Community Council
Layton High School Community Council
The purpose of the Community Council is to involve parents in decision making at the school level. Elected parents represent the parents of the school and participate in developing plans for improving the school, make decisions on how to best expend School LAND Trust Program funding, and increase public awareness of school trust lands and related policies.
- Meeting Schedule
- Community Council Members
- Current Year Agendas and Minutes
- Past years Agendas and Minutes
- LAND Trust and TSSA Plans
- Become Involved
- Rules of Order
Meeting Schedule
Time & Place:
- Meetings are typically held the second Monday of each month from 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. in the Media Center.
2022-2023 Meeting Dates:
- September 12, 2022 @ 3:30 p.m. in LHS Main Office
- October 10, 2022 @ 3:00
- November 14th @ 3:00
- December 12th @ 3:00
- January 9th @ 3:00
- February 13th @ 3:00
- March 13th @ 3:00
- April 10 @ 3:00
- May 8th @ 3:00
Community Council Members
Brock Jackman: Principal
Jeff Wyant: Assistant Principal
Melanie Smith: Parent (Council Chair)
Paul Anderson: Parent (Technology)
Ryan Mellor: Parent (Safety Representative)
Natalie Murray: Parent (Secretary)
Julie Parkinson: Parent (Book Representative)
Nicole Beckstead: Educator/Staff (VP)
Voting Members
Michelle Taylor: Educator/Staff
Steve Richards: Educator/Staff
Twila Bisk: Educator/Staff
Tami Black: Parent
Kathleen Wilcox: Parent
Justin Whitworth: Parent
Julie Batchelor: Parent
Paul Anderson: Parent
Current Year Agendas and Minutes
2023-2024:
Unless otherwise noted, meetings are held on the second Monday of each month at 3:00 p.m. in the main office conference room.
- September 11, 2023:
- Agenda |
Past years Agendas and Minutes
LAND Trust and TSSA Plans
Become Involved
Serving on the School's Community Council
Community Council Application
Serving on our School Community Council is a wonderful way for parents and teachers to contribute and help improve academic performance at our school. The school receives an annual dividend from the school trust lands. Our council decides how these funds will be used.
This year our school received approximately $$$$$ from the School LAND Trust Program! The council reviews and prepares other academic plans for our students each year. All plans are reviewed for final approval by our school board. Councils also act in an advisory capacity to school and school district administrations.
Watch for information on Community Council elections to be posted here in late spring or early summer. Elections are held at the beginning of the school year. Additionally, there may be occasional vacancies during the year that are filled by appointment by the remaining members of the Council. If a vacancy occurs, notice of the vacancy and an application form for those interested in serving will be posted here.
Watch for information on School Community Council elections to be posted here.
Rules of Order
Layton High School Community Council Bylaws
Last Amended April 12, 2021
(1) Purpose and Intent –
These Bylaws shall be the operating guidelines of the Layton High School Community Council (“LHSCC”). The intent of these Bylaws is to comply with the statutes enacted by the Utah State Legislature, currently contained in Utah Code Ann. §§53F-2-404, 53G-7-1202, 53G-7-1203, 53G-7-1205, 53G-7-1206, 53G-7-1305, and administrative rule.
(2) Composition of Council, Voting Rights, Term of Office –
LHSCC shall have eight parent or guardian-member (“parent-member”) positions and four school employee member positions, comprised of the Layton High School principal and three Layton High School employees.
Parent-members may be elected to serve individually or as couples with full voting rights; however, a single position, regardless of whether held by an individual or a couple, only has one vote for any business conducted by LHSCC. School employee members have full voting rights. The Layton High School principal shall serve as an ex officio member with full voting rights.
Parent-members are elected to two–year terms and are eligible to serve in office so long as they have a child enrolled in the school or will have a child enrolled in the school during their term in office. Four parent-member seats will each be representative of the four feeder junior high schools, while the remaining four parent-member seats will be at-large. Parent-member elections shall be staggered so that approximately fifty percent of the parent-members stand for election in a given year.
School employee members serve two-year terms.
In order to ensure that elected members are properly representing their constituents, any parent-member who fails to attend at least half of the scheduled council meetings during a single school year will be deemed to have vacated their position. Additionally, any parent-member who no longer lives within school boundaries, no longer has a child attending the school, and no longer otherwise meets the eligibility requirements to serve on the council shall automatically be deemed to have vacated their position upon concurrence by the principal and the chair and/or vice-chair. The vacant position will be filled in accordance with the procedures below.
(3) Election Procedures, Non-Election Vacancies –
Elections for parent-members and school employee members, including qualifications and notice requirements, will be conducted as outlined in Utah Code Ann. § 53G-7-1202. LHSCC shall determine a proposed timetable of specific dates for the annual spring elections at least one meeting prior to the elections.
Should a LHSCC member vacate their position before their normal term of office expires, or if vacancies remain after an election, then the parent-members of LHSCC shall appoint a qualified parent or guardian of a Layton High School student (“community member”) to fill any parent-member vacancies and the school employee members shall appoint a qualified school employee to fill any school employee member vacancies. The new member shall serve the remaining portion of the term for which they were appointed.
(4) Council Leadership –
LHSCC shall elect a chair, vice-chair, and secretary from its membership at the first meeting of the school year. The chair will be selected from the parent-members. The vice-chair may be a parent-member or school employee member, excluding the principal. The secretary may be a parent-member or a school employee member. The leadership shall be elected to serve a one-year term.
The chair shall conduct LHSCC meetings; prepare the meeting agenda; be familiar with and seek to help LHSCC follow the laws and rules required of community councils; and coordinate issues falling under LHSCC jurisdiction between LHSCC, school administration, and the community at large.
The vice-chair shall assist the chair in carrying out the chair’s duties, including assuming the chair’s duties due to a short-term absence.
The secretary shall assist the chair and vice-chair in carrying out their duties, shall take minutes and roll for all members and visitors present at LHSCC meetings, and shall assemble the minutes as a record copy to be published at least one week prior to the next meeting.
(5) Meetings –
All LHSCC meetings will comply with the notice requirements of Utah Code Ann. § 53G-7-1203. The first meeting of a new school year will be set at the last meeting of the prior school year. The remaining regular meetings of a school year will be set at the first meeting of the school year. Additional meetings may be scheduled as needed throughout the year provided that appropriate notice is given to the public.
At each LHSCC meeting, the principal or their designee shall provide an updated accounting of the current year’s funding status for the school, including the balance of expenditures, what monies remain encumbered, and any remaining unspent funds.
Discussion and/or debate of any item in any council meeting shall be limited to no more than ten minutes; however, should additional time for discussion and/or debate be required, the council may vote to suspend the ten-minute rule to allow for additional time.
Consistent with the Utah Public and Open Meetings Act, Utah Code Ann. § 52-4-101 et seq., LHSCC may conduct a meeting by electronic means in a manner otherwise consistent with these bylaws and state law, so long as:
(a) there exists a substantial risk to the health and safety of those who would otherwise be physically present at the meeting;
(b) the chair, or the vice-chair in the absence of the chair, and the principal jointly make a written finding that there exists a substantial risk to the health and safety of those who would otherwise be physically present at the meeting, and state the facts supporting such a finding, with said finding to expire not more than thirty (30) days after signing; and,
(c) the appropriate notice to both the council members and the public of how to participate and/or observe the meeting is provided.
(6) Rules of Order and Procedure, Conduct, Conflicts of Interest –
LHSCC will conduct its meetings using Robert’s Rules of Order as guidance; however, it is not the intent of LHSCC to allow debate of parliamentary rules to overshadow the main purposes and goals of LHSCC. Members of LHSCC may speak freely during discussion of agenda items regarding the current topic without the need to be recognized by the chair. All members shall conduct themselves professionally and show respect for other members’ and the public’s positions even if they disagree with the stated position. In short, civil discourse is not only encouraged but expected.
All community members as defined in Section 3 are welcome to attend and observe LHSCC meetings.
Community members are urged to share their opinions with LHSCC members in advance of LHSCC meetings. LHSCC parent-members in particular are elected or appointed to represent community members and their views. LHSCC members may reasonably sponsor community members as witnesses on specific agenda items, but are encouraged wherever possible to arrange this in advance of the meeting with the chair. Anyone attending a LHSCC meeting who becomes disruptive will be warned and if the disruption continues will be required to leave.
Due to the fiduciary nature of some of LHSCC’s responsibilities, any LHSCC member with a conflict of interest regarding a specific agenda item shall disclose the conflict at the outset of the discussion. If the conflict is financial in nature, the member shall recuse themselves from any vote on the matter and shall refrain from debate on the matter, but may be invited to participate in the discussion at the discretion of the council. If the conflict is something other than financial in nature, the member may still participate in the discussion but shall recuse themselves from any vote on the matter.