Cambridge High School SGC Minutes

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September 15, 2015

Cambridge Governance Council

Cambridge High School SGC Minutes

Counseling Conference Room

4:00pm

Attendees

Present:Lynna Lee,Brian Geisel, Sara Faircloth, Sam Garcia, Laura Bentley,Pam Kipniss, Dr. Spurka, Amy Price, Mary Ross, and guests, Kina Champion, LaToya Gray, Darius Maize, and Kim Premoli.

Call to Order

Amy Price called the meeting to order.

Public Comment

No individuals requested public comment.

Action Items

Agenda: Amy Price presented the agenda for approval. Pam Kipniss proposed two amendments made to the agenda and Lynna Lee added one amendment. Amy Price recommended moving several of the agenda items to the next meeting on September 29.Pam Kipniss moved to approve the amended agenda and Laura Bentley seconded it. The agenda was approved by a unanimous vote.

Discussion Items

Amy Price distributed the Cambridge SGC calendar with dates to include SGC events/deadlines, school events, teacher work days, and professional learning days. September 24 was added as seed fund training which is online and is required for the seed fund point person to take, although anyone can take it. Kina will send out the link, and it will also be recorded and sent out.

Pam Kipniss requested more information on the teacher candidates. Amy Price will gather this information and bring it to the next meeting. This is a principal nomination that the council has to approve by a majority vote. When there is a vacancy mid-term, the Principal nominates the replacement, the council approves it by a majority vote, and the person serves out the term of the person they are replacing. If they choose to run at the end of their term, they may. The members were referred to the by-laws. Lynna Lee wants it noted that only three of the members have been elected and the others have been “hand-picked” by the Principal. Brian Geisel shared a similar concern stating

there has been a significant shift from having five elected members to now having three because of transitions. He would like teachers to select the person in some way. It’s not a process issue, but a representation issue. Dr. Spurka responded by stating that Cambridge has had a lot of success as a SGC and he has a concern about the council living up to the expectations for SGC. He explained he went beyond the process by asking all teachers to consider being on the council. Only two responded and they are new teachers. He recommended getting our norms in place because side meetings, etc. are not appropriate. Kina agreed that council business should not be conducted over email and that the SGC Handbook is our guide. Laura Bentley said she was approached by someone outside of the council about why we didn’t consider the runner-up since a vacancy occurred soon after the elections. Kina suggested directing people to the bylaws. Dr. Spurka stated that teachers go on to other leadership opportunities which is what happened. Kina made several suggestions;

• “Build our bench” and have people outside of the council sit in on the committees. Therefore when it is time to nominate or elect, these are people that we know and are familiar with the council and its process
• Many SGC’s form partnerships with other parent groups or attend curriculum night to provide information and share their progress as a council
• Always keep the strategic plan out at all times and invite teachers to come in and share what they are doing in the individual areas of the plan

Amy Price suggested the Outreach committee send a survey to teachers to see how much they know about the SGC. Then compile the results and bring it back to the Council. Pam Kipniss suggested that all members should look at the agenda prior to the meeting and come prepared to make decisions.

Amy Price addressed Council norms. The SGC handbook is extremely helpful and is very clear on the council’s role. She will have these printed on the agenda each time to make sure we are focused on our responsibilities. Pam Kipniss suggested reading them at the beginning of each meeting as part of the opening. To update the council on the strategic plan, Amy Price will invite Kim Premoli to the next meeting to give an update on the professional learning and Tonekia Phairr to discuss testing. Pam Kipniss said that the committees need to start meeting and will be a standing agenda item.

RFF entry forms have been submitted. We will receive feedback by this Friday. The final application is due in December. We do not need to resubmit this form. We do not have to submit anything additional for round 2 of the RFF entry submissions. Sara Faircloth volunteered to be the RFF point person.

Mary Ross agreed to take minutes and get everything posted to the website. Any questions in the future will be directed to the Parliamentarian, Pam Kipniss.

Dr. Spurka closed by saying we want to focus on the positive culture we have at Cambridge.

Announcements and Adjournment:

Laura Bentley made a motion to adjourn and Pam Kipniss seconded it. The vote was unanimous.

Meeting adjourned at 5:30pm

Our next SGC meeting is September 29, 2015 from4:00-5:30 in the media center.