What is the Faculty Advisory Council?

Elected by the faculty prior to September 15, the Faculty Advisory Council (FAC) is a contractually-mandated, school-based committee which serves to voice concerns of the general membership to the Principal, and acts – when needed – as an interface between rank-and-file members and the Principal to address issues of concern to the school community as a whole.

The FAC is a vehicle by which regular communication with the Principal can be established and maintained. The FAC is designed to be a forum for discussion of all topics that affect the climate at the worksite. When working properly, the FAC should bring forth recommendations and suggestions to the Principal to resolve issues and concerns that affect the membership as a whole. [The concerns of an “individual” should always be directed toward a Faculty Representative and/or the Uniserv Director.] Ideally, the relationship between the FAC and the Principal should be collaborative and non-confrontational.

The role of the FAC is to relay the legitimate concerns of Unit 1 members and to offer solutions to problems as they arise in a reasoned & non-adversarial manner.

Who may participate in the Faculty Advisory Council (FAC)?

The Faculty Representatives – one of whom is designated as the Chair of the Faculty Delegation – Alternates, and a group of unit members¹ elected by the faculty – at the rate of one for every ten (10) unit members or portion thereof – shall comprise the body of the Faculty Advisory Council (FAC). Regardless of the size of the work site, the FAC shall have an absolute minimum of five (5) members.

Any Unit 1 member is welcome to attend meetings of the FAC and to bring concerns to the body, but only elected members of the FAC should cast votes when deciding upon an action item. Some sites even place locked “drop boxes” near the PGCEA bulletin board so that members can submit items for the agenda in writing.

The Principal is not a member of the FAC. There is nothing to preclude the FAC from inviting the Principal to attend a meeting, when needed, since open communication between the FAC and the Principal is essential. The precedings of the FAC, however, are not a function of the administration, and the Principal may not require submission of minutes from the FAC² .

How does the FAC process work?

1. During a meeting, a Unit 1 member expresses a concern to the FAC: “Students are wandering between the temporaries during second period lunches and disrupting instruction in those classes on a daily basis.”
2. The FAC discusses the concern. Solutions are proposed, debated and voted upon. The Secretary takes notes.
3. The Chair and the Secretary prepare recommendations for the Principal. Sometimes, it may be as simple as asking if the Principal is aware of an issue. At other times, it may be necessary to submit it in writing. For example:

   a. Membership has expressed a concern³ that students are wandering between the temporaries during the second period lunches and disrupting those classes every day.

   1. The FAC recommends, in the short term, that one security person be sent to rove in that area during second period.

   2. In the long term, the FAC recommends that the temporaries all be scheduled for second-period lunch next year, to obviate the problem entirely.⁴

4. The Chair meets with the Principal, or forwards the concerns in writing for comment. The Principal should respond, in writing, in a timely manner (traditionally, within five (5) work days).
5. After five (5) work days, with or without response from the Principal, membership concerns should be forwarded to the membership at the worksite and to the President of PGCEA.
6. At the discretion of the President, a concern may be filed for future reference, passed on to the appropriate PGCEA staff, or direct inquiries made, depending on the urgency of the concerns.

1. A Faculty Advisory Council is to be established in every school not later than September 15.
2. The Faculty Advisory Council shall consist of:
   1. The Head Faculty Representative who shall act as Chair; and,
   2. A group of unit members elected by the faculty at the rate of one for every ten (10) unit members or portion thereof. No site shall have less than five (5).
3. The Chair shall issue a call to organize the Council and the election procedures will be determined by the faculty of the school.
4. At the above meeting where the membership of the Faculty Advisory Council is set, the faculty shall determine the parliamentary authority as consistent herein and what shall constitute a quorum for a Faculty Advisory Council meeting.
5. Meetings with a specific agenda, which have been made known to the faculty prior to the meeting, may be held at the call of: The Chairperson Any three members of the FAC The purpose of the FAC is to provide the teachers with a vehicle in which they may discuss school operating procedures, curriculum development, scheduling of meetings, instructional programs, budget requests and any other areas of professional concern. Its function shall be solely to advise the Principal of any given school on internal matters and nothing in this Agreement shall be so construed as to authorize or enable the FAC to effect unilateral changes in Countywide educational policies as may from time to time be established in accordance with the laws of the State of Maryland.
6. Minutes of every meeting, including all FAC recommendations, shall be prepared for release to the faculty. Any action on FAC recommendations shall be reported on the agenda of the subsequent meeting and the Principal will inform the FAC of the rationale for the action. School administration will respond to concerns raised by the FAC in a reasonable amount of time.
7. Upon the formation and organization of the Faculty Advisory Council, the chairperson of the FAC of each school shall send a copy of the roster to PGCEA and to the appropriate administrative officer designated by the Superintendent.
8. Bargaining unit members, who are not assigned to a school faculty, may form a representative group to meet with the supervisors of such employees on a regular basis.
9. The head PGCEA Faculty Representative or designee shall serve as a representative to the school improvement/planning team.

1. C. All professional personnel are expected to devote to their assignments the time necessary to meet their responsibilities but they will not be required to “clock in or out” by hours and minutes. A method for certification of attendance will be developed by the principal with the review of the Faculty Advisory Council…
2. K. The Principal of each school, with review of the Faculty Advisory Council, will work out an equitable duty load for all members of the faculty, including itinerant teachers. Itinerant teachers shall share in duties in proportion to the amount of time they are scheduled at any one site. An itinerant teacher shall not be assigned duties in excess of that which he/she would be assigned if full-time in one school. Principals are expected to be sensitive to each teacher’s need to consistently have the full amount of planning time as provided by 4.05 E above for individual planning.

1. 6. A general teacher work area containing equipment and supplies necessary for the preparation of instructional materials. Principals should be aware of the needs of teachers regarding access to a copier. Problems concerning scheduling or use of a copier should be addressed by the FAC which shall make suggestions for the resolution of the problems to the Principal. If problems continue, they may be referred to the appropriate Regional Assistant Superintendent.

1. During regular school hours, the faculty rooms shall be open at all times for those professionals who do not have specific duties elsewhere.
2. Each school Principal with the FAC will develop a policy for the use of school facilities by the faculty after school hours.

1. D. When in the judgement of the teacher a student’s behavior makes operation of the class impossible, the teacher shall complete the appropriate Discipline Referral Form and the student may be excluded from the class until the teacher and Principal or the Principal’s designee have held a conference. The Principal, with the advice of the FAC, shall designate an appropriate area where such students may be sent. The conference should be held on or before the next school day. The teacher and the Principal or Principal’s designee may elect to use an exchange of written notes in lieu of the conference. The Principal will decide if and when the student is to be returned to class. The Principal’s, or designee’s, decision shall be communicated to the teacher on the Discipline Referral Form. In the event the Principal fails to take any action within four (4) working days, or if the teacher is not satisfied with the action indicated, the teacher may request that the situation be reviewed by the Regional Assistant Superintendent. The Principal’s decision is to be implemented pending a review by the Regional Assistant Superintendent which is to be completed within seven (7) student days of receipt of the teacher’s request. However, if the Regional Assistant Superintendent does not complete the aforementioned review within seven (7) student days, at that point the student will again be excluded from class pending resolution of the matter by the Regional Assistant Superintendent.

1. The immediate supervisor (Principal) with the review of the FAC may submit with supporting evidence a request for additional staff personnel beyond that authorized by the staffing formula approved by the Board of Education. The Chief Human Resources Officer shall make the final determination of staff allocation after review of their request.

1. The Board and the Association hereby agree that subject to building limitations, budget and program requirements, action will be taken to maintain favorable class size in accordance with Board of Education policy and reduce classes which exceed by more than 10% the Countywide class size average based upon the 1973-74 figures only when the average exceeds twenty-five (25) for that grade level or subject field. If, subsequent to September 30, any teacher has a class which exceeds the county class size as indicated above, the teacher after consultation with the Principal may request a review by the FAC. If after a review of the teacher’s complaint and consultation with the Principal, the teacher or the FAC determines by a majority vote that further adjustment in class size is essential, the FAC or the teacher may request a review by the Regional Assistant Superintendent who will recommend appropriate adjustments in an attempt to achieve a mutually acceptable settlement. If the FAC believes that the class size concern could be relieved through changes in the master schedule, the FAC may submit any suggestion in writing to the Regional Assistant Superintendent, who will have that matter reviewed within five (5) working days of receipt of the request. If after consideration by the Regional Assistant Superintendent a mutually acceptable settlement is not achieved, the FAC may refer the matter to the Superintendent of Schools for final action. The FAC may request that a PGCEA official be present at any meeting scheduled to review class size concerns.