A 'Balanced' SAC
* Memo from the General Counsel about "appropriately balanced" SAC composition
Other SAC membership problems:
*Research Data:
2007
Auditor General Reports Research re: SAC membership -
SI Funds, Gov't in Sunshine
*Research Data: Combined Report of 2007 + earlier 2004 Report on SAC, SI funds audit problems
*Research Data: Research data, online district policies regarding SAC membership & elementary students
*Research Data: 2004 Auditor General's Reports - elementary students & AP many not be SAC members
Memo from Jim Robinson, DOE General Counsel to Andrea Willett regarding balanced membership question
Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 12:04
PM
To: Willett, Andrea
Subject: RE: From your *favorite* nag: Have you received
information back yet?
Andrea:
Feel free to pass this along to the Ms. McCormick.
Regarding SACs and whether they are "appropriately balanced,"
what the legislature meant by this term is and will remain
uncertain. Clearly, it is a term that is clearly intended to
apply on a case-by-case basis. We can all get a sense of what
the phrase means, i.e., that SACs reflect the face of the
communities they serve. But when it comes to quantifying the
percentage of White, African-American, Asian, Hispanic or other
ethnic group who should be represented on a particular SAC,
there is no Legislative answer. Nor does the Department have an
answer. It is a local decision to be based upon the facts
and circumstances presented in any given case. If a decision
cannot be reached, or, having been reached, if the decision is
challenged, it may be necessary for a court to render judgment
as to whether an appropriate balance has been reached in the
case before it.
For what it's worth, I doubt a court would require mathematical
precision in the ethnic makeup of the SAC (i.e., that the SAC
precisely mirror the ethnic makeup of the community it serves).
Courts will generally look to uphold was is reasonable under
circumstances such as this. But then, what is reasonable merely
begs the question if what you're looking for is a greater degree
of certainty.
I know that this question pops up over and over again. I wish
there was an easy answer.
Jim Robinson
General General
Note about subject line in email above: In my quest for a definitive definition of 'balanced SAC membership, I playfully named myself the *favorite nag*, reflected in the subject line of this email, while corresponding with Andrea Willett, Bureau Chief, Bureau of School Improvement and Educational Flexibility, DOE). The email above is presented exactly how it was sent. "General General refers to his position of General Counsel, DOE