The Allen County Primary Center (ACPC) is now accepting nominations for a minority parent representative on the school’s Site Base Decision Making (SBDM) Council. Nominees will be placed on the ballot for a special election that will be held on Thursday, December 7.
The need for a minority parent representative had arisen due to the school’s increased enrollment of minority students.
“The law states that if your school has a minority population of eight percent or above there must be a minority representative on Site Base,” Allen County Primary Center principal Tim Wilson explained. “That’s either a parent representative or a faculty representative.”
Wilson notes that the school’s minority enrollment was just above the eight percent level last year and continues to climb.
“This calculation is based on last year’s enrollment numbers,” Wilson said. “We were between eight and nine percent last year. Currently this year, we are over nine percent. This special election is not just a one-time thing. It’s something we will have to do each year if we do not have a minority representative elected at the regular Site Base elections.”
Not only will the current SBDM Council see a new face, the statues on Site Base Councils also require that faculty representatives exceed parent members by one. Hence, while a parent representative is being chosen, the school’s teachers are choosing a faculty representative.
“We also have to add a certified teacher,” Wilson said.
The process to nominate a parent minority representative
is the same as a regular SBDM Council election. The nominee must be a parent,
foster-parent, or legal guardian of a current ACPC student with whom the
student resides. The nominee must be a minority which, by definition, includes
American Indian, Alaskan Native, African-American, Hispanic (including persons
of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Central or South American origin), Pacific
Islander, or other ethnic group underrepresented in the school.
Not eligible for parent minority nominations
are employees of the Allen County Primary Center and their families, employees
at the Allen County Board of Education and their families, or the Allen County
Board of Education members and their families.
Parent nominations required a form to be
completed and submitted to Donna Hoffman at 721 New Gallatin Road, Scottsville
by 3 p.m. on Wednesday, December 6. Nomination forms and information has been
distributed to students or forms can be picked up at the Primary Center.
Persons with questions should contact Tim Wilson at 270-618-7200.
The special SBDM Council election will be on
Thursday, December 7. To vote, parents or guardians may stop by the school
between 7:30 a.m. and 6:30 that evening. Voting may also be done prior to the
Joyful Noise Christmas concert that evening at the school.
baseline'> The minority parent and teacher
representatives will join the current Council and serve the remainder of the
school year. The elected Council members will be required to undergo three hours
of yearly training and three hours of additional training if the individuals have
never served on a SBDM council.