Salmon Bay BLT Bylaws

Established April 2015
Revised August 2017

Purpose

The primary function of the Building Leadership Team is to promote and facilitate the collaborative decision making process of the school. Specific areas that the BLT works to develop are the Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (C-SIP), professional development planning in support of the C-SIP, and development of the school budget.

Amending Bylaws

School staff or BLT members may advance a proposal for amendment of the BLT Bylaws. The BLT will bring the proposed amendment to the faculty for consideration and approval. Bylaws amendments shall require at least two-thirds majority of votes for approval.

Meetings

Roles

Note Taker
Takes notes of the meeting and make available to the BLT within 2 weeks. Remains neutral to content; Supports facilitator; Records basic ideas; Checks accuracy of perceptions; Distributes draft minutes in a timely manner (1-2 weeks) to the BLT members for review
After review and BLT approval, forwards minutes to webmaster for posting and places copy of the minutes in a BLT notebook.
Timekeeper
Monitor the time allocations on the agenda; Periodically remind the team members of time constraints; Asks whether people are ready to move to decision; Identifies when more time is needed for discussion.
Chair
Starts and ends the meeting
Reminds staff of next meeting
Establishes agenda items working with school administration
Facilitates the flow of the meeting
Calls on team members
Keeps discussion on target without dominating the conversation
Helps search for and suggest compromise solutions
Helps resolve conflict between team member

Agenda

An agenda will be shared with all members the week before a scheduled meeting, or as soon as possible when an emergency meeting is scheduled.

Schedule

The Building Leadership Team will meet at least once each month during the school year. Additional meetings may be called, if necessary. All meetings are open to the entire staff. A schedule of these meetings will be sent electronically to the entire staff.

BLT Membership

Any staff may serve on the BLT. Terms are 2-year, but may be extended to 3 years if extenuating circumstances apply (such as high-team turnover or a high number of individuals rolling off the BLT) and representative team members request an extension of an additional year of service. In May, vacancies for the BLT will be shared with the staff. Individuals may nominate themselves or others for the BLT. A vote/selection on candidates for the BLT will occur at the 2nd staff meeting in May if a representative cannot be selected from team members.

Any Salmon Bay parent may serve on the BLT. Parent representatives will also serve on the BLT for 2-year terms. Terms for parent representatives may be extended to 3 years in the following circumstances:

To provide for continuity of representation when a parent leaves mid-term. This will occur to allow for staggered terms of BLT parent reps and ideally maintain at least one parent rep with prior BLT experience in a given year.
To provide for continuity of the BLT in the event of administration changes at the school (e.g., when both principal and assistant principal leaves it may be desirable to keep the BLT members intact to help onboard new leadership)

In the spring, vacancies in the Parent representative positions will be advertised to the parent community. Applicants for the BLT will be screened and selected by the sitting BLT. The Salmon Bay Building Leadership Team shall consist of the following members:

One Classroom Teacher K-2
One Classroom Teacher 3-5
One Classroom Teacher 6th Grade
One Classroom Teacher Cascades
One Classroom teacher Olympics
One Certificated Specialist
One Certified SPED
Two SEA Represented Classified
Building Principal
- Two parent representatives (Ideally one Elementary and one Middle School)

Each representative on the BLT has the responsibility to gather input from constituents and to represent the interests of his/her group as well as his/her own views.

Decision Making

Depending on an issue, some final and binding decisions are made by the total staff, and some by the BLT or committees. Salmon Bay?s Decision Making Matrix addresses and delineates decision-making authority for a variety of situations. BLT discretion will be guided by the following:

The BLT will be able to act on behalf of the staff because:
- Every staff member has elected representation on the BLT.
- BLT members will be responsible to communicate and seek input from their constituents.
- It is the responsibility of both the BLT members and the staff to communicate with each other.
- The BLT will have agendas the week before the meetings so that they can seek input.
- BLT meetings are generally open if interested parties want to attend unless an executive session is called for reasons of confidentiality
A decision-making matrix approved by the staff as part of the BLT bylaws will guide the BLT.
Any BLT member may request that a decision of the BLT be reviewed. Consensus is the goal. Consensus exists when all members of the BLT are willing to accept a decision. When consensus has been reached, all members agree that they can ?live with the decision.? When consensus can?t be reached, a 2/3 majority of the votes will pass a proposal at a BLT meeting.
- Abstentions do not count against, but are recorded.
- Specific objections are recorded upon request, but can?t be anonymous.
Safeguard for Expression of Minority Viewpoints. When a decision is made by the BLT this will be reflected in the minutes or in the relevant document (C-SIP, PD Plan, Budget). Staff and the community with concerns should read and review the minutes or talk with a BLT representative or school leadership to understand decisions that have been made. Staff members may file a ?Statement of Concern? in writing if they would like the decision in question to be reviewed. The statement of concern should have a clear description of the stated concern, reasons for opposition to the decision, and also suggested revision or alternate solutions that would address the issues involved. Statements of concern should be submitted to the BLT Chair or Principal for review within two weeks of the decision in question being shared with the staff. The recommended decision will be revisited and the concern will be given consideration.
Implementation of a Decision. The role and/or responsibilities of the Salmon Bay BLT as outlined in the decision making matrix is based on the following norms or agreements:
The Salmon Bay BLT recognizes that the principal must make some decisions related to scheduling, budget accountability, personnel (workloads, work locations, income), assignment of students, professional performance, discipline, student retention and curriculum based upon Seattle School District directives, state or federal laws or timeline. Whenever possible, stakeholder input will be solicited, and rationale for decisions will be shared with staff.

Record Keeping

It shall be the responsibility of the BLT to retain, within the school building, records of its meetings and actions for a period of six (6) years, after which these records will be forwarded to Seattle School District Archives. These records will include agendas, minutes, and any other pertinent business of the BLT.

Committees

Composition/Selection of Building Committees

The principal will work with the BLT to develop a committee structure for the school. Teachers will be polled for their interest in serving on a building committee. Based on teacher preferences and school needs and in consultation with teachers the principal will draft an initial committee membership list that will be shared with staff and ratified or modified within the first two weeks of the school year. Each committee member will have a chair and a staff representative of the BLT (who is not the committee chair).

Work Tasks – Committee Goals

Committee Goals will be broadly framed by the Building Leadership Team when they propose the committee structure for the upcoming year. These goals will be communicated to committee chair by the principal or a building leadership team member. Building committees may also set specific goals and tasks to be responsive to perceived needs as the year progresses in areas such as professional development, development of resources, school events, or projects. Committees should communicate their work plan/goals to the BLT and in regular updates to the whole staff via email or at staff meetings as appropriate.

Yearly Review and Future Planning

The BLT shall engage in an annual self-evaluation process in the spring for the purpose of reviewing and updating the Comprehensive School Improvement Plan. The BLT will review available data such as state test scores, climate data, and may also survey the staff to gather feedback and data that the BLT can use internally to inform its priorities and effectiveness within the school.

BLT Retreat

A Building Leadership Team Retreat will be planned in the spring of each year to be held during the summer of the same year for the purpose of:

Reviewing the BLT Bylaws
Providing orientation for new members
Planning the fall TRI days and start of year PD

Salmon Bay K-8 Decision Making Matrix

Subject: School Improvement Plan/C-SIP
Review and Recommendation: BLT
Decision: 2/3 SEA represented staff *

Subject: Budget
Review and Recommendation: BLT
Decision: 2/3 SEA represented staff *

Subject: Professional Development
Review and Recommendation: BLT
Decision: 2/3 SEA represented staff *

Subject: School-Wide Events
Review and Recommendation: GLT, Program Teams
Decision: Admin/Principal

Subject: BLT By-Laws
Review and Recommendation: BLT
Decision: 2/3 SEA represented staff *

Subject: New or Amended Rules or Policies
Review and Recommendation: BLT
Decision: Admin/Principal

Subject: Curriculum Changes
Review and Recommendation: BLT
Decision: Admin/Principal

Subject: Fundraisers
Review and Recommendation: Admin/FOSB
Decision: Principal/FOSB

Subject: Grant Requests for activities or resources used during the school day
Review and Recommendation: Admin
Decision: Principal

Subject: Grant Requests for activities or experiences outside of the school day
Review and Recommendation: FOSB/Admin
Decision: FOSB

Subject: Hiring
Review and Recommendation: Hiring Team
Decision: HR/Principal

Subject: Master Schedule
Review and Recommendation: Admin, Scheduling Committee**
Decision: Principal

Subject: Room Assignments
Review and Recommendation: Admin
Decision: Principal

Subject: Safety
Review and Recommendation: Safety Committee
Decision: Admin

Notes:

All members of the community may develop proposals within the school. The review and recommendation team will then review the proposals.

*We strive for consensus of represented staff. For votes on C-SIP, BLT elections, School Budget, Professional Development passage by2/3 SEA-represented staffmeans at least 2/3 of certificated staff AND 2/3 SEA-represented classified staff AND 2/3 of the votes cast are in favor of the item(s) proposed.Abstentionswill not count as either for or against the ballot proposal but will be recorded.

**We recognize it is important to gather input from staff about the master schedule. This will be communicated throughout the year through departments, program teams and staff meetings, and documented by the Scheduling Committee. When possible, all staff will give input, but we recognize at times decisions need to be made over the summer to accommodate changes?

All decisions failing to receive approval by 2/3rds eligible staff return back to BLT for further appropriate action.

Admin = Administration
GLT = Grade Level Team
BLT = Building Leadership Team
PT = Program Team (Gen Ed, ELL, Sp Ed)
CT = Certificated Staff
FOSB = Parent/Teacher Association
CS = Classified Staff
D = Departments (LA, SS, Math, Arts, PE, etc.)

Salmon Bay K-8 Decision-Making Process

Subject/Proposal
The subject/proposal is brought from any individual to the Review & Recommendation body*. Note that when a person or group makes a proposal to the R & R body, this person or group is responsible for following the proposal throughout the process and communicating relevant information to those who may have input.

Review
The Review & Recommendation body reviews the subject/proposal presented. The R&R body refers the subject/proposal to those who may have input. Person or group bringing subject/proposal is welcome to attend and may give input during this review. (In some cases, the R&R body may recommend the subject/proposal move directly to a decision making body.)

Input
Those who may have input review the proposal already reviewed by the R&R body. Those who may have input may do so through the following R&R body.

Recommendation
The R&R bodies recommend the subject/proposal either be moved forward to a decision making body or moved back to those who may have input for further review.

Decision
Decision is made by decision-making body. Decision- making body will communicate results to the owner of the original proposal within 72 hours of the decision.

*Review and Recommendation Body is referred to as R&R body

Decision
Decision is made by decision-making body. Decision- making body will communicate results to the owner of the original proposal within 72 hours of the decision.