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PTA
ARTICLE I – NAME
The name of the association shall be: The Parent/Teacher Association of Rachel L. Carson I.S. 237 Queens.
ARTICLE II – OBJECTIVES
1. To continuously seek improvement of public school education.
2. To foster and encourage parent participation on all levels.
3. To support an interactive relationship between parents and staff.
4. To provide opportunities and training for parents to participate in school governance and education decision-making.
5. To promote an effective learning environment for students.
ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP
Section 1: Eligibility
1.1 All parents, guardians, persons in parental relation and designated persons to students currently attending I.S. 237 and all teachers/staff currently employed on a full time basis in I.S. 237 with the exception of person in supervisory positions.
1.2 Only parent members of the association may vote to offer or withdraw membership to or from staff. Any such action requires an amendment of the bylaws by vote as defined in Chancellor’s Regulation A-660, only parents not employed in the school may vote, and shall become effective the July 1st following ratification.
Section 2: Enrollment
2.1 Enrollment forms shall be distributed at the beginning of each school year to all parents of students currently attending I.S.237 and all eligible staff members. Enrollment shall be available year round and valid through June 30th.
2.2 Each member shall be requested to make voluntary donations of $5.00 per family as a contribution.
Section 3: Voting Privileges
3.1 Upon the completion and submission of an enrollment form, each family and staff member shall be entitled to one vote.
3.2 Members deemed to have a conflict of interest as defined in the policy and regulation shall not be permitted to vote on restricted issues.
Section 4: Notices to Parents
At the beginning of each school year, the parent association shall distribute a letter to parents encouraging them to join the association.
ARTICLE IV – OFFICERS
Section 1: Titles
The officers of the association shall be: President, Vice-President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary and Treasurer.
Section 2: Term of office
2.1 The term of office shall be from July 1st through June 30th, except for designated offices left open for which the term shall be from the fall election through June 30th.
2.2 No person may serve in the same position for more than two consecutive one year terms unless, after a canvass of the membership, no person is eligible and willing to serve. If elected, the incumbent may then serve a third term.
2.3 Eligibility for office is limited to parents, guardians and persons in parental relation who are not employed in the school.
Section 3: Duties of officers
3.1 President: The Presidents or Co-Presidents shall preside at all meeting of the association and shall be an ex-officio member of all committees, except the nominating committee. The President shall appoint chairpersons of PA committees with approval of the executive board. The President shall meet regularly with the executive board members in accordance with these bylaws to plan the agendas for the general membership meetings. The president shall be one of the signatories on checks. The President or his/her designee shall represent the PA on district committees.
3.2 Vice-President: The Vice-President or Co-Vice President shall assist the president’s duties in his/her absence or at the presidents request.
3.3 Secretary: The secretary shall maintain the official record of the proceedings and actions of all association meetings and executive board meetings. He or she shall prepare minutes of each meeting, in time for review and adoption at the next appropriate meeting and shall make minutes available upon request.
3.4 Treasurer: The treasurer shall be responsible for all financial affairs and funds of the association. The treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining an updated record of income and expenditures and shall be one of the signatories on checks. The treasurer shall be prepared to provide financial reports at all association meetings. He/she shall be responsible for preparing financial reports required by Board of Education policy, Regulation and bylaws.
3.5 School Leadership Team Membership: The President shall automatically serve as a core member of the school leadership team. No other executive board member shall serve as a parent member representative of the school leadership team unless he/she is elected by the general membership. No person employed in I.S.237 shall be eligible to serve as a parent member representative on the school leadership team.
Section 4: Election of officers
4.1 Nominating Committee:
a. The nominating committee shall consist of three to five members to be selected by the membership at the February meeting. The majority must come from the membership. The nominating committee shall choose one of its members to serve as chairperson. No person employed in I.S. 237 shall be eligible to serve on the nominating committee.
b. The nominating committee shall canvas the membership for recommendations of candidates for all positions.
c. The nominating committee shall seek out the membership in writing, in English and other languages, for recommendation of candidates for all positions. The nominating committee will also be responsible for conducting the election.
· Preparing and distributing all notices etc.
· Determining and verifying the eligibility of all interested candidates.
· Reporting the names to date of those candidates during the April meeting.
· Ensuring that an opportunity is provided to all members allowing for nomination to be taken from the floor during the April meeting.
· Officially closing the nominations process.
· Conducting the May election.
4.2 Additional Nominations:
At the April membership meeting the nominating committee shall request additional nominations from the floor. The meeting notice and agenda for the general membership election meeting shall be distributed not less than ten (10) days prior to the date.
4.3 Notices:
The meetings notice and agenda for the May general membership election meeting shall be distributed not less than ten days prior to the date. All meeting notices and agendas shall be available in the applicable languages, where possible. The distribution date shall appear on all notices. It shall list all candidates nominated.
4.4 Voting Requirements:
There shall be one vote per family for child/children currently attending I.S.237. Each teacher/staff currently employed at I.S.237 shall be entitled to one vote.
4.3 Election and use of Ballots:
a. The nominating committee shall be responsible for conducting the election.
b. Voting shall be by written ballot in accordance with Chancellor’s Regulation A-660.
c. Ballots shall be counted immediately following the election and in the presence of the members.
Section 5: Vacancies
A vacancy occurring in the office of the President shall be filled by the first Vice- President. A vacancy occurring in any other position shall be filled by recommendation of the Executive Board, and approved by the membership at its next regular meeting.
Section 6: Disciplinary Action
6.1 Any officer who fails to attend three consecutive executive board meeting without good cause following written notice from the executive board shall be removed from office by recommendation of the executive board.
6.2 Officers and executive board members accused of misconduct or neglect of duty may be removed only after:
a A motion is presented by any PA member during any meeting of the PA assembly to appoint a review committee. The motion must be approved by vote of the general membership.
b. The majority of the review committee must be comprised from the general membership. Executive board members against whom charges are being contemplated may not serve on the review committee.
ARTICLE V- MEETINGS
Section 1: General Membership meetings
1.1 The general membership meetings of the association shall be held on the last Tuesday of each month from September through June, at I.S 237 unless such date falls on a legal or religious holiday. In such instances the day for the meeting shall be decided by the executive board members.
1.2 All members of the association may attend and participate at membership meetings subject to restrictions in these bylaws.
1.3 Observers may speak and otherwise participate, if acknowledged by the chair.
Section 2: Special Membership Meetings
2.1 Special membership meetings may be called to deal with matters of importance that cannot be held until the next general membership meeting. The president may call a special membership meeting with a minimum of forty-eight (48) hours written notice to parents stating precisely what the topic of the meetings will be.
2.2 In addition, upon receipt of a written request from five (5) association members, the president must call a special membership meeting within five working days of the request and with forty-eighty(48) hours written notice to parents.
Section 3: Quorum
The majority of the elected officers plus 3% of the members shall be required for the conduct of official business.
Section 4: Order of Business
The following order of business shall be observed at all regular general meetings of the association:
§ Reading and Approval of Minutes
§ President’s Report
§ Principal’s Report
§ Treasurer’s Report
§ School Leadership Team Report
§ Old Business
§ New Business
Section 5: Minutes
Minutes of previous general or special membership meeting must be available in written form and approved at the next general meeting and available upon request to members.
ARTICLE VI – EXECUTIVE BOARD
Section 1: Composition
The Executive Board shall be comprised of the elected officers of the association.
Section 2: Responsibilities
2.1 The Executive Board shall plan and execute the tasks necessary to implement the program and policies adopted by the general membership.
2.2 It shall have the authority to spend minimum amount for operating expenses or emergency needs without prior approval of the membership. Such expenditures are to be reported by the treasurer at the next membership meeting.
Section 3: Meetings
1.1 Meetings of the executive board shall be held on a monthly at a date and time to be agreed upon by the members
1.2 The president may call a special meeting of the Executive Board with maximum of twenty-four hours telephone notice to executive board members.
Section 4: Voting
Each member of the Executive Board shall be entitled to one vote.
Section 5: Quorum
A majority of the members of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum.
ARTICLE VII – COMMITTEES
Section 1: 1.1 There shall be the following standing committees:
Membership: The membership committee shall be responsible for encouraging parent participation, outreach and recruitment. The committee shall also be responsible for maintaining a list of members, which shall be available without home address at every membership meeting.
Budget: The budget committee shall be responsible for drafting a proposed budget each spring for approval by the membership and provide a written review of the prior years budget, both of which may be presented for vote at the May membership meeting.
Fund Raising: The fund raising committee shall be responsible for planning and executing all fund raising activities approved by the membership, The committee shall collect all money from such activities, record the income and turn all funds over to the treasurer for deposit, Committee chairperson shall report all income expenditures and profit from the activity and shall prepare a written report for distribution to the general membership pursuant to chancellor’s Regulation A-660.
Hospitality: The hospitality committee shall be responsible for arranging light refreshments at meetings of the membership and at any of its activities as appropriate.
1.2 Each chairperson of a standing committee shall be a voting member of the Executive board.
1.3 It shall be the responsibility of committee chairpersons to schedule meetings as necessary, notify committee members of all activities, and maintain accurate records of all activities income and expenses, and report monthly to the Executive Board and general membership.
ARTICLE VIII – FINANCIAL AFFAIRS
Section 1: Fiscal Year
The fiscal year of the association shall run from July 1sr through June 30th.
Section 2: Signatories
The president, vice-president and treasurer shall be authorized to sign checks. All checks require two signatures.
Section 3: Budget
4.1 The Budget committee shall consist of five persons and be chaired by the treasurer. The committee shall be responsible for the development or review of the budget process.
4.2 A proposed budget for the new fiscal year must be prepared for adoption by the General membership before June 3oth.
4.3 The budget may be amended by vote of the general membership at any membership meeting.
4.4 All expenditures not included in the budget at the time of its adoption must be approved by resolution of the membership.
Section 4: Audit
The President shall request volunteers to form an audit committee of 3 to 5 persons. The audit committee shall prepare and audit of all financial affairs of the organization. The treasurer shall make all books and records available to them, audit committee shall prepare a report to be presented membership at May meeting
Section 5: Financial Accounting
7.1 The association shall prepare and interim financial accounting by January 31st and an annual financial accounting by the meeting June of all income and expenditure to be reviewed by general membership.
7.2 A copy of accounting or summary thereof must be filed in the principal’s office and distributed to all parents in all associations website or in a flyer.
ARTICLE IX – AMENDMENTS
These bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the association by a two thirds vote of the members present, provided the amendment has been in writing to the membership at the previous meeting and appears in the notice of the meeting at which it is to be amended. Amendments are effective immediately unless otherwise stated in the motion or as outlined in these bylaws.
A thorough review of these bylaws shall be conducted every three years.
Revised: January 10, 2003
BYLAWS
OF
Rachel Carson I. S. 237
Approved by the membership on: _______________
____________________________________
President
______________ ______________
Members Name Signature
______________ ______________
Members Name Signature
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