Community Council

Welcome to our schools Community Council. Our purpose is to address the academic needs of students at the local level by evaluating and providing opportunities and programs for their benefit.

WHAT IS A SCHOOL COMMUNITY COUNCIL? HOW CAN I SERVE?

School Community Councils are elected parent/guardian and employee representatives who work together with the principal to increase student achievement. By law the Council is responsible to review school data and develop plans for school improvement. Councils also allocate the LAND Trust funds to assist the school in reaching achievement goals. Please see the Granite School District web page for more information regarding the roles and responsibilities of Community Councils (www.graniteschools.org).

Parents elect parent representatives and employees elect employees for two-year terms. To be eligible, a parent must have a student enrolled in the school for at least one of the years and may not be employed by the school for more than an average of six hours per week per month. Elections are held August 29-31 via an online election established through Granite School District.

We invite you to become involved in your school’s Community Council by declaring your candidacy. Please print and fill out this form if you are interested in running for a position on our school community council: Declaration of Candidacy (URL).

Meeting Schedule and Agenda

Community members are invited to attend council meetings, but do not hold influence over council discussion points or decisions. If you have a concern for your Community Council, please reach out before-hand to one of the council members.

Meetings are held once a month at 3:30 PM in the Cottonwood Elementary Conference Room unless otherwise noted.

• Location: Please visit our school calendar for dates of all meetings
• Time: 3:30 PM
• Next Agenda: Review the agenda for our upcoming meeting.
• Meeting Dates:
  • 9/18/2024 (rescheduled from original date of 9/25)
  • 10/23/2024
  • 11/20/2024
  • No December Meeting
  • 1/22/2025
  • 2/19/2025
  • 3/11/2025 @ 1:00 PM
  • 4/23/2025

Council Members

Council Members are chosen by election and are a mixture of school staff and community members. Candidacy and election procedures begin before each school year.

Invitation to serve on the council: We warmly invite parents to serve on our school's community council. Information about council vacancies, declarations of candidacy forms, and elections are emailed sent out in August of each year.

Serving on the Community Council allows parents to directly influence the way LAND Trust funds are used during the school year, which can include programs, materials, and other education-based solutions.

LAND Trust

Please visit this LAND Trust Public Report page to see the dollar amount our school receives each year from the School LAND Trust program, our school's final reports from the last two years, and a copy of our school's current LAND Trust plan.

The actual, current, and expected funding history for each school can be found online using the LAND Trust Funding Report.

2024-2025

• School Plan / Final Report
• Funds received: $47,683.58
• Funds used for: Salaries and Benefits, Technology related supplies, Expendable items

2023-2024

• School Plan / Final Report
• Funds received: $52,063.11
• Funds used for: Salaries and Benefits, Technology related supplies, Expendable items, Books/Ebooks and online curriculum

2022-2023

• School Plan / Final Report
• Funds received: $53,581.73
• Funds used for: Salaries and Benefits, Technology related supplies, Expendable items, Books/Ebooks and online curriculum

Rules of Order and Procedure

• Council members will receive training to understand the responsibilities of the council. Council members receive training before preparing and taking action on School LAND Trust Plans and reports.
• All meetings are open to the public and the public is welcome to attend. (required)
• The agenda of each upcoming meeting, with draft minutes of the prior meeting, will be made available to all council members at least one week in advance, and will be posted on the school website. The agenda will include the date, time, and location of the meeting, and any proposed action items.
• Written minutes will be kept of all meetings, prepared in draft format for approval at the next scheduled meeting.
• Approved minutes will be retained for three years.
• The chair conducts the meetings (required), makes assignments and requests reports on assignments. In the absence of the chair the vice-chair shall conduct meetings.
• The council must have a quorum to vote. A quorum is a majority of council members.
• Meetings shall be conducted and action taken according to very simplified rules of parliamentary procedure as required in 53G-7-1203(10). Council actions will be taken by motions and voting with votes and motions recorded in the minutes. These rules of parliamentary procedure can be found in the district community council handbook.
• The council consists of the principal,  1 school employee(s) who is/are elected in even years,  0 school employee(s) who is/are elected in odd years, and  2 parent / guardian member(s) who is/are elected in even years,  2 parent / guardian member(s) who is/are elected in odd years.  (Size of the council MUST BE ADOPTED BY VOTE OF THE COUNCIL and consistent with 53G-7-1202. Elections are required to be staggered with half of the council elected each year.)
• In order to ensure that a quorum can be present, the following process shall be in place to remove and replace a member, as needed:

  Cottonwood Elementary School Community Council

  To promote ethical behavior and civil discourse each council member shall:

  • Attend council meetings on time and be prepared
  • Make decisions with the needs of students as the main objective
  • Listen to and value diverse opinions
  • Be sure the opinions of those you represent are included in discussions
  • Expect accountability and be prepared to be accountable
  • Act with integrity

  Rules of Procedure:

  All meetings are open to the public. Time limits may be set for public opinions at the discretion of the community council. The agenda of each upcoming meeting with draft minutes of the prior meeting will be made available to all council members. Minutes will be kept of all meetings, prepared in draft format for approval at the next scheduled meeting. The chair or vice-chair conducts the meetings, makes assignments and requests reports on assignments. In the absence of the chair or vice-chair other council members shall conduct meetings. Meetings shall be conducted and action taken according to very simplified rules of parliamentary procedure as required in 53A-108.1(9)(i).  Items on the agenda take priority over other discussions coming before the council. Action of the council will be taken by motions and voting. The motions and voting are recorded in the minutes. A motion (or action to be taken by the council) is stated as a motion. Someone else on the council “seconds” the motion indicated that at least one other person on the council feels the motion is worthy of discussion. Then the council members may provide input and discussion as called upon by the chair. When discussion seems complete, the chair may call for a vote on the motion. Alternatively, when a member of the council “calls the previous question” (a motion to end discussion of the first motion), a second is required and then, without discussion the chair calls for a vote that must pass by 2/3 vote. If the vote on the previous question fails the council goes back to discussing the first motion. If the motion to call the previous question passes, the chair directly calls for a vote on the first motion. A vote to call the previous question is usually used to move business along. Attached is a chart that could be used if the council feels they would like to use additional motions of Parliamentary Procedure in their meetings.

  Community Council Motion Rules

  • A tie vote is a lost vote.
  • A main motion may be amended.
  • Nominations can be closed by saying, “I move to close nominations.”
  • Most motions are main motions.
  • A point of order is offered when there is some question if procedure had been followed correctly.
  • To stop debate or discussion on a motion and force the vote a member would say, “I move the previous question.” This requires a second and a 2/3 vote.
  • Hasty action may be corrected by use of the motion to reconsider. This motion may be made only by one who voted on the prevailing side.
  • A person who made the motion may withdraw the same motion.

  Election Procedure

  Elections will be held in the fall of each year with 10 days’ notice given prior to the election. All interested parents can submit their application to join the council during this 10 day period. Terms for community council are for one to two years with the beginning date determined by the school consistent with local school board policies. Parent members must have a child at the school at least one of the two years of their term. The school Principal oversees the election, or a designee, and is conducted by means of an online secret ballot election. Elections are established through the Communications Department of Granite School District. Parents elect parent members, and the staff elects staff members. Approximately half of the school’s community council seats are up for election each year. Results of the election will be maintained for three years and made available to the public upon request. If positions are vacant after the elections, council members will appoint parents to fill positions. The school community council will elect a chair and vice-chair annually. The chair must be a parent member and the vice-chair may be a parent or school employee member. The principal may not serve as an officer of the council. If an existing member misses three consecutive meetings, the community council may replace them.

School Community Council Handbook

School Community Council Handbook

Teacher and Student Success Plan / Continual Improvement Plan

Teacher and Student Success Plan / Continual Improvement Plan

Council Elections

Elections are not in progress at this time.

Meeting Archives

We only keep minutes for the current school year and the previous 3 school years. If you need older minutes, please reach out to a council member, and we'll do our best to accommodate you.