School Committee Standing Committees
NEPN/NSBA Code: BDE
The School Committee shall authorize the establishment of only such standing committees from among its membership as it finds strictly necessary to study operations in specific areas and to make recommendations for School Committee action. The following rules will govern the appointment and function of such committees:
A. The committee shall be established through action of the School Committee.
B. The committee members shall be appointed by the School Committee Chair.
C. The committee shall be provided with a list of its specific functions and duties.
D. The committee may make recommendations for School Committee action, but it may not act for the School Committee.
E. The School Committee Chair and Superintendent shall be ex-officio, non-voting members of all standing committees.
F. All standing committees shall be dissolved at the end of the School Committee’s year—at an annual organizational meeting—unless they are specifically reappointed. They may be dissolved at any time by a vote of the School Committee.
G. All standing committee meetings shall be open to the public.
H. Standing committees shall be composed of less than a majority of the membership of the School Committee.
Standing Committees
Finance Committee:
The purpose of the Finance Committee is to:
A. Meet monthly during the school year;
B. Review monthly financial statements giving attention to the adjustments;
C. Analyze the viability of expending funds for unanticipated/unbudgeted needs (other than emergencies, which would be handled by the Superintendent), making recommendations requiring the vote of the entire School Committee for:
All expenditures over $25,000;
All expenditures over $25,000 transferred from the contingency fund;
Any other transfer of funds that the subcommittee determines has implications beyond the limited nature of the dollars involved;
D. Recommend prioritized items for the town’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) to the School Committee.
E. Develop the format for budget workshop sessions in which the School Committee as a whole develops a budget to be presented to the Town Council; and
F. Critique ideas generated by the Superintendent and Business Manager regarding financial strategies.
Policy Committee:
The purpose of the Policy Committee is to:
A. Meet monthly during the school year;
B. In consultation with appropriate school administrative staff, research timely topics and propose new or amended policies for consideration by the whole School Committee; and
C. Ensure that the Yarmouth School Committee policy is consistent and current with all state and federal law.
Mission Committee:
The purpose of the Mission Committee is to:
1. Meet monthly during the school year;
2. Encourage and support school staff in developing and implementing programming, curriculum, and instruction that further the School Department’s mission of empowering all students to lead fulfilling lives in a changing world.
3. Promote an inclusive environment where all students may thrive;
4. Identify systemic inequities that impact educational spaces;
5. Propose recommendations to address all forms of institutional bias in the Yarmouth Schools pertaining to race, religion, country of origin, gender or gender identity, age, sexual orientation, disability, socio-economic status, or any other protected category or identity.
In addition to the three School Committee members, who shall be the voting members of the Committee, the Mission Committee will include an Advisory Panel appointed by the Chairperson of the School Committee in consultation with the Superintendent of Schools. The Advisory Panel will include, if possible:
One high school student
One parent of a student in Pre-K through grade 1
One parent of a student in grades 2-5
One parent of a student in grades 6-8
One parent of a student in grades 9-12
One district-level administrator
Two school-based administrators
Advisory Panel members will be appointed for one school year.
Adopted: June 8, 1992
Revised: January 9, 1997; October 23, 2014, November 9, 2023