office is from the special election to the next regular election. ARTICLE VI: MEETINGS Section 01:
Section 02: Members of the SDMSC shall be notified in advance of all meetings by mail, e-mail, phone contact, or by personal contact with the Chairperson, V-Chairperson, or Secretary. Section 03: Meetings will conform to the State Open Meetings procedures. Section 04: VotingExcept as otherwise provided by statute or this Constitution / By-laws, any School Council action, other than the removal or selection or election of School Council members and voting on amendments to this Constitution / By-laws, taken to a vote of the members, shall be authorized by a majority of the eligible votes cast at each meeting. To pass a resolution, a simple majority of the voting members of the School Council, present in person at a meeting, shall be required. The Chairperson may vote on all resolutions placed before the School Council.
ARTICLE VII: FOCUS GROUPS AND COMMITTEES Section 01: The SDMSC or members of the THMS community may establish appropriate focus groups or committees to explore solutions for issues at THMS Section 02: Focus group or committee membership shall be made up of volunteers from the constituent groups. The focus group or committee shall designate a member to serve as liaison to the School Council. Section 03: Focus groups and committees shall have no fewer than four members, one of whom shall be elected chair at the first meeting of the focus group or committee. Section 04: The duties of a focus group or a committee shall include:
Section 05: A focus group or committee shall cease to exist once the purpose has been accomplished as determined by the SDMSC. ARTICLE VIII: AMENDMENTS OF THE CONSTITUTION Section 01: Amendments to the constitution may be proposed by a forum, a committee, or focus group designated for that purpose. Section 02: The Constitution may be amended at a quarterly meeting of the committee called for that purpose. Proposed amendments shall be mailed to SDMSC members at least two weeks before the meeting. Section 03: Except as otherwise provided by this Constitution / By-laws, statutes, or rules, all of the Constitution / By-laws of Tucson High Magnet School shall be subject to alteration or repeal, and amendments may be enacted, by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the entire School Council, present in person that are entitled to vote, provided that the notice of the meeting and the proposed changes are set forth in full. The School Council must refer for ratification any proposed amendments to any constituent group deemed appropriate. The SDMSC shall determine the procedures for the ratification vote.
ARTICLE IX: ADMINISTRATIVE ASSIGNMENTS Section 01: Administrative assignments at THMS shall have a posted job description, with an opportunity for review and recommendations by the SDMSC prior to publishing by TUSD Administration. Section 02: SDMSC shall conduct the interview process and shall make a hiring recommendation to the TUSD Governing Board and the Superintendent. Section 03: An evaluation tool to provide input into the assessment of THMS Administration staff shall be developed and administered collaboratively by the SDMSC and the TUSD Administration. Section 04: A recommendation by the SDMSC for continuation of an administrative assignment at THMS shall depend on positive evaluation results. [ARTICLES X THROUGH XIV ARE CONCERNED WITH FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMITTEE IN HELPING TO RUN THE SCHOOL AS MANDATED BY THE DISTRICT "STANDARDS FOR ACCREDITING SCHOOL COUNCILS." THESE WILL BE PHASED IN AS THE SCHOOL IS ACCREDITED TO THE LEVEL DESIGNATED TO THAT TASK. BEGINNING PHASE FOR THAT TASK IS NOTED IN THE TEXT.] ARTICLE X: ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICES AND POLICIES (PHASE 2) Section 01: The SDMSC will participate cooperatively with the THMS Administration in the development of policies intended for school-wide implementation in order to improve student performance. Section 02: Administrative decision affecting administrative practices and/or school-wide policies made on an emergency basis shall be shared with and reviewed by the SDMSC in a timely manner. ARTICLE XI: STAFFING (PHASE 3) Section 01: Advertisements for position at THMS, certified and classified, shall be written in alignment with the goals and objectives of this Constitution. Section 02: Screening, interviewing, and recommending of applicants, as supplied by the TUSD Administration, shall be conducted by a committee selected, using TUSD Administration guidelines, by representatives of the SDMSC. Section 03: Applicants shall be informed of and agree to abide by the THMS Constitution. Section 04: All full time equivalent allotments, regardless of funding source, shall be submitted to the SDMSC for approval. Changes made after original approval shall be made collaboratively with the THMS Administration. ARTICLE XII: BUDGET (PHASE 3) Section 01: In cooperation with the SDMSC, the THMS Administration shall develop a budget allocation and distribution plan. Section 02: The Principal and the SDMSC shall designate a budget control administrator. Section 03: Budgetary decisions made by THMS regarding funds thereto shall not be altered by the TUSD Administration. ARTICLE XIII: CURRICULUM STANDARDS The SDMSC reserves the right to establish curriculum standards and exit criteria, which may exceed the standards set by TUSD for awarding credit for courses. ARTICLE XIV - RATIFICATION The ratification of this Constitution / By-laws of Tucson High Magnet School was effective upon a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the entire certificated staff and the Parent Teacher Association of the school in January 1995. DEFINITIONS: Community members of SDMSC means those persons residing and/or working in the general Tucson Area and who are not THMS students or their parents. · THMS Administration means the Principal and those Assistant Principals under his/her supervision. · TUSD Administration means the Superintendent and those persons and processes under his/her direct responsibility. · EX-Officio means non-voting. · Focus group means a group which include members from the wider community population, and will include at least one voluntary or appointed School Council member. · Committee means a group comprised of School Council members only. ABBREVIATIONS:
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