Fwd: Persistent failures to provide West High SCC information

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Gregory Clark

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Dec 9, 2011, 12:01:23 AM12/9/11

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Gregory Clark <greg.a....@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Dec 7, 2011 at 1:14 PM
Subject: Persistent failures to provide West High SCC information
To: amanda.t...@slcschools.org, alama....@slcschools.org, do...@mdxperts.com, rosemar...@gmail.com, heather...@xmission.com, laurel...@slcschools.org, kristi...@slcschools.org, mckell....@slcschools.org
Cc: as...@katewwdb.com, Parley...@slcschools.org, enviros...@xmission.com, gt...@mac.com, trum...@gmail.com, gra...@comcast.net, cali.m...@gmail.com, neco...@xmission.com, philjo...@msn.com, chrisd...@gmail.com, dga...@sisna.net, judy....@slcschools.org

Salt Lake City Board of Education, and Superintendent Withers:

I am writing in order to

1) File a formal complaint against the current West High School Community Council chair Steven Asay and the West High administration, for the repeated, persistent failure to provide SCC information as required by the Utah Administrative Code (summarized in item 5, Status overview of SCC materials, below); and

2) Request that the Board of Education take appropriate action to resolve this long-standing difficulty.

Repeated attempts to resolve this problem internally have not proven appropriately successful.

It is unfortunate that the SCC and West High administration continue not only to perpetuate, but even to add to, the persistent, long-standing failures to provide SCC materials in a timely manner. These actions continue to violate the Utah Administrative Code (previously provided, and appended here below). Providing SCC materials is the joint responsibility of the SCC chair and the West High administration.

Some progress has started to be made in providing the SCC materials to the public as required. That's to the good. But that progress does not suffice. And, in other ways, the required SCC information is falling even further behind.

Once again, as has happened for every or almost every SCC meeting this school year, the agenda for the upcoming Dec 12 meeting has not been posted on the West High website with the required one-week advance notice, in violation of the Code. And, once again, as has happened with every SCC meeting this year, the minutes for the previous meeting also have not been posted on the West High website one week prior to the next meeting, again in violation of the Code. Other materials have routinely been provided late, and some still remain unposted or unavailable.

Exacerbating the situation, the repeated, demonstrably false statements and explanations for these and other ongoing failures further undermine credibility. Disturbingly, the statements provide evidentiary material that these failures are willful and deliberate.

In brief,

1) Recent additional failures. Adding to previous and continuing other failures, the SCC/WH administration have now failed to post on the West High website the minutes of last month's SCC meeting, or the agenda for the upcoming Dec 12 meeting "at least one week prior" to the upcoming meeting, in violation of Utah Administrative Code. (Dec. 6 screen shot of West High web site attached for documentation.)

2) Utah Administrative Code requirements. The wording of the Code is unambiguous regarding these requirements. The Code's clarity stands in stark contrast to Mr. Asay's statement that "we are still working out the kinks of what is needed and what is not needed by law". The Code specifies quite clearly:

"R277-491-4. School Community Council School/School Administrator Responsibilities.

(7) Posting the school community council meeting information (time, place and date of meeting; ***meeting agenda and previous meeting minutes) on the school's website at least one week prior to each meeting***, and on the access door(s) of the school on the day of the meeting." (Emphases added.)

3) Explanations are insufficient. Mr. Asay's claim that "We are doing everything possible to get the [West High] website up to date" is demonstrably false, and is undercut by his own additional statements. In fact, none or almost none of the required SCC materials were posted on the West High website in time, as I have previously documented, and as summarized in the Status overview in item 5, below. Many materials were posted months late. And even today, materials that have existed for months (e.g., since August), remain missing. This, despite requests also going back months, and despite Mr. Asay's Nov 21 statement that "What [was] requested has been sent to the school." West High webmaster Susan Raymond subsequently informed me in writing (Nov 22) that "Everything I have received from…any SCC Chair is on the web." Yet several of requested materials still remain missing, as of Dec 6. Thus, either i) Mr. Asay did not send the materials to the school, despite his explicit statement that he did; or ii) the school did not post the materials sent. Either is unacceptable. Mr. Asay's previous attempt to blame these failures on technical difficulties is also demonstrably false. Notably, other schools routinely post the required SCC materials in a timely fashion, in keeping with the Code. It is unfortunate that West High does not meet this common standard.

4) Priorities. Mr. Asay's further statements provide compelling evidence that the repeated, persistent failures to post the required SCC materials are due instead to the personal opinion that posting the required materials is a low priority. These statements undercut Asay's own claim that "we are doing everything possible to get the website up to date." One can't have it both ways. Asay's remark that the public should have to request only specific items is not in keeping with the Utah Administrative Code to provide SCC materials routinely, as standard operating procedure. Asay's remark that one should remain "patient" for materials that have been missing for months, and that remain missing, is inappropriate. The SCC chair and West High Administration do not have the prerogative to violate the Utah Administrative Code on the basis of their own personal prejudices.

5) Status overview of SCC materials.

a. Agendas. With one possible exception, no agendas for the 2011-2012 school year have been posted on the West High website one week prior to the SCC meeting, as is required by the Utah Administrative code. As of the night of Dec 6 (see screenshot, 6:35 pm), the August, September, and December agendas remained missing, in violation of the Code.

b. Minutes. With no known exceptions, no minutes for the 2011-2012 school year have been posted on the West High website one week prior to the next SCC meeting, as is required by the Utah Administrative code. As of the night of Dec 6, the August, September, and November minutes remained missing, in violation of the Code.

c. SCC meeting schedule. The Code specifies that the SCC meeting schedule shall be "provided in the first 14 days of the school year." In contrast, the 2011-12 SCC schedule was not posted on the West High website till mid-November (between Nov 7 and Nov 15).

d. SCC contact information. SCC contact information for 2011-12 was not provided on the West High website till December 2011, and was not provided to me till Nov 21. This, despite i) my requests dating back to August, and ii) Principal Jacob's written statement of September 13 that the contact information had been collected and would be provided.

e. Audio recordings. Audio recordings of SCC meetings have not been provided in a timely manner. Despite repeated requests, the recordings for the August meeting and beyond were not made available till Nov 14 (email from Principal Jacobs). The September recording remains unavailable. Unfortunately, the poor audio quality of some of these recordings renders their use quite difficult or impossible.

f. Past school years. Some SCC materials for past years were missing and remain missing from the West High website. My request for the 2010-11 materials was followed by the deletion of all 2010-11 materials from the West High website; after further requests, these have now been reposted, although several months of information remain missing. The school's website inappropriately attempts to delegate the responsibility for obtaining the information to the public. The persistent failure to provide SCC materials, which is the joint responsibility of the SCC chair and West High administration, is clearly a long-standing problem that the SCC and West High administration have been unable or unwilling to resolve.

In short, the SCC Chair and West High administration have repeatedly and persistently failed to communicate SCC information appropriately to the public, in violation of the Utah Administrative Code. Further, the SCC has communicated in writing that a reason for these failures is that such communication is considered to be a low priority.

These actions and statements are not in keeping with the goals of shared governance, and violate the SCC's mission to "encourage increased participation of the parents, school employees and others," as specified by the Code.

Again, I request the assistance of the BOE in resolving this long-standing, persistent problem.

Thank you,

Gregory A. Clark

=======================================================================

PREVIOUS CORRESPONDENCE APPENDED BELOW.

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THREAD 1

From: steven asay as...@katewwdb.com

To: Parley Jacobs <Parley...@slcschools.org>, Amanda Thordersen <ama...@thorderson.com>, Greg A Clark 09 <greg.a....@gmail.com>

Date: Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 9:05 AM

Subject: What is missing and when it will be available

What you have requested has been sent to the school. It takes time to get some of the things up that you are requesting. This is not a high priority for anyone but you right now.

I know that you are working wtih Mr McGuire and that is what you are looking for. The recording of that meeting is now at the school. If you take in a flash drive then you can make a copy of it. There is still one meeting that has not been transferred over there. It has nothing, as do the other meetings you are asking about, about Mr McGuire.

The contact information for the SCC has been sent to the district.

There are a number of requirements for the SCC that are a low priority. We have other items that are a much higher priority and impact a much higher number of students. Please, be patient and you will receive what you are looking for. But let us do the rest of our job as well. We are volunteers, not paid employees. We are doing everything possible to get the website up to date, if that is your concern. If all you want is the information about Mr McGuire, then ask for that specifically, and not for everything else. We will be in compliance, but we are still working out the kinks of what is needed and what is not needed by law. And our interpretation may be different from yours. We are seeking guidance on many of the items you have mentioned in the past.

Steve Asay

SCC Chair

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THREAD 2

From Lucinda Cox Lucin...@slcschools.org

To "greg.a....@gmail.com" <greg.a....@gmail.com>

Cc "Parley B. Jacobs" <Parley...@slcschools.org>

Date Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 12:11 PM

Subject SCC Minutes 2011-2012

Mr. Clark, I have copies of the audio tapes for the August, October and November SCC minutes. If you would like to bring a flash drive to school we could download them.

I am located in the main office, 210. I am here from 6:30 am until 3:00 pm. My extension is 210 if you have questions, or you can email me.

-----------

Gregory Clark to Lucinda, Parley,

from Gregory Clark greg.a....@gmail.com

to Lucinda Cox <Lucin...@slcschools.org>

cc "Parley B. Jacobs" <Parley...@slcschools.org>

date Thu, Dec 1, 2011 at 9:43 AM

subject Re: SCC Minutes 2011-2012

Great, thanks. I will follow up on this.

-g

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THREAD 3

From Parley B. Jacobs Parley...@slcschools.org

To "Gregory Clark (greg.a....@gmail.com)" <greg.a....@gmail.com>

Cc Ken Grover <Ken.G...@slcschools.org>, Kristi Swett <Kristi...@slcschools.org>, Amanda Thorderson <Amanda.T...@slcschools.org>, Heather Bennett <heather...@xmission.com>, Laurel Young <Laurel...@slcschools.org>, Alama Uluave <Alama....@slcschools.org>, Rosemary Emery <rosemar...@gmail.com>, Doug Nelson do...@mdxperts.com

Date Mon, Nov 14, 2011 at 4:16 PM

Subject FW: Response to concerns

Mr. Clark,

Here are the answers to your questions. Answers in blue text. Let me know what else may be needed.

1) Please post the missing SCC minutes and agendas for the 2011-2012 school year on the West High website, as per Utah Administrative Code.

The agendas and minutes are posted at the following website:

http://west.slcschools.org/ptsa/ptsa_index.html

At the time of this email, it is only partially completed, but we will have the complete agenda and minutes for this year posted by the end of the week.

[GC Note: This did not occur, and still had not occurred as of Dec 6, 2011.]

The agenda/minutes that have not been posted for SY10-11 will be hyperlinked as well by the end of the week. There are some minutes that have not yet been provided to us by the SCC Chair from last year, but we should be receiving those this week and they will be posted as well.

[GC Note: This did not occur, and still had not occurred as of Dec 6, 2011.]

2) Please inform me how I can obtain the audio tapes for the past SCC meetings for the present 2011-2012 school year, including the August, September, and October meetings, with the August meeting being particularly important.

The audio recordings are available here at the school for you to access. Please let me know if you would like a copy of the recordings.

[GC Note: I have obtained the Aug, Oct, and Nov recordings. The September recording was not available as of Dec. 5, 2011.]

3) Please post the SCC contact information, as you had indicated in writing (September 13) that you would do.

The SCC contact information is being finalized by the SCC Chair and we will have that posted by the end of the week as well.

[GC Note: This did not occur as indicated, and did not occur till Dec, 2011]

Thanks. Parley Jacobs.

-----------------------------

From Gregory Clark greg.a....@gmail.com

To "Parley B. Jacobs" <Parley...@slcschools.org>

Date Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 8:43 AM

Subject Re: FW: Response to concerns

Principal Jacobs,

Thank you for your reply of 14 Nov 2011.

Unfortunately, your reply did not fully resolve the long-standing and continued failures on the part of West High administration to provide SCC materials, even when those materials exist.

The additional failure of West High administration to execute the actions that you personally committed to in your 11/14 e-mail further undermine the credibility of West High administration.

I formally request yet again that you, as Principal of West High School, provide the missing West High School Community Council (SCC) materials, in keeping with the Utah Administrative Code.

Here are my replies to your statements.

1) SCC Information

1.1. 2011-2012 School Year

You explicitly indicated that you "will have the complete agenda and minutes for this year posted by the end of the week."

In direct contradiction to your written statement, these 2011-2012 SCC materials in fact have not been posted, as indicated in the attached screenshot of the West High website from this morning, Monday 11/21.

Note that this failure of West High administration to post materials persists even for those materials that exist, such as the agendas of past SCC meetings.

1.2. Previous School Years

Many SCC materials continue to be missing, despite long-standing requests that these be posted.

Further, the statement on the West High website, that "SCC Agenda and Minutes are the responsibility of the SCC Chair", is not in full keeping with the Utah Administrative code. Timely postings of SCC information are the joint responsibility of both the SCC and the school administration.

As a reminder of information previously provided to you directly, the code indicates

"R277-491-4.School Community Council School/School Administrator Responsibilities….

The school community council chair shall provide the following information to the school community, with assistance from the school administration:"

2) Audio tapes of 2011-12 SCC meetings

Yes, thank you, I would like copies of the audio tapes for the past 2011-2012 SCC meetings, particularly the August meeting. Please inform me how I may obtain these copies and when they are available.

3) SCC contact information

You explicitly indicated that the "SCC contact information is being finalized …we will have that posted by the end of the week as well."

Again, this information also has not been posted on the West High website, as indicated in the attached screenshot.

Further, I remind you that in your email of September 15 to me, you communicated: "Just collected email addresses of current SCC members at our last meeting. Will get those posted just as quick as we can." That was over two months ago.

Intervening email exchanges between then and now have provided reminders to you of this missing information.

The longstanding, repeated failures of West High administration to provide thisinformation, despite its apparent availability, and despite your written statements that the information would be provided, further undermine the credibility of West High administration.

Again, I urge you to provide the missing SCC information in compliance with the Utah Administrative Code.

Sincerely,

Gregory A. Clark

WHS SCC screen capture c111121-0840.PNG

-----------------

From Susan Raymond Susan....@slcschools.org

To Gregory Clark <greg.a....@gmail.com>,

"Parley B. Jacobs" <Parley...@slcschools.org>

Date Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 8:45 AM

Subject RE: FW: Response to concerns

Dear Mr. Clark,

Please stop including me in these emails. I am only the webmaster and only put up the materials I have received from the various SCC Chairs. Any materials missing from the website are due to the SCC Chairs not getting them to me. Please contact the SCC Chair for the years that you are referring to.

Susan M. Raymond, M.Ed.

WHS Webmaster

Career & Technical Education Department Co-Chair

Auditorium Stage Manager

MESA Advisor

Currently teaching: Digital Media I & II, Accounting I & II, Word Processing A & B, Computer Technology, ELP CTE, Winter Guard, & Stage Crew

West High School

Salt Lake School District

(801) 578-8500 x 279

------------------

date Tue, Nov 22, 2011 at 12:15 AM subject Re: FW: Response to concerns

Dear Ms. Raymond,

One reply/explanation, plus one requested reply from you, below. Thanks.

================

1. Distribution lists.

By way of explanation: As far as I can tell, it was Principal Jacobs who added you to the e-mail distribution list, not I.

Unless I'm mistaken, your name was first added to this thread in Principal Jacob's e-mail to me of Nov 8. That e-mail was in reply to my e-mail of Nov 7, in which you were not included. You can confirm or correct this yourself from the e-mails you received.

I suggest that you discuss with Principal Jacobs why he wanted you to be included.

I included you in subsequent e-mails since then in deference to his addition of you, much as you yourself included many persons in your own e-mail to me, which presumably you considered appropriate to do.

That said, I will not add you as a routine participant in future correspondence on this matter, as you have requested.

However, below I do request a further reply from you now with respect to a specific question, and may contact you on specific occasions if it is appropriate.

=============

2. Missing SCC materials for 2011-2012.

To remove any possible ambiguity, please reply to inform me whether or not as of Monday 11/21 you have now received the following missing SCC materials for the 2011-12 school year. These materials are still missing on the West High web site, as of 11/21 11:15 pm, in apparent violation of the Utah Administrative Code.

1) the agenda for the 8/29/2011 meeting(still missing)

2) the minutes for the 8/29/2011meeting (still missing)

3) the agenda for the 9/12/2011 meeting(still missing)

4) the minutes for the 9/12/2011meeting(still missing)

Please note that the posting of SCC materials on the West High web site is the joint responsibility of the SCC and the school administration, according to the Utah Administrative Code. It is not my personal responsibility to obtain this information. That said, I notified the present SCC Chair over two months ago, and since, of the long-standing, repeated failures to provide SCC information on the West High site in keeping with the Utah Administrative Code, as you can confirm from e-mails that you have received. His reply that the missing materials would be provided remains unfulfilled.

Thank you,

Greg Clark

---------

date Tue, Nov 22, 2011 at 8:47 AM

subject RE: FW: Response to concerns

Everything I have received from Mr. Metherall or any SCC Chair is on the web.

Susan M. Raymond, M.Ed.

WHS Webmaster

Career & Technical Education Department Co-Chair

Auditorium Stage Manager

MESA Advisor

Currently teaching: Digital Media I & II, Accounting I & II, Word Processing A & B, Computer Technology, ELP CTE, Winter Guard, & Stage Crew

West High School

Salt Lake School District

(801) 578-8500 x 279

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THREAD 4

Repeated request for missing SCC information, Nov 7 2011

Gregory Clark <greg.a....@gmail.com>

Wed, Nov 9, 2011 at 6:49 AM

To: "Parley B. Jacobs" <Parley...@slcschools.org>

9 November 8, 2011

Principal Parley Jacobs,

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, your reply fails to address the central points involved regarding the missing SCC information. Instead, your reply provides further evidence of the failures of the West High Administration per se to provide SCC materials in keeping with the Utah Administrative Code.

Again, to be very specific and explicit:

1) Please post the missing SCC minutes and agendas for the 2011-2012 school year on the West High website, as per Utah Administrative Code.

West High administration has repeatedly failed to provide the postings of SCC information, even for those cases for which the information exists. Most of the 2011-2012 SCC information remains missing on the West High website. And most or all of what SCC information has been posted, as sparse as it is, was not posted in the time frame specified by the Utah Administrative Code.

I attended the August meeting, and the SCC chair announced that the meeting was being taped. As you know, the August meeting has relevance to an ongoing grievance process involving West High. The continuing failure to provide this tape acts as a potential obstruction to this process.

3) Please post the SCC contact information, as you had indicated in writing (September 13) that you would do.

Unfortunately, you have not done so. Your e-mail of yesterday did not even address this point.

I urge you once again to take the appropriate actions to resolve these deficiencies.

====

My further responses are interdigitated with your remarks, below.

On Tue, Nov 8, 2011 at 9:35 AM, Parley B. Jacobs <Parley...@slcschools.org> wrote:

---

GC reply: In other words, West High Administration has many of the 2010-2011SCC records on file, but nonetheless has never posted them on its website, in apparent violation of the Utah Administrative Code. In fact, instead of posting the missing information as I had requested, West High Administration willfully deleted what little SCC information for 2010-2011 year had been posted. The failure of West High Administration to post SCC information, even when it has that information, is clearly a long-standing problem.

====

PJ: We have the October 2011 minutes and we just met for November.

GC reply: Your response here does not address the issue of the other missing information for the earlier SCC meetings of the 2011-2012 school year, which I indicated as being particularly important. The missing items were explicitly enumerated in my previous email. Please post the missing materials on the West High website, in keeping with the Utah Administrative Code.

====

PJ: The November meeting was audio taped. We will have the tape available for you to listen here at school for you shortly.

GC reply: Your response does not address the issue of the missing audio tapes for the earlier 2011-2012 SCC meetings, which I had indicated as being particularly important (see also above). As noted above, Seven Asay, SCC Chair, announced at the beginning of the August meeting, for example, that the meeting was being taped. Again, please inform me where and how I may find and access the audio tapes for these specific SCC meetings.

===

PJ: We will check with our current chairperson to make our SCC records current.

GC: As you know, Mr. Asay is well aware of the failures to provide the SCC information. He has been asked for this information directly, and he has been included in this increasingly long series of emails, unfortunately with little effect. His previously proposed explanation of technical difficulties cannot credibly explain the repeated persistent failures to provide this set of information in a timely manner. There is strong evidentiary information indicating that much of the requested missing information exists, but is not being made appropriately available. I have informed you of this situation multiple times over a period of months. You have failed to resolve the problem. I urge you to do so promptly.

Thank you.

Gregory A. Clark

End of GC interdigitated replies.

===

Thank you. Parley Jacobs.

On Tue, Nov 8, 2011 at 9:35 AM, Parley B. Jacobs <Parley...@slcschools.org> wrote:

Dear Mr. Clark – Thank you for your reminder. As I mentioned previously, we have copies of the 2010-11 minutes for your inspection. We can make copies for you if you’d like. We have 2010-11 minutes through the SCC March meeting on file. We have asked our former SCC chair to send the remainder. We will remind him, again, to send them. We have the October 2011 minutes and we just met for November. The November meeting was audio taped. We will have the tape available for you to listen here at school for you shortly. We will check with our current chairperson to make our SCC records current. Thank you. Parley Jacobs.

From: Gregory Clark [mailto:greg.a....@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, November 07, 2011 6:28 PM
To: Parley B. Jacobs
Subject: Fwd: Repeated request for missing SCC information, Nov 7 2011

Principal Jacobs,

I am resending the message below to you at this different email address.

Thank you.

Greg Clark

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Gregory Clark <greg.a....@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Nov 7, 2011 at 4:54 PM
Subject: Repeated request for missing SCC information, Nov 7 2011
To: Parley...@slc.k12.ut.us
Cc: amanda.t...@slcschools.org, alama....@slcschools.org, do...@mdxperts.com, rosemar...@gmail.com, heather...@xmission.com, laurel...@slcschools.org, kristi...@slcschools.org, mckell....@slcschools.org, as...@katewwdb.com, west-parents...@googlegroups.com

7 November 2011

Principal Parley Jacobs,

Firstly, I am writing to request again that you, as Principal of West High School, provide the missing West High School Community Council (SCC) materials enumerated and requested below, in keeping with the Utah Administrative Code.

Secondly, I am also writing to communicate a formal complaint regarding your repeated and persistent refusal to provide the required SCC information, despite repeated previous requests. West High's repeated failures are in apparent violation of the Utah Administrative Code. Further, its reporting of SCC information does not meet the standards routinely met by the SCCs of other Salt Lake City schools.

Specifics are given below.

================

As described previously (9/13/2011; appended), the appropriate public distribution of the SCC information is the responsibility of the SCC chair, presently Mr. Steven Asay, and the West High administration, as specified in the Utah Administrative Code. These responsibilities routinely are not being met.

As previously communicated to you, my attempts to obtain SCC information from the present SCC Chair Mr. Asay were also unsuccessful.

The repeated failures of the West High Administration and SCC to provide information are particularly problematic given the ongoing appeals/grievance procedures underway. The topics addressed in the SCC meeting for which information remains unavailable are directly relevant to this appeals/grievance process.

I urge you again to provide the missing and requested SCC information promptly, especially for the 2011-2012 year. The missing and requested information is enumerated below.

I. Agenda and Minutes for 2011-2012 SCC meetings

The Utah administrative code specifies that "(7) Posting the school community council meeting information (time, place and date of meeting; meeting agenda and previous meeting minutes) on the school's website at least one week prior to each meeting."

Repeatedly, this has not occurred.

As indicated the attached screen capture, as of November 3, less than one week before tonight's SCC meeting, all the information for this academic year's SCC meetings with the exception of the agenda for the 10-10-2011 meeting (indicated in red) was still unavailable on the West High website, in apparent violation of the Utah Administrative Code. The missing items of information included the following.

1) the agenda for the 8/29/2011 meeting (still missing)

2) the minutes for the 8/29/2011 meeting (still missing)

3) the agenda for the 9/12/2011 meeting (still missing)

4) the minutes for the 9/12/2011 meeting(still missing)

5) the minutes for the 10/11/2011 meeting (since posted)

6) the agenda for the 11/07/2011 meeting (since posted)

Please post the missing information on the West High site, in keeping with the requirements of the Utah Administrative Code.

Other Salt Lake City High Schools routinely post this SCC information on their websites.

I remind you that by its own definition Whipsnet is not a public website, and of course is not the West High website.

II. Audio tapes for 2011-2012 SCC meetings

I am also requesting yet again information as to how I may access the audio tapes for the 2011-2012 SCC meetings. Despite repeated requests, and the period of several months since my original request, these tapes have not been made available.

The tape for the 8/29/2011 SCC meeting is of particular interest, given its importance to the ongoing grievance process.

III. SCC member contact information

I am also requesting yet again the contact information for the present SCC membership. Despite explicit assurances from you (Sep 13 e-mail) and the extensive passage of time, this information has still not been provided to me, and is not posted on the West High website.

I remind you that in your email of September 15 to me, you communicated: "Just collected email addresses of current SCC members at our last meeting. Will get those posted just as quick as we can."

That posting has not occurred on the West High SCC website, despite the fact that the information has been available for nearly two months.

Other Salt Lake City High Schools routinely post SCC contact information on their websites.

IV. 2010-2011 SCC information

The failure of the West High Administration to provide SCC information is a long-standing problem.

I previously wrote to you asking you to post SCC information for the 2010-2011 school year. As of a few months ago, the West High website contained no Minutes for any SCC meeting for the 2010-11 school year after 9/13/2010. That is, the Minutes for almost the entire school year were missing.

Unfortunately, instead of your respecting this request for information, West High deleted what little SCC information had been posted on the West web site regarding the 2010-2011 year, and that information is now not available there.

As you know, you have been Principal of West High throughout this period, but have not taken the appropriate steps to correct this long-standing problem.

-----

In closing, I urge you again to provide the requested missing SCC information promptly, especially for the 2011-2012 school year. I further urge you to provide SCC information routinely, in keeping with the Utah Administrative Code.

Thank you.

Gregory A. Clark

================================================

Previous communications are appended below.

On Tue, Sep 20, 2011 at 12:49 PM, Parley B. Jacobs <Parley...@slcschools.org> wrote:

Mr. Clark – we are waiting for the transcribing of the minutes. I understand there are some technical problems trying to copy the audio tape. Will let you know!! Thanks. Jacobs.

From: Gregory Clark [mailto:greg.a....@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 11:03 AM
To: Parley B. Jacobs; west-parents...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: Direct request to Principal Jacobs for SCC materials

Prinicipal Parley,

Thank you for your reply. However, as noted in my email and copied below, of particular interest are the SCC materials for the present school year, which I still need and which you have not addressed:

"For example, please inform me now how can I access the audio tape recordings for the 8/29/2011 SCC meeting (and 9/12/2011 meeting if that is now available), as requested from you on 9/13 and 9/15 [and 9/16].

"As previously noted, the need for SCC materials associated with the present school year is especially urgent given the ongoing appeal/grievance process."

I look forward to your providing me and others with this information promptly.

Gregory A. Clark

On Tue, Sep 20, 2011 at 9:07 AM, Parley B. Jacobs <Parley...@slcschools.org> wrote:

Mr. Clark – we have most of last year’s SCC minutes here in the front office. You are welcome to come read, or make copies. Thanks. Jacobs.

From: Gregory Clark [mailto:greg.a....@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, September 16, 2011 6:09 PM
To: Parley B. Jacobs
Cc: west-parents...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Direct request to Principal Jacobs for SCC materials

Principal Jacobs,

Thank you for your reply. Please provide the requested information to me as it becomes available, rather than delaying till all missing items have been obtained.

For example, please inform me now how can I access the audio tape recordings for the 8/29/2011 SCC meeting (and 9/12/2011 meeting if that is now available), as requested from you on 9/13 and 9/15.

As previously noted, the need for SCC materials associated with the present school year is especially urgent given the ongoing appeal/grievance process.

Thank you.

Gregory A. Clark

On Thu, Sep 15, 2011 at 6:30 PM, Parley B. Jacobs <Parley...@slcschools.org> wrote:

Mr. Clark – will collect info for you. Just collected email addresses of current SCC members at our last meeting. Will get those posted just as quick as we can. Thanks. Please call if you have any questions. Thank you. Parley Jacobs.

From: Gregory Clark [mailto:greg.a....@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 15, 2011 6:00 PM
To: Parley B. Jacobs
Cc: Amanda Thorderson; Alama Uluave; Doug Nelson; Rosemary Emery; Heather Bennett; Laurel Young; Kristi Swett; McKell Withers;as...@katewwdb.com
Subject: Direct request to Principal Jacobs for SCC materials

15 September 2011

RE: Direct request to Principal Jacobs for SCC materials

Principal Parley Jacobs, West High School:

I am writing to request formally and explicitly from you the following West High School Community Council (SCC) information. Alternatively, please indicate where I can find these materials publicly posted.

1) The agendas for the SCC meetings, beginning with the SCC meeting subsequent to the 10/11/2010 SCC meeting, and extending to and including the most recent SCC meeting of 9/12/2011. These agendas are not posted on the official West High web site and to my knowledge are not publicly available, in apparent violation of the Utah Administrative Code.

2) The minutes for the SCC meetings from and including 10/11/2010 through and including 8/29/2011. These minutes are not posted on the official West High web site and to my knowledge are not publicly available, in apparent violation of the Utah Administrative Code. Please also provide the minutes for the September 12, 2011 meeting when they become available in a suitable and timely manner.

3) Information regarding how I can obtain or access the audio recordings of the SCC meetings for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years; and

4) Any other relevant material legally associated with the aforementioned SCC meetings.

5) E-mail contact information for the present SCC members.

The need for SCC materials associated with the present school year, 2011-2012, is especially urgent.

-----

The appropriate public distribution of the SCC information is the responsibility of the SCC chair and the West High administration, as specified in the Utah Administrative Code. A copy of the SCC section of this Code was previously sent to you in conjunction with my previous request for SCC information (9/13/2011; appended). I welcome corrections to my understanding of the Code or other matters.

Mr. Asay, the present SCC Chair, is unwilling or unable to provide the SCC information that I had requested. (See previous correspondence, appended.) Further, he has served as SCC Chair during only a portion of the relevant time period. Consequently, I am now directing this request explicitly to you as head of the West High administration, which shares the responsibility for providing this information.

As you know, a formal appeals/grievance process involving West High individuals is underway. The agendas, minutes, and recordings of the 8/29/2011 and 9/15/2011 SCC meetings, and potential other materials associated with these meetings, are directly relevant to the appeal/grievance process. The failure to post the SCC minutes and to provide the requested information presents an impediment to obtaining relevant facts of record. Given the involvement of the SCC West High administration in the appeal/grievance process and/or in the events leading to it, it strongly behooves the West High administration to make this SCC information available in a timely and appropriate manner.

More generally, the long-standing failure of West High administration to provide the required SCC materials publicly in keeping with the Utah Administrative Code represents a pervasive and persistent problem. Mr. Asay initially cited "technical situations" as one explanation on Whipsnet <http://groups.google.com/group/whipsnet/topics>, but subsequently indicated that at least some minutes had not been written. It is unclear what technical situations could have precluded posting of the required SCC information for a period over a year, or could have prevented minutes from being written, or could have prevented the previously requested information (e.g., minutes, email addresses, availability of audio tapes) from being sent by email.

It is also unclear what factors could have legitimately prevented West High administration from successfully addressing this long-standing problem, particularly given West High's previous successful postings of SCC information on its official web site.

Notably, both East High and Highland High regularly post SCC agendas, minutes, and contact information on their official web sites: <http://east.slcschools.org/pages/information/CommunityCouncil.html> and <http://highland.slcschools.org/SCC/index.htm>. If technical barriers are responsible for the continued and persistent failure of West High administration to provide publicly the required SCC information, perhaps West High administration could consult with their professional colleagues who appear to have the appropriate expertise.

I look forward to receiving the requested SCC information, and more generally to suitable corrective actions being taken, in a timely and appropriate manner.

Thank you.

Gregory A. Clark

greg.a....@gmail.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Gregory Clark [mailto:greg.a....@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 15, 2011 8:24 AM
To: as...@katewwdb.com
Cc: amanda.t...@slcschools.org;alama....@slcschools.org;do...@mdxperts.com; rosemar...@gmail.com; heather...@xmission.com; laurel...@slcschools.org; kristi...@slcschools.org; mckell....@slcschools.org; Parley...@slc.k12.ut.us
Subject: Re: SCC information and possible violations of the Utah Administrative Code

15 September 2011

Mr. Asay,

Your replies in response to my requests for SCC information do not suffice.

It is unfortunate that you are unwilling or unable to provide the SCC information requested, as required by Utah Administrative Code; and in particular that you are unwilling or unable to provide 1) the minutes for the SCC meetings; 2) information regarding how I can obtain or access the audio recordings of the SCC meetings; and 3) the e-mail contact information for SCC members.

These failures are particularly problematic given the ongoing appeals/grievance procedures underway that were addressed in the SCC meeting for which information is unavailable. These failures are in apparent violation of the Utah Administrative Code.

I welcome corrections to my understanding of the Code regarding the SCC, which I have previously sent to you.

My further replies are interdigitated with your comments below.

Thank you.

Gregory A. Clark

From: steven asay [mailto:as...@katewwdb.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 9:59 AM
To: Gregory Arthur Clark
Subject: RE: Updated request for SCC information

If you cannot spell my name correctly, don't bother me.

----------------

GC: I apologize for the unintentional misspelling of your name.

That said, your refusal to allow legitimate requests to the SCC chair on the basis of a spelling error is inappropriate, unprofessional, and arguably in violation of the Utah Administrative Code regarding the SCC.

========

SA: If you are interested in being a part of the solution do so.

-----------

GC: I am very interested in being part of a solution to several important problems affecting West High. One of those important problems is the involuntary and inappropriate transfer of Mr. McGuire, which was addressed at the SCC meeting of 29 August 2011. This problem continues to impact the education of West students. The continuing failure of the SCC to provide the information that I am requesting is an impediment to obtaining relevant information that might be applied to the solution to this important problem.

Another important problem is the timely release of accurate and appropriate information by the District administration, including West High administration.

Finally, with respect to the SCC, I remind you that I personally wrote and posted a brief unofficial description of the August 29, 2011 SCC meeting on the same night that the meeting was held. I found no "technical situations that [had] to be worked through" in order to do so. In contrast, SCC still remains unwilling or unable to provide minutes of this meeting, in apparent violation of the Utah Administrative Code. The contrast is telling.

The appropriate public distribution of the SCC agenda and minutes is the responsibility of the SCC chair and the West High Administration, as specified in the Utah Administrative Code.

==========

SA: I have not been the SCC chair and am not responsible for what has not been done in the past.

---

GC: Granted, there is evidence for a systematic, long-term, and persistent failure on the part of multiple individuals to provide required SCC information, as indicated in my original letter raising concerns regarding the SCC's violation of the Utah Administrative Code. Note Principal Jacobs' continued role throughout the period in question.

That said, the past failure of others does not excuse the failure of the present SCC to provide the agendas of the 29 August 2011 and 12 September 2011 SCC meeting, and the continued failure to provide the minutes of the 29 August 2011 SCC meeting, as required by the Utah Administrative code. Nor do others' past failures excuse your present refusal to provide information as to how one may obtain access to the audio recordings of SCC meetings.

=========

SA: When the minutes are completed they will be posted as required.

-----

GC: Thank you for indicating that the SCC meeting minutes I requested have not been completed.

This failure to complete and provide minutes is in apparent violation of the Utah Administrative Code, which specifies that the minutes of the previous meeting (e.g., August 29 SCC meeting) shall be posted on the school’s official website one week prior to the SCC meeting (e.g., September 12 SCC meeting).

Your present explanation for the SCC's failure to provide the required and requested materials presents an interesting companion to your previous explanation posted on Whipsnet that "there are technical situations that have to be worked through." I am unaware of any technical situations that would preclude writing the SCC minutes.

==========

SA: When the agendas are completed they will be posted as well.

GC: Agendas for the 29 August 2011 and 12 September 2011 SCC meetings were in fact completed, but nonetheless were not made publicly available in advance as specified by the Utah Administrative Code.

Whipsnet is not an appropriate fully public forum, and does not serve as an appropriate substitute for posting on the official West High web site, as specified by the Utah Administrative Code.

End of GC replies interdigitated in this message.

===============

Steve Asay

From: "Greg Clark"
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 9:26 AM
To: 'steven asay'; 'Whipsnet'; west-parents...@googlegroups.com
Cc: gra...@comcast.net;Parley...@slc.k12.ut.us;amanda.t...@slcschools.org;alama....@slcschools.org;do...@mdxperts.com; rosemar...@gmail.com; heather...@xmission.com; laurel...@slcschools.org; kristi...@slcschools.org; mckell....@slcschools.org
Subject: RE: Updated request for SCC information

Re: “We are doing everything possible to meet the requirements of Utah State law concerning SCCs and their processes.”

-----

Mr. Assay,

You claim that you “are doing everything possible…” Seriously?

I take strong exception to your claim.

The Utah Administrative Code specifies that SCC agendas and minutes of the previous meeting shall be posted on the school’s official website ***ONE WEEK*** prior to the SCC meeting.

<http://www.rules.utah.gov/publicat/code/r277/r277-491.htm>.

In apparent violation of Utah Administrative Code, the SCC minutes have not been posted publicly on the official West High website for a ***FULL YEAR***. Agendas also have not been posted there for nearly a full year, again in apparent violation of the Code.

I recently sent you, West High administration, and others a copy of this code, pointing out these apparent violations.

Occasional mistakes and lateness can happen. But the minutes for a full year’s worth of SCC meeting have not been posted appropriately. Certainly, this is not in keeping with the claim that you “are doing everything possible”.

2. Many SCC agendas and minutes for older meetings have been and remain posted on the official West High web site, indicating that “technical situations” to posting on the West site are not, or at least have not previously been, a barrier. And there is no technical barrier to providing me directly with the SCC minutes I requested. I again urge you to do so promptly.

3. Your reply further strongly implies that the SCC minutes are not available anywhere as a matter of public record, again in apparent violation of the Utah Administrative Code. Posts on whipsnet are not fully public, as the site itself clearly indicates.

4. Minutes for this year’s SCC meetings have not been posted on whipsnet or anywhere else, to my knowledge.

5. Independent of technical issues, there is nothing that precludes you from providing me and others with the minutes and email addresses of SCC members as I had explicitly requested.

6. Calling on volunteers is not an appropriate substitute for the West High administration and SCC chair to fulfill their professional responsibilities.

I strongly urge you to bring the SCC into compliance with the Utah Administrative Code and to provide me with the information requested.

As you know, formal appeals involving West High individuals are underway. The minutes and recordings of the SCC are directly relevant to this process. The failure to post the SCC minutes provides an impediment to obtaining relevant information. Given involvement of the SCC in the process, and the potential conflict of interest for individuals controlling the release of SCC together with their own potential prior involvement in the activities that led to the matter under appeal, it strongly behooves the SCC to make this information available in a timely and appropriate manner.

Thank you.

Gregory Clark, Ph.D.

cc: BOE, Principal Jacobs, Superintendent Withers

From: steven asay [mailto:as...@katewwdb.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 8:35 AM
To: Whipsnet; Gregory Arthur Clark
Subject: Re: Updated request for SCC information

We are doing everything possible to meet the requirements of Utah State law concerning SCCs and their processes. There are, however, technical situations that have to be worked through. When those have been worked out locations of all expressed items will be posted. If people are interested in things happening faster, then they can volunteer to help with the process.

Steve Asay

SCC Chair

On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 11:05 PM, Gregory Clark <greg.a....@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Gregory Clark [mailto:greg.a....@gmail.com]
To: Parley...@slc.k12.ut.us;as...@katewwdb.com
Cc: amanda.t...@slcschools.org;alama....@slcschools.org;do...@mdxperts.com; rosemar...@gmail.com; heather...@xmission.com; laurel...@slcschools.org; kristi...@slcschools.org; mckell....@slcschools.org; west-parents...@googlegroups.com

Subject: SCC information and possible violations of the Utah Administrative Code

13 September 2011

Principal Jacobs, Principal, West High School;

Steven Asay, Chair, West High School Community Council

Firstly, I am writing to express my concerns that the West High School administration and/or the West High School Community Council (SCC) Chair(s) potentially are not fulfilling their professional responsibilities in a timely and appropriate manner with respect to SCC communications, in possible violation of the Utah Administrative Code, Rule R277-491. School Community Councils: <http://www.rules.utah.gov/publicat/code/r277/r277-491.htm>.

Providing accurate, timely, and appropriate information is an important component of the professional responsibilities for the Principal of West High School.

As a matter of public record, R277-491-4, School Community Council School/School Administrator Responsibilities (Appendix 1), specifies for example the following regarding SCC agendas and minutes:

"B. The school community council chair shall provide the following information to the school community, with assistance from the school administration:…

"(7) Posting the school community council meeting information (time, place and date of meeting; meeting agenda and previous meeting minutes) on the school's website at least one week prior to each meeting."

In apparent violation of the above regulations, SCC information regularly is not being posted on the West High School official website or provided elsewhere in a timely and appropriate manner.

For example, no SCC agenda has been posted on the West High web site <http://west.slcschools.org/ptsa/ptsa_index.html> since October 2010 (Appendix 2).

Similarly, no SCC minutes have been posted there for any SCC meeting beyond September 13 2010, a full year ago.

Partial information regarding SCC agendas, elections, and minutes is being distributed to a closed, not-fully-public group <http://groups.google.com/group/whipsnet/about> that by self-description is "not affiliated with the Salt Lake School District" and to which only selected persons have access. But even there the information there is late and incomplete.

Secondly, I am also writing to request information regarding the SCC that so far I have been unable to locate on the West High web site or elsewhere.

Please indicate

1) where one can find a copy (preferably electronic) of the recent minutes for the West High SCC meetings;

2) How one can obtain or access the audio recordings of the SCC meetings;

3) The email addresses of the SCC members.

I look forward to receiving this information and to appropriate corrective actions being taken in a timely and appropriate manner.

Given the apparent growing pattern of misrepresentation of information by District adminstration; the direct relevance of recent SCC meetings to ongoing appeals and actions; and the potential personal involvement of individuals responsible for the SCC postings in the very matters now being appealed, a continued, persistent, and willful failure to provide SCC information in a timely and appropriate manner would be particularly damaging.

Thank you.

Gregory A. Clark, Ph.D.

greg.a....@gmail.com

Appendixes:

Appendix 1.

Utah Administrative Code. Rule R277-491. School Community Councils.

Appendix 2.

SCC information copied on 9/13/2011 from official West High School websitehttp://west.slcschools.org/ptsa/ptsa_index.html

Appendix 1

Utah Administrative Code. Rule R277-491. School Community Councils.

<http://www.rules.utah.gov/publicat/code/r277/r277-491.htm>.

=====================================================

Utah Administrative Code

The Utah Administrative Code is the body of all effective administrative rules as compiled and organized by the Division of Administrative Rules (Subsection63G-3-102(5); see also Sections63G-3-701 and702).

NOTE: For a list of rules that have been made effective since August 1, 2011, please see thecodification segue page.

NOTE TO RULEFILING AGENCIES: Use the RTF version for submitting rule changes.

Download theRTF file

R277. Education, Administration.

R277-491. School Community Councils.

R277-491-1. Definitions.

A. "Board" means the Utah State Board of Education.

B. "Candidate" means a parent or school employee who has filed for election to the school community council.

C. "Contested race" means the election of members to a school community council when there are more candidates than open positions.

D. "Days" means calendar days unless otherwise specifically designated.

E. "Develop school improvement plan and school trust program and other programs" means to participate actively in the creation of plans, including analysis of school assessment data, development of School LAND Trust budgets, and review of School LAND Trust expenditures under Section 53A-16-101.5(5)(a)(iv) and 53A-16-101.5(6)(b)(ii). This may include establishing subcommittees where needed or assigning work to individuals.

F. "Parent" means the parent or legal guardian of a student attending the non-charter public school or of a student who will be enrolled at the school in the next school year.

G. "Parent member" means a parent or guardian of a student who is attending the school or of a student who will be enrolled at the school in the next school year if the election is held in the spring. A parent member of a school community council may not include a person who meets the definition of a school employee member unless the person's employment at the school does not exceed an average of six hours per week, consistent with Section 53A-1a-108(1)(a)(ii).

H. "School administrator" means a school principal, school assistant principal or designee as specifically assigned by the school administrator.

I. "School community" means the geographic area designated by the school district as the attendance area with reasonable inclusion of the parents or legal guardians of additional students who are attending the school.

J. "School employee member" means a person employed at the school for more than an average of six hours per week by the school or school district; the principal is one school employee member.

K. "Secure ballot box" means a closed container prepared by the school for the deposit of secret ballots for the school community council elections.

L. "Student" means a child in public school grades kindergarten through twelve counted on the audited October 1 Fall Enrollment Report.

M. "Students attending the school" for purposes of this rule means students currently attending the school and those officially enrolled to attend the school in the next school year.

N. "USDB" means the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.

O. "USOE" means the Utah State Office of Education.

R277-491-2. Authority and Purpose.

A. This rule is authorized by Utah Constitution Article X, Section 3 which vests general control and supervision of public education in the Board and by Section 53A-1-401(3) which permits the Board to adopt rules in accordance with its responsibilities.

B. Local boards of education for school districts and the State Charter School Board for state-sponsored charter schools are responsible for school community council operations, plans, oversight, and training.

C. The purpose of this rule is to:

(1) provide procedures and clarifying information to school community councils to assist them in fulfilling school community council responsibilities consistent with Section 53A-1a-108(3);

(2) provide direction to school districts and schools in establishing and maintaining school community councils whose primary focus is to develop, approve, and assist in implementing school improvement plans, and advise school/school district administrators consistent with Sections 53A-1a-108(3) and 53A-16-101.5;

(3) provide a framework and support for improved academic achievement of students that is locally driven from within individual schools, through critical review of testing results and other indicators of student success, by establishing meaningful, measurable goals and implementing research-based programs and processes to reach the goals;

(4) encourage increased participation of the parents, school employees and others that support the purposes of the school community councils; and

(5) encourage compliance with the law in the election of school community councils, in meeting reporting requirements, in complying with open and public meetings requirements.

R277-491-3. School Community Council Member Election Provisions.

A. Parents may stand for election as parent members of a school community council at a school if their child(ren) are attending the school or will be enrolled at the school in the next school year if the community council election is held in the spring.

B. Parents may vote for the school community council parent members if their child(ren) are enrolled or will be attending the school in the next school year, consistent with the intent to encourage the greatest participation possible of all available parents.

C. School community councils may establish procedures that allow for ballots to be clearly marked and mailed to the school in the case of geography or school distances that would otherwise discourage parent participation. Hand-delivered or mailed ballots shall meet the same timelines for voters voting in person.

D. Entire school districts or schools may allow parents to vote by electronic ballot. If school districts/schools allow voting by electronic means, the opportunity shall be clearly explained on the school district/school website including:

(1) directions for electronic voting;

(2) security provisions for electronic voting;

(3) statement to parents and community members that violations of a school district's/school's voting procedures may disqualify a parent's vote or invalidate a specific school election, or both.

E. Ballots and voting are required only in the event of a school community council contested race.

F. School community councils are encouraged to establish clear and written:

(1) procedures that are consistent with state law, Board rules, and local board policies;

(2) procedures for the selection of school community council chairs and vice chairs;

(3) timelines and procedures for school community council elections that may include receiving information from applicants in a timely manner; and

(4) additional clarification and procedures to assist in the efficient operation of school community councils consistent with the law.

R277-491-4. School Community Council School/School Administrator Responsibilities.

A. A school administrator may not serve as chair or co-chair of the school community council.

B. The school community council chair shall provide the following information to the school community, with assistance from the school administration:

(1) Notice of dates and times of school community council elections at least 14 days before the elections are held;

(2) Timely notice of school community council positions that are up for election;

(3) Instructions for applying to become a school community council member together with timelines for submitting information and applications;

(4) Notice of the school community council meeting schedule, provided in the first 14 days of the school year;

(5) A summary of the school community council's actions and activities for the first half of the school year, provided mid-way through the school year;

(6) A summary of the annual expenditure report of all School LAND Trust Program funds provided to the school community and to the local board of education or State Charter School Board in the fall of the school year following the school year that the school plans were implemented; and

(7) Posting the school community council meeting information (time, place and date of meeting; meeting agenda and previous meeting minutes) on the school's website at least one week prior to each meeting, and on the access door(s) of the school on the day of the meeting.

B. The school community council chair, assisted by the school administrator, shall provide information on the school website and in at least one other direct delivery method ensuring that all parents are notified as provided in Section 53A- 1a-108(7)(a).

C. The school community council chair, assisted by the school administrator, shall act in compliance with the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act, Section 52-4-101 et seq., including:

(1) posting upcoming agendas and meeting locations;

(2) posting minutes of the most recent meeting;

(3) posting the agenda and location of the upcoming meeting on the school's website at least one week prior to the meeting;

(4) posting the agenda and location of the upcoming meeting on the school's access door on the day of the meeting;

(5) providing timely written minutes of the meeting; and

(6) recording the meeting, and other required or appropriate activities.

D. School community council responsibilities do not allow for closed meetings, consistent with the purposes of Section 52-4-205.

E. School community councils shall become familiar with and consider the following:

(1) Satisfying the meeting recording process with sensitivity for parents and community members whose primary language is not English; and

(2) The limitations of open and public meetings in secure or locked school settings and facilities.

R277-491-5. Parent Rights and Responsibilities.

A. Parents of students attending a school and to the extent possible, parents whose children will attend the school in the next school year (for spring community council elections) shall receive notice of open school community council positions and of elections consistent with Section 53A-1a-108.

B. Parents of students attending a school shall have access to schedules, agendas, minutes and decisions consistent with Sections 53A-1a-108(7) and (8).

C. School community council parent members shall participate fully in the development of various school plans described in Section 53A-1a-108(3) including, at a minimum:

(1) School Improvement Plan;

(2) School LAND Trust Plan;

(3) Reading Achievement Plan (for elementary schools);

(4) Professional Development Plan;

(5) Child Access Routing Plan; and

(6) Review of School Health Plans required under Section 53A-11-204.

D. Parents shall receive timely notice of school community council timelines and procedures that affect parent member elections, school community council meeting information and other parent rights or opportunities, consistent with state law, Board rules, and local board policy.

R277-491-6. Additional School Community Council Information and Provisions.

A. School community councils shall set the beginning terms for school community council members consistent with Section 53A-1a-108(5)(g).

B. School community councils shall report on plans, programs, and expenditures, including detailed descriptions of expenditures for professional development, at least annually to local boards of education and cooperate with the legislative and USOE monitoring, and audits.

C. School community councils may establish procedures and requirements for parent notification and election timelines that are not inconsistent with Sections 53A-1a-108, 53A-16-101.5, 52-4-101 et. seq., this rule, or local board policy.

D. Public schools that are secure facilities, juvenile detention facilities, hospital program schools, and other small special programs may receive all funds available to schools with school community councils if the schools demonstrate and document a good faith effort to recruit members, have meetings and publicize results as recognized and affirmed by local boards of education.

E. School community councils may designate districts, areas or grade levels in order to recruit school community council members from all areas of the school community. If parents from designated areas do not apply for the school community council positions, positions shall be filled with interested parents who do apply.

F. Local boards of education may ask school community councils to address local issues at the school community council level for discussion before bringing the issues to local boards of education. School community councils may be asked for information to inform local board decisions.

G. Local boards of education, and the State Charter School Board for state-sponsored charter schools, shall report approval dates of required plans to the USOE. School community councils are encouraged to advise and inform elected local board members.

H. Local boards of education make decisions in governing school districts with superintendents and principals acting under the direction and in behalf of local board of education in all areas of governance, including implementing approved School Improvement and School LAND Trust Program plans.

KEY: school community councils

Date of Enactment or Last Substantive Amendment: August 7, 2009

Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: Art X Sec 3; 53A-1-401(3)

Appendix 2

SCC information copied on 9/13/2011 from official West High School websitehttp://west.slcschools.org/ptsa/ptsa_index.html

A screen capture image is given below. [May not transmit via email. See also cut-and-paste version further below.]

SCC

The West High School Community Council is accepting nominations for membership on the Community Council. A ballot will be prepared and voting will take place at West High School, June 1, 2, 3, 2011 in the school’s main office and at the SCC meeting June 6th. If you have any questions please call West High School at801-578-8500 x.210.

Agendas Minutes

02/08/10 02/08/10

03/15/10 03/15/10

04/12/10 04/12/10

05/10/10 05/10/10

06/07/10 06/07/10 *n/a

08/30/10 08/30/10

09/13/10 09/13/10

10/11/10 10/11/10 *n/a

[* Minutes not available at the time of the September 13, 2011 screen capture or on September 15, 2011, as indicated by different text color evident on the web site and in the screen capture but not in the text pasted here. No information regarding subsequent SCC meetings was posted at this site. This note was added September 15, 2011.--GC]

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