608-873-3343St. Ann Parish School Education Commission By-Laws
Adopted March 4, 2021
Article I: TITLE
Section 1: The name of this body shall be the Education Commission of St.
Ann Parish School, Stoughton, Wisconsin.
Article II: NATURE AND PURPOSE
Section 1: The purpose of the Commission is to further the teaching mission
within the parish school.
Section 2: The Education Commission of St. Ann is hereby established by
the Principal, with the support of the Pastor and approved by the Pastoral
Council. The Commission assumes advisory responsibility for education in
the parish school.
Section 3: The Commission supports the implementation of the policies of
the Diocese of Madison and ensures regulations made by the Diocesan
Office of Catholic Schools and the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis
are put into effect by local administrators.
Section 4: The Commission, in its advisory capacity, recommends policy to
the Pastor and Principal to guide the school’s educational programming.
ARTICLE III: FUNCTIONS
Section 1: The Commission is responsible for recommending long-range
and short-range goals and objectives for parish school education programs.
Section 2: The Commission will periodically review and evaluate progress
toward these goals and objectives.
Section 3: The Education Commission shall assist the Principal and Pastor
in:
- Communicating policies, including those made by the Diocesan
- Office of Catholic Schools, to all stakeholders;
- Fostering understanding and support for those policies among
- parishioners;
- Reviewing and monitoring implementation of policies.
Section 4: The Commission may sponsor and participate in events and
activities that pursue the goals and objectives of the Commission.
Section 5: The Commission may review and/or advise on school budget
at the request of the Principal or Pastor.
Section 6: The Commission is responsible for providing an organized
agenda for meetings and preparing accurate minutes of meetings and
posting on the website to be maintained as part of the permanent
record.
ARTICLE IV: MEMBERSHIP
Section 1: ELIGIBILITY - The Education Commission shall be composed
of no more than 12 voting members. The Education Commission also
includes the following non-voting ex officio members: Principal, Pastor
and/or school or parish staff representatives.
The voting members should be a diverse representation of the stakeholders
who are concerned about the education within the parish. These members
should be appointed for a term of three years with the possibility of re-
appointment. One member of the Education Commission shall serve as
liaison to the Pastoral Council.
All registered members of the school and parish community shall be eligible
for membership. The Commission may collect nominations for all eligible
members. The Principal and Pastor review all nominations and may, at their
discretion, enlist the Commission’s assistance in screening nominees. The
Principal and Pastor determine which nominees are appointed to the
Commission.
Section 2: NOMINATIONS - New members shall be nominated at the March
meeting of the Education Commission. The names are to be submitted to the
Principal and Pastor for approval. Appointments should be finalized and
notified before the May meeting and receive orientation prior to the September
meeting. New members will begin serving at the September meeting.
Section 3: TERMS - All terms shall consist of three years. Members shall be
limited to two consecutive terms. A former member of the Commission shall
be eligible for membership again, after having not served on the Commission
for at least one year. This section may be amended by a majority vote of the
Education Commission. Should a member be unable to complete her or his
term, the Principal or Pastor will appoint someone to serve the remainder of
the term. At the end of such an appointment, the appointed person may either
be dismissed or retained to serve a full term on the Commission.
Section 4: SUB-COMMITTEES - Subcommittees within the commission will
include committees as needed. Membership of sub-committees will include
education commission members and may include other stakeholders.
Section 5: ATTENDANCE - Members are to notify the Chairperson of the
Education Commission prior to the scheduled meeting if unable to attend. If a
member has three absences without notification to the chair within one year,
he/she shall be contacted by the Principal or Pastor to discuss his/her future
membership on the Education Commission.
ARTICLE V: OFFICERS
Section 1: APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS - The officers of the
Commission shall be appointed prior to the September meeting and include
a chair, vice-chair and a secretary. Officers serve a term of two years. Chair
and vice chairperson must have at least one year prior experience serving on
the Commission. Vice-chair does not automatically become chair.
Section 2: DUTIES OF OFFICERS - The duties of the chairperson, vice-
chairperson and secretary shall be as follows:
- The chair shall preside at all regular and special meetings. The chair shall determine the agenda in consultation with the School Principal and Pastor.
- The vice-chair or designee, in the absence of the chair, shall perform all of the duties of the chair.
- The secretary shall record minutes of Commission meetings and provide copies of minutes to Commission members and stakeholders as required. The secretary shall preserve reports and records committed to his/her care.
- The chair, vice-chair, secretary and immediate past chair shall serve on the executive committee. The purpose of the executive committee is to assist in preparing the agenda for the meetings.
- The executive committee is responsible for transferring all records and conducting transition with new executive committee members.
ARTICLE VI: MEETINGS
Section 1: FREQUENCY - The Commission shall meet monthly, September
through May. Dates, locations and times for meetings shall be determined at
the September meeting.
Section 2: QUORUM - To transact Education Commission business, a
quorum of voting members must be present. A quorum is 50% of voting
members +1.
Section 3: SPECIAL MEETINGS - Special meetings may be called by the
chair, Principal or Pastor as required or at the request of a majority of
members.
Section 4: OPEN MEETINGS - All regular meetings of the
Commission shall be open to all stakeholders.
Section 5: NON-MEMBER ATTENDANCE - Non-members wishing to
address the Education Commission must submit their requests for agenda
items to the chair no less than a week before the scheduled meeting.
Presentation of items by non-members shall be limited to five minutes. At
the close of each agenda item, comments by the public will be entertained.
Action on the item may or may not be taken at that time, at the discretion of
the Commission.
Section 6: CLOSED MEETINGS - The Commission may hold closed
session meetings for discussion of personnel or other business when such
discussions, if held in public, might be harmful to reputations, untimely or
restricted. Closed sessions may be called by the chair, Principal or Pastor or
at the request of a majority of the Commission members.
ARTICLE VII: CONDUCT OF MEETINGS
Section 1: CONSENSUS - The Commission will attempt to arrive at
consensus in its deliberations. In the absence of consensus, the Commission
will utilize parliamentary procedures as outlined in Robert’s Rules of Order.
Section 2: AGENDA - The Commission meetings will be run according to the
agenda prepared by the executive committee.
Section 3: ORDER OF MEETINGS - Commission members shall agree on
the order of regular meetings (i.e. Opening prayer, approval of the minutes,
old business etc.)
Section 4: POLICY RECOMMENDATION PROCESS - Proposed policy
recommendations must be presented and discussed at two, separate meetings
before being recommended for adoption. Each policy must undergo:
- An initial reading and discussion and revisions
- A second reading, discussion and revisions
- Consensus or vote to recommend or dismiss
ARTICLE VIII: AMENDMENTS
Section 1: By-laws of the Education Commission may be amended by a vote
of two thirds of the voting membership present (excluding ex-officio
members), subject to approval by the Principal and/or Pastor.
Section 2: Amendments must be presented to the Commission members at
least two weeks prior to a vote.
By-laws for the St. Ann Parish School Education Commission -
February 2, 2021 - drafted by: Kara Roisum, Principal; Lynn Wood, Education
February 2, 2021 - drafted by: Kara Roisum, Principal; Lynn Wood, Education
Commission Chair; Virginia Carrano, Education Commission Member. Adopted March 10, 2021