The Board of Education recognizes that citizen advisory committees provide a valuable method whereby citizens and educators can better understand the attitudes and opinions which are held in the school-community environment.
The Board, or the Superintendent with the Board's approval, may appoint citizen advisory committees to advise the Board on school problems, needs and issues as the need arises.
These committees shall serve strictly in an advisory capacity and shall not act as a policy-making body.
Advisory committees shall be appointed for a specific purpose. When the specified purpose is achieved, the committee shall be dissolved.
Every effort shall be made to select committee members in a manner which ensures that the committee represents a cross section of qualified people throughout the district, except in those cases where a committee is established to address the needs of a particular segment of the school population or community. A balance of males and females, ethnic representation and geographic location shall be sought in the composition of each committee. The Board shall review this balance before making final the appointments of committee members and alternates.
A written charge shall be given to each committee and shall include but not be limited to:
1. The specific topic(s) for study or well-defined area(s) of activity.
2. The specific period of time that the committee will serve.
3. Legal requirements regarding the conduct and public notification of meetings.
4. Resources available to help the committee complete its tasks.
5. Timelines for progress reports and/or final report.
6. Appropriate Board policies and administrative regulations.
7. The procedure to be used in the selection of the committee chairperson and other committee officers.
8. Procedure for regular communication to the Board and presentation of final report.
The Board shall have the sole power to dissolve any of its advisory committees and shall reserve the right to exercise this power at any time during the life of any committee.
District advisory committees are subject to the open meeting laws (The Brown Act) and should be conducted accordingly.
Notices of all advisory meetings shall be announced publicly. All meetings shall be open to the public and conducted in accordance with the state open meetings laws. The Board shall see that the public is informed of all major conclusions and recommendations made by such committees.
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
35169 Advisory committees
35172 Promotional activities
44032 Travel expense payment
44033 Automobile allowance
Policy EAST WHITTIER CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
adopted: August 28, 2017 Whittier, California