The State of Utah requires all public schools to establish a community council (Utah Code. Section 53A-1a-108) that meets monthly during the school year. Each council consists of the principal, school employees, and parents or guardians of students attending the school.
Community councils are designed to identify unique academic needs for their school and leverage funding from the School LAND Trust program to address them. As councils review student assessments and progress, they prepare funding plans that are ultimately approved by the local school board.
In 2015, the Utah State Legislature extended the responsibilities of councils to partner with administrators and include Internet safety review to meet Safe Technology and Digital Citizenship requirements.
Here’s a list of basic responsibilities of each council:
- Review testing and other reliable data to determine the needs of the students
- Create a School Improvement Plan
- Create a School LAND Trust Plan
- Advise and make recommendations to school and district administrators and the school board when appropriate
- Create subcommittees and task forces as needed
- Communicate with parents at the school
Parents or guardians serving on a council are appointed or elected by parents in the school and serve for a two-year term. Parents are given a two-member majority on the council to ensure representative community input. High school councils are made up of a minimum of six parents and four employees, while all others are made up of four parents and two employees. Elected members serve two-year terms that are staggered, with no term limits.
The public is welcome to attend council meetings – you can find agendas, minutes, and dates/times for council meetings on all MCSD school websites.
Community Council Elections are held in the fall. If you would like to know more about your school’s community council, contact your local principal.
