[BHS Etree] ADMIN: Parent Elections - Call for Candidates

[BHS etree]

PLEASE do not reply to this email, contact Lisa Sibony 
lisasibony at berkeley.net <mailto:lisasibony at berkeley.net>

Parent elections for representatives to the School Site Committee and 
the BSEP committees will start later this month. Voting will 
begin on Thursday, September 26 at Back to School Night. Ballots will be 
accepted until Thursday, October 3.

Statements will be posted on the Berkeley High website starting next 
week. Statements received by Monday, September 23 will be available at 
Back to School Night and will be included on the written ballot.  
Write-ins will be accepted. If you are interested in serving on either 
committee, please open the attachment, fill in the application and mail 
it back to lisasibony at berkeley.net <mailto:lisasibony at berkeley.net> as 
soon as possible and no later than September 23 if you want to be 
included on the printed ballot. If you don't get the attachment, please 
contact Lisa Sibony.

Below is information on the BSEP site committee, the School Site 
Committee, and the Safety Committee (non-elected committee).

Please note the meetings for all three committees are held in the late 
afternoons. They start during the work day to make it possible for 
school staff and students to participate, even though it makes it harder 
for many parents.  Please note, however, after 3:30 p.m. parents may 
park in the teachers' lots on Milvia.

1. The Berkeley High School BSEP Site committee: BSEP (Berkeley Schools 
Excellence Project) is a parcel tax responsible for roughly 20% of the 
Berkeley Unified School District's budget.  BSEP pays a portion of the 
district's teacher salaries, maintenance, music, libraries and more.  In 
addition to the district expenses, each school site receives a sum to be 
spent by an elected committee of parents, teachers, administrators, 
and---at BHS---students. At Berkeley High the site committee spends 
roughly $750,000 annually. Among other items, last year the committee 
funded the Parent Resource Center, the Student Court, the Afro Haitian 
drummer, the College Counselors, tutoring, Volunteer and Outreach 
Coordinator, On Campus Intervention (OCI) Coordinator and OCI counselor.

The site committee has six parent representatives and four alternates. 
The committee typically meets one Monday per month.  Members evaluate 
currently funded programs, solicit new programs, and finally allocate funds.

2.  School Site Council [SSC]: The School Site Council is an elected 
group made up of the principal, a classified staff member, 6 teachers or 
counselors, 4 students, and 4 parents, plus alternates.  The SSC is 
where parents have a direct voice in reviewing the school's academic 
goals and evaluating how well those goals are being met. The SSC also 
has a voice in approving the school's Safety Plan, the ELAC committee's 
plan for teaching English-language learners, and the BSEP committee's 
plan for spending the school's BSEP money.

The School Site Council meets on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month, 
starting October 15. If you decide to run, please be sure you can commit 
to attending, since each member's voice matters! The top vote getter 
from AC gets a seat, the top vote getter from BIHS gets a seat, and the 
top vote getter from one of the small schools [AMPS, CAS, AHA] gets a 
seat, and the fourth seat goes to whoever got the next highest number of 
votes overall. There will also be four parent alternates elected.

3. The Safety Committee is a volunteer group made up of the Dean of 
Students, classified staff members, teachers and counselors, students, 
and parents.  The Safety Committee is where parents have a direct voice 
in reviewing the school's safety, discipline, and school culture goals 
and plans, revising its goals, and evaluating how well those goals are 
being met.  It is not necessary to be elected in order to serve on the 
safety committee.

The Safety Committee meets on the 1st Tuesday of the month. Note that 
much of the committee's work is accomplished through its subcommittees, 
which can meet on weekends and evenings. Parents, students, and staff 
are welcome to serve on a subcommittee of interest to them even if they 
do not join the full committee.  Members continuing from last year will 
discuss the work that was accomplished over the summer and what's coming 
up next.  If you think you may be interested, come to the first meeting 
to introduce yourself and get a feeling for what's involved.

-- 
Lisa Sibony
Outreach and Volunteers
Berkeley High School
__________________________________
Marguerite Fa-Kaji and Catherine Ference are the parent-volunteer 
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