BYLAWS

Mary D. Altavesta School Parent Teacher Organization

Woburn, Massachusetts

2006

ARTICLE I - NAME

The name of this organization is the Altavesta School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO).

ARTICLE II - OBJECTIVES

Section 1. The objectives of the PTO are:

a. To promote the welfare of children at home, school and in the community.

b. To build a stronger bond between the school and home, such that parents and teachers work together to achieve the best possible education for our students/children.

c. To make the general public aware of the need to continually strive for excellence in public education through adequate funding of a comprehensive educational program.

Section 2. The objectives of this PTO are:

a. Promoted through an educational program directed toward our students/children, parents, teachers, and the general public;

b. Developed through fundraisers which support programs and activities deemed beneficial to the students by a consensus of the PTO and the school faculty, in conjunction and with the assent of the school administration.

ARTICLE III - BASIC POLICIES

The following are basic policies of this PTO.

Section 1. The PTO shall be noncommercial, nonsectarian, and nonpartisan.

Section 2. The name of the PTO or the names of any members in their official capacities shall not be used in any connection with a commercial concern or with any partisan interest or for any purpose not appropriately related to promotion of the objectives of the PTO.

Section 3. The PTO shall not – directly or indirectly – participate or intervene (in any way, including the publishing or distributing of statements) in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office; or devote more than an insubstantial part of its activities to attempting to influence legislation by propaganda or otherwise.

Section 4. The PTO shall cooperate with the schools to support the improvement of education, so that the policies of the school administration shall be enhanced through suggestions and with the support of the PTO. However, the PTO and its Executive Board shall not seek to direct administrative activities of the School or to control its policies.

Section 5. The PTO may cooperate with other organizations and agencies concerned with child welfare, but persons representing the PTO in such matters shall have no authority with which to bind the PTO.

Section 6. A quorum of the PTO will consist of the President, Treasurer and Principal. In the event of a lack thereof, the PTO will be considered dissolved until such time as a new quorum is in place.

Section 7. In the event of the dissolution of the PTO, the Mary D. Altavesta School Principal shall hold any monies in the treasury in escrow for a future PTO. Such funds shall be held in escrow for a period of not less than 18 months, but not more than 24 months, after the first September after the dissolution of the PTO. At such time, monies will revert to the Altavesta School under the discretion of the Principal.

Section 8. No fundraisers or programs paid for by the PTO shall take place in the School without the prior written approval of the principal, the Executive Board ad the School Committee.

Section 9: All minutes shall be reviewed by the Principal and the PTO Executive Board prior to distribution. All notices and agendas will be reviewed by the Principal and a representative of the PTO Executive Board.

ARTICLE IV - MEMBERSHIP AND DUES

Section 1 Membership

a. Participatory Membership: All members who are/have

- Current in the payment of annual dues prior any to vote, or employed as a teacher at the Altavesta School; and

- attended any one meeting in the current school year.

shall be Participatory Members and shall have the right to vote on all issues before the membership. For voting privileges to be in effect for the first annual meeting in the fall, dues must be paid prior to or at that meeting.

b. General Membership: All parents and/or legal guardians of any student who currently attends the Altavesta School shall have the right to attend and participate in all meetings and activities of the PTO. General members shall have the right to vote on all issues before the membership, except budgetary issues. General members cannot hold office.

c. Honorary Membership: All parents and/or legal guardians of former students, former faculty, staff, and /or students of Altavesta School shall have the right to participate in the PTO as Honorary Members. Honorary Membership may also be extended to any other persons by a vote of the membership. Honorary members shall have no vote and cannot hold office.

Section 2. Dues

a. The organization shall conduct an annual enrollment of members, but persons may be admitted to membership at any time, subject to above.

b. Annual dues for Participatory Members will be collected at the start of each school year from September to October. Dues will be determined by the Executive Board and voted on by the membership. However, no General Member shall be denied the right to participate in the activities of the PTO or to become a Participatory Member due to financial hardship. The Executive Board shall establish a procedure for alternative payments or waivers to insure compliance with this policy.

ARTICLE V - OFFICERS AND ELECTION

Section 1. Officers

a. The offices of the PTO shall consist of a President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. Each position can be held as a co-position.

b. Officers shall be elected by ballot annually in the month of May. However, if there is but one nominee for any office, it shall be ordered that the Secretary cast the elective ballot of the PTO for that nominee.

c. Officers shall assume their official duties at the beginning of the new fiscal year (July 1) and shall serve for a term of one year, but may meet in an informal organizational capacity prior to the start of their term.

Section 2 Elections

a. Nominations for officers for President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer will be made at the April meeting. Nominees must consent to serve and be a Participatory Member of the PTO, having attended a minimum of two meetings and having participated in a PTO event or fundraiser within the current school year. All nominations must be seconded. Public notice will be made of nominations for election of officers within seven (7) days. Responsibilities and duties for each position will be presented at that time.

b. Voting for officers will be conducted at the May PTO meeting. Absentee ballots shall be made available upon request to the Executive Board.

c. Voting shall be done by written ballot at the May meeting of the PTO, the procedure to be administered by the Executive Board.

d. A majority of votes cast by the general membership shall be necessary for election. If there is only one nominee, see Section 1b above.

e. Any vacancy in office because of death, resignation, or inability to serve, shall be filled by the remaining Executive Board for the unexpired portion of the term. However, should a vacancy occur in the office of the President, the First President shall immediately assume the office of President, therefore, leaving the office of Vice-President to be filled by the remaining Executive Board.

ARTICLE VI - DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1. The President shall:

2 Preside at all meetings of the PTO and of the Executive Board;

3 Coordinate the work of the officers and committees in order that the objectives of the PTO may be achieved;

4 Have the authority to approve expenditures of $100.00 or less without Executive Board approval;

5 Be an ex-officio member of all committees;

6 Deliver to his/her successor, no later than 30 days after the end of his/her term, all pertinent material, official or otherwise, regarding the activities of the PTO;

7 Perform such other duties as may be prescribed in these bylaws or assigned to him/her by the PTO or by the Executive Board.

Section 2. The Vice President shall:

2 Act as aides to the President and shall, in their designated order as shown in Article V, Section 1.a., perform the duties of the President, in the absence or inability of that officer to serve;

3 The Vice-President shall serve as Chairperson of the Fundraising Committee;

- The Vice-President shall serve as the coordinator of the various standing and special committee chairpersons;

- Perform such other duties as may be assigned by the Executive Board and the PTO.

Section 3. The Secretary shall:

- Keep the Meeting Minutes, also known as the Secretary’s Report, of the proceedings of the Membership Meetings and the Executive Committee and make Meeting Minutes available for distribution within 10 days after the meeting referenced;

- Prepare Agenda, notices of meeting and issues to be discussed distributed one week prior to the next PTO meeting.

2 Receive from the Treasurer the list of General Members who have paid dues and prepare the official list of Participatory Members;

3 See that all notices are duly given in accordance with these bylaws, and, in general, perform all duties incident to the office of Secretary;

4 Perform such other duties as may be assigned by the Executive Board and the PTO.

5 Prepare Building Usage form and send to Administration indicating need for custodian and use of building.

Section 4. The Treasurer shall:

- Have charge of and be responsible for all funds of the organization and shall receive and give receipts for monies due and payable to the organization from all sources and shall deposit such funds in such banks or other organizations as are selected by the Executive Board;

2 Make disbursements as authorized by the President, Executive Board or Participatory Membership in accordance with the budget adopted by the membership;

3 Collect all membership dues as are established by the organization and shall certify to the Secretary an accurate list of all the Participatory Members of the PTO;

4 Shall present a written financial report at each General Membership Meeting of the PTO and at other times as requested by the Executive Board;

5 Perform such other duties as may be assigned by the Executive Board and the PTO.

6 At least two weeks prior to the end of the fiscal year, present the books for inspection and review by the Finance Committee. The Committee will review the books for accuracy and consistency with the Bank Statements. Both members must sign off on this inspection prior to the end of the fiscal year. This audit of the treasurer’s accounts is for the protection of the treasurer. It is the only means of assuring everyone that the accounts are accurate, and it relieves the treasurer of responsibility except in case of fraud.

ARTICLE VII - EXECUTIVE BOARD

Section 1. The members of the Executive Board shall consist of the President and other officers of the PTO (Article V), the principal of the school and the faculty representative chosen by the school faculty. The President shall have one vote, which shall be executed only in the case of a tie vote among the remaining Executive Board members. The members of the Executive Board shall serve until the end of the school year. The previous year’s President may serve on the Executive Board in an advisory capacity but shall not have a vote.

Section 2. The Teacher Representative and the Principal serve on the Executive Board but are not officers of the PTO. They each have one vote.

Teacher Rep – Acts as liaison between the teachers and the PTO. Solicits and gathers information and requests from the faculty and submits this information to the PTO and Executive Board.

Principal – Acts as liaison between the school and the PTO. Verifies and approves that all activities of the PTO are in accordance with school policies and administrative procedure.

Section 3. The duties of the Executive Board shall be:

a. To transact necessary business in the intervals between general membership meetings; and such other business as may be referred to it by the PTO.

b. To approve the plans of work of the standing committees.

c. To update the membership of the activities of the PTO at the monthly meetings of the PTO.

d. To prepare and submit, for the approval of the PTO at the first monthly meeting of the new school year, a budget for the current fiscal year.

e. To organize and review scheduled activities as listed on the yearly calendar.

Section 4. Special meetings of the Executive Board may be called by a majority of the members or by the President. A majority plus one shall constitute a quorum for votes of the Executive Board.

Section 5. Each position rather than each person on the Board casts one vote on matters before the Executive Board. In the case of Co-Presidents, the position receives one (1) vote only to break a tie.

Article VIII – Membership Meetings

Section 1. Regular meetings of this PTO shall be held monthly in the school during the school year. Advance notice shall be given at least seven days prior to each meeting.

Section 2. Special meetings of the membership may be called by the Executive Board. Five days notice shall be given.

Section 3. The membership present shall constitute a quorum, for the transaction of business, at any monthly meeting of this PTO. A simple majority of those present is needed to pass a motion presented before the PTO membership.

Section 4. The Agenda for each meeting, notice of which shall be given at least seven days prior to each meeting, shall consist of the following:

a) Call Meeting to Order

b) Secretary’s Report (Meeting Minutes)

c) Treasurer’s Report

d) Committee Report(s)

e) Old Business

f) New Business

g) Principal’s Report

h) Adjournment

Article IX - Standing and Special Committees

Section 1. The Standing Committees shall be: Fundraising, Children’s Enrichment Programs, Children’s Activities, Publicity, Scholarship(s), Bylaws and Finance.

Section 2. Responsibilities of each Standing Committee are as follows:

a. Fundraising – Organizes and schedules activities intended to raise monies to subsidize all activities of the PTO. These may include, but are not limited to, Book Fair(s), Gift Paper Sale, and Hat days.

b. Children’s Enrichment Programs – Research and schedule educational and informational programs for the students throughout the school year. Research and pursue grants available to fund these programs.

c. Children’s Activities – Be responsible for carrying out all scheduled children’s activities throughout the school year. Organize programs for the entertainment of the students and/or families not subject to fundraising. These may include, but are not limited to, Halloween Party, Ice Cream Social and Holiday Shopping.

d. Publicity – Publicize and promote PTO programs and events through local newspapers, public access media - Cable, newsletters and flyers.

e. Scholarship(s) – Review applications in the Spring for the current year’s Altavesta School Scholarship winner(s). [PTO Officer, Faculty member and Principal]

f. Bylaws – Annually review PTO Bylaws, and submit recommendations to revise and amend same as needed.

g. Finance - Consists of two members whose only duty is to review the books at the end of the fiscal year. They cannot be members of the Executive Committee or the chair of any standing committee

Section 3. Special Committees shall be formed in accordance with school activities.

Section 4. The power to form special committees rests with the Executive Board and/or the PTO.

Section 5. The chairperson of each Standing and Special committee shall:

a. Select committee members and/or request that the Executive Board seek volunteers for same;

b. Attend all general meetings specific to their committee to report on the activities of said committee. The Second Vice President shall report on activities in the event that the Chairperson is unavailable.

c. Oversee that all work of the Committee gets done on time, on budget and within the framework of the plan of action presented to the Executive Board;

d. Seek prior approval from the Executive Board and/or the PTO for any overages in the budget.

Section 6. No committee work shall be undertaken without the prior consent of the Executive Board.

Article X - Parliamentary Authority

Roberts Rules of Order Revised shall govern the PTO in all cases in which they are applicable and in which they are not in conflict with these bylaws, a copy of which shall be on file with the PTO.

Article XI - Amendments

Section 1. These bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the PTO, by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting, provided that written notice of the proposed amendment shall have been given at the previous meeting and through public notice.

Section 2. A motion to amend these bylaws may be made at any general meeting of the PTO and, if seconded and approved by a simple majority vote of members present, will be sent to the Bylaws Committee for consideration. Public notice will be given of the proposed amendment. The Bylaws Committee will make a recommendation at the next general meeting at which time, adoption of the amendment will require a two-thirds affirmative vote of the members present.

Section 3. The Bylaws Committee may submit a revised set of bylaws as a substitute for the existing bylaws only by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Board. The requirements for adoption of a revised set of bylaws shall be the same as in the case of an amendment.

School Improvement Plan / Code of Conduct / School History / Staff / PTO By Laws / PTO Agenda / PTO Minutes /