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Bylaws of the Parent Teacher Association Article I: Name The name of the Association shall be the Parent Teacher Association of the American Cooperative School La Paz (PTA) Article II: Objectives and Policy Section 1. The objectives of the Association are: a. To arrange activities and special events to supplement the academic program and enhance the school’s sense of community; b. To serve as a liaison to encourage and facilitate communication between families and the school’s administration, staff and school board; c. To be a vehicle for fundraising to help meet expenditures not covered by the school. Section 2. The Association shall be non-commercial, non-sectarian and non-partisan. No commercial enterprise and no political candidate shall be endorsed by the Association. Neither the name of the Association nor the name of its officers in their official capacities shall be used in connection with any commercial concern nor with any partisan interest, or for any purpose other than the regular work of the Association. Article III: Membership Section 1. A member is a parent or a legal guardian of an ACSLP student. Each parent or legal guardian residing in Bolivia has one vote. Section 2. Administrators and faculty members are Association members with full voting privileges, whether they are parents of an ACSLP student or not. Spouses of Administrators and spouses of faculty members who are not parents of an ACSLP student nor faculty members or administrators themselves, are non-voting members. Article IV: Executive Committee Section 1. The affairs of this association shall be governed by an Executive Committee made up of the Elected Officers of the Committee and appointed Chairpersons of Standing Committees. These positions are all non-paid and voluntary. Members of the Executive Committee must be voting members of PTA, unless specifically approved by a vote of the Executive Committee. Section 2. The terms of office for all members of the Executive Committee shall be one year, commencing with their installation at the last General Meeting of the PTA at the end of the school year. Elected officers can only serve for a total period of three consecutive years. Article V: Elected Officers and their Duties Section 1. The Elected Officers shall consist of not fewer than five members, including a Chair, a First Vice-chair, a Second Vice-chair, a Secretary and a Treasurer. Section 2. The Elected Officers shall carry out the objectives of the Association. They have full power to take such action and to make such rules and regulations consistent with the PTA bylaws as they may deem necessary and in the best interest of the Association. In all cases, the PTA Executive Committee shall be consulted for its recommendations and/or approval when required. Section 3. Duties of the Elected Officers a. The Chair shall preside at all PTA meetings, and is a member ex-officio of all PTA committees. The Chair of the PTA is ex-officio a non-voting member of the School Board. The Chair has the ultimate responsibility of all financial and programmed activities of the PTA. b. The First Vice Chair will preside at all PTA meetings in the absence of the Chair and will be responsible of overseeing the chairpersons who head the non-fundraising committees. It will be the responsibility of the First vice Chair, in consultation with the Chair, to appoint these Committee Chairpersons. A vacancy in the office of the Chair will be filled by the First vice Chair. c. The Second Vice Chair will be responsible for overseeing the chairpersons who head the fundraising committees. It will be the responsibility of the Second vice Chair, in consultation with the Chair, to appoint these committee chairpersons. d. The Secretary will keep minutes of the PTA Executive Committee and General Meetings, will conduct general correspondence, and will notify the PTA Executive Committee of meeting dates. The Secretary will post the agenda for a PTA General Meeting one week before every General Meeting. The Secretary will post the highlights of and any actions taken during the General Meetings in all appropriate modes of communication (Newsletter, website, etc.). The Secretary will create and maintain a resource book containing the PTA bylaws, Executive Committee responsibilities, committee descriptions and approved/unapproved General Meeting Minutes. This resource book will be kept in the library. e. The responsibilities of the Treasurer are to manage the funds, to keep the financial records up to date, and to give an account of the stewardship at the PTA General meetings. The Treasurer will develop an overall plan for the disbursement of funds and act as a liaison between the PTA and school administration concerning said funds. The Treasurer is required to submit an Annual Report at the first PTA general meeting of the new school year. The Treasurer shall disburse the funds of the Association only in accordance with a budget approved by the PTA Executive Committee or pursuant to an authorization especially made by the PTA Executive Committee. It is the Treasurer’s responsibility to have the books audited before the commencement of the new school year. Article VI: Standing Committees Section 1. There will be Standing Committees as required to carry out the objectives of the Association. These committees and their function will be established by the Elected Officers. Section 2. The position of all Standing Committee chairpersons shall be non-paid and voluntary. Section 3. Special Committees may be established as deemed necessary by the Elected Officers. Special committee chairpersons are not voting members of the PTA Executive Committee. Section 4. Standing Committees, Special Committees and chairpersons of both may be dismissed by a majority vote of the Executive Committee. Article VII: Elections, Installation, Vacancies Section 1. In order to be eligible for an elected position in the Executive Committee a person must be a voting member of the PTA. Section 2. Elections will take place on the third General Meeting of the PTA (in May) during the school year. Nominations for elected positions can be made to the Executive Committee three weeks before the General Meeting. Section 3. In the event of a contested election, candidates shall be given an opportunity to express their views. An Elections Commission consisting of three persons, one appointed by the PTA Executive Committee and two chosen by the contesting candidates, shall be formed to execute all responsibilities of the election. Section 4. Installation of the newly elected Officers shall take place at the last PTA General Meeting of the school year, following the approval of the minutes and treasurer’s report. Incoming Elected Officers shall assume office with installation and act in the new capacity for the remainder of this meeting. Article VIII: Meetings, Quorums, Voting Section 1. Meetings: a. A minimum of three PTA General Meetings shall be held annually. Attendance of all members of the Executive Committee is mandatory, and the meetings are open to all members of the PTA membership at large. The membership shall be advised of the exact meeting dates as early as possible. A copy of these Bylaws shall be made available to all members at the first of such meetings each school year. b. Special General Meetings may be called by a majority vote of the Elected Officers or a written request to the Elected Officers by fifteen voting members of the general membership of the Association. Such meetings will be scheduled no more than four weeks following the date of the above mentioned vote or receipt of written request. A minimum of one-week prior notice shall be given to the general membership. Section 2. Quorums: a. In order for the last General Meeting (when elections for the Executive Committee take place) to be considered a valid meeting, a quorum of the General membership must be present. A minimum of twenty-five voting members constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. b. When a special meeting is scheduled in accordance with the bylaws, the members who called the special meeting plus ten more members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business by the Association. c. When a meeting of the Elected Officers is called, seventy-five percent of the Elected Officers shall constitute a quorum. Section 3. Voting a. Each member of the Executive Committee is entitled to one vote. In the event that two (2) or more people co-chair a Standing Committee, they will only be entitled to one vote, collectively, between or among them. Failure of the co-chairs to reach agreement on any voting issue that comes before the Board shall result in an abstention of that issue. In the event that one person chairs two (2) or more Standing Committees, he or she shall have the right to vote once for each such committee. b. A majority vote of those members of the Executive Committee present and qualified to vote shall be required for the passage of any motion made at General Meetings. Any member of the Executive Committee who is absent for any general or special meeting may assign his or her voting rights to another voting member of the Committee as proxy. The assignment must be in writing, dated, and signed by the absent Committee member. Each assignment of voting rights shall be given to the secretary and shall be kept with the records from that meeting. c. A majority of Elected Officers present at an Elected Officers’ meeting is sufficient to reach a decision. Article IX: Fiscal Policies Section 1. Fiscal Year: The fiscal year of the Association shall run from July 1 to June 30. Section 2. Policies: It shall be within the power and discretion of the Executive Committee to determine the disbursement of all funds generated through fundraising events. Any funds received through donations shall be deposited to the general fund of the PTA, and its disbursement shall follow the format set forth in the fiscal policies stated in these bylaws. Section 3. Disbursement of Funds: All budgeted expenditures may be disbursed by the Treasurer with approval of the Chair if in accordance with the current approved budget. Un-budgeted items, which exceed $ 100 or those amounts that are not in accordance with the budget which exceed $ 100 may be disbursed only after receiving approval of the Executive Committee. Section 4. Budget: The Elected Officers shall draw up, approve, and then propose a budget to the General Membership at the first meeting of the new school year. It is recommended that a reserve be included as a budget item to cover expenses incurred during the time between the May installation of the new Executive Committee and the approval of their budget in October. Section 5. Audit: It is the responsibility of the Treasurer to find a volunteer to perform an independent audit of the financial records. The auditor must have an accounting background. The audit is to be performed after the bank records and ledgers are reconciled by the Treasurer, but before the first General Meeting of the school year. The auditor must provide the Treasurer with a written report of findings and suggestions. Article X: Review and Amendments to Bylaws The Elected Officers shall review these bylaws every two years or sooner if deemed necessary. These bylaws may be amended at any regular or special meeting of the PTA by a two-thirds vote of the members present. Amendments shall be proposed in writing three weeks before a scheduled or special meeting. This proposal shall be supported by fifteen voting members as represented by their signatures on the proposal. Copies of the bylaws shall be made available to any member requesting such copy. |
