Beverly PTO Bylaws

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BEVERLY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

PARENT­ TEACHER ORGANIZATION

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I: NAME

The name of this organization shall be the Beverly School Parent –Teacher Organization (“PTO” or the “Organization”).

ARTICLE II: MISSION STATEMENT

The PTO is a group of parent volunteers and teacher representatives committed to promoting a positive educational environment with partnership from parents, teachers, and the community.

ARTICLE III: POLICIES

The Organization shall be non-profit, non-sectarian, and non-partisan. No commercial enterprise and no political candidate shall be sponsored by it. Neither the name of the Organization nor the names of its officers in their official capacities shall be used in any partisan interest for any purpose other than the regular work of the Organization.

The Organization shall not seek to direct the administrative activities of the school or to control its policies. The Organization shall function within established Toledo Board of Education Policies and Procedures.

The Organization may from time to time cooperate with other organizations and agencies to promote the safety, welfare, and education of students, provided there are no commitments which bind the Organization or its Board without prior authorization from the membership.

Members and guests in attendance at PTO meetings or functions, or participants in PTO related forums, such as Facebook groups and pages, are expected to conduct themselves in a respectful, non-disruptive manner that reflects credit upon the school, its community, and the important work of the Organization.

ARTICLE IV ­ MEMBERSHIP AND DUES

Any parent, guardian, grandparent, teacher, staff person, or families in the Beverly community who are interested in the objectives of the PTO, may become a registered active member upon payment of dues.

The PTO may suspend or revoke any membership if the actions or intentions of a member becomes contrary to the intentions of the Organization’s mission; disruptive to the membership or its meetings; if the member fails to timely remit any funds or property belonging to the Organization; or for any other just cause. A motion for suspension or revocation of a membership may be brought before the membership at any regular meeting and passed upon a simple majority of the present voting membership.

Membership is voluntary. The payment of dues shall provide for a family membership. Membership includes the right to vote and a copy of the By-Laws. Regardless of how many memberships are purchased by any individual, household, or family, voting is limited to one vote per household. Memberships shall expire on the first day of the subsequent school year.

Membership dues are accepted and a membership card is issued at Beverly’s Open House, all PTO meetings, and throughout the school year by the last day of each month. Replacement cards will be available at the cost of a new membership.

At a minimum, the annual dues for membership shall be reviewed at the May meeting for the upcoming year. The annual dues amount shall be passed by a simple majority vote.

To be eligible to make motions, debate, and vote, one must be a registered member of the Organization in good standing.

As used herein, the term “Membership” shall consist of all active dues paying members of the Organization in good standing, including the Executive Board, the chairperson(s) of any and all PTO committees, and the principal of the school. The duties of the “Membership” shall be:

• To transact necessary business of the Organization, and such other business as may be referred to it.

• To approve the plans of work of the Organization.

ARTICLE V: OFFICERS AND BOARD STRUCTURE

The Executive Board shall consist of the officers of the Organization. Every attempt shall be made to ensure that membership of the Executive Board includes parents/guardians and staff of Beverly School. The duties of the Executive Board shall be:

• To conduct the business of the Organization, including necessary business in the intervals between meetings.

• To approve the plans of work of the standing committees and special committees.

The officers in this Organization shall be President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Ways & Means Coordinator, Communications Coordinator, Athletics Coordinator, and Parliamentarian (the “Officers”). Each individual officer position may be filled by co-equal persons who shall share and divide the duties in the manner they determine is best so long as all co-equal officers are voted by the Membership as a panel. In addition, The Principal, Past President, and a Teacher Representative of the Organization will also be considered as officers of the Executive Board for the Organization. Teacher representative will lead a committee of up three teachers, one each of grades k-2, 3-5, and 6­8, where voting privileges may rotate between committee.

The Vice­President, Secretary, Treasurer, Ways & Means Coordinator, Communication Coordinator, Athletic Coordinator, Parliamentarian, and Teacher Representative will have equal weight in all voting issues. The President will vote only to break a tie. The Principal and Past-President shall serve in advisory, ex officio capacity.

Nominations for officers are to be made during the April meeting. Election will be by secret ballot at the May meeting, or in the event that any candidates are unopposed, the secret ballot vote may be eliminated. Officers shall remain in office until and including the last day of school for the current academic year. At that time, all note-books and materials shall be turned over to the newly­elected Officers. Terms for Officers will be for one year. The Vice-President will move to the office of President, unless he/she is unable to do so, or he/she chooses not to, in which case the position of President will need to be voted on to be filled. In the event an Officer position becomes vacant during the term of office, including during summer break, the Executive Board may appoint an interim Officer to fulfill the duties of that position until such time as the matter can be brought before the Membership at a regular meeting, at which time nominations may be made for voting to occur at the next subsequent meeting.

Nominations for officers shall be made by a nomination committee of not less than three of the following: one Teacher Representative, one Parent/Guardian, the Principal, and the Past­President. The chairman of the nominating committee will be one of the following: the Principal, Past­President, or the Teacher Representative. The chairman will open nomination proceedings at the March PTO Meeting. At the April meeting, nominations may be made from the floor or collected via written solicitation during the month of April. The consent of each candidate must be obtained before his/her name is placed in nomination. The nomination committee shall prepare ballots for the May election. Any member of the Organization in good standing may vote by absentee ballot obtained from the nominating committee chairman or the school office, upon request in advance of the May meeting. All absentee ballots must be returned to the office or the nominating committee chairperson no later than noon of the day of the May meeting. A membership roster will be available in the school office. Votes shall be tallied by the nomination committee and reported at the May meeting.

Whenever possible, standing committees and events sponsored by PTO shall be co-chaired by at least one parent/guardian and/or staff member of the school, each of which are to be PTO members.

ARTICLE VI: DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS

The PRESIDENT shall preside at all meetings of the Organization and shall perform all duties usually pertaining to the office. The President shall be kept informed of all committee meetings. The President will be responsible for determining the agenda for the meetings and for keeping the agenda.

The President will be responsible for preparing a yearly operating budget, to be voted upon by the membership at the first monthly meeting of the academic school year.

The VICE-PRESIDENT shall act as an aide to the President, and shall perform the duties of the President in the absence of that officer. The Vice-President will be responsible to maintain the Bobcat Bulletin Board, Scholarship Committee (if applicable), and act as a Greeter at PTO meetings. The Vice-President is responsible for obtaining and overseeing the annual examination of the financial records by a qualified individual. The Vice-President assumes the role of the President the next academic year.

The SECRETARY shall keep a record of all meetings of the Organization and shall keep current books and records pertaining to the business of the Organization, except those of the Treasurer. The Secretary shall conduct the correspondence of the Organization, except those conducted by the Communications Coordinator. All PTO minutes need to be reviewed and approved by the President and the school office before being handed out to the membership.

The TREASURER shall:

• Receive all monies of the Organization.

• Keep an accurate record of receipts and expenditures.

• Pay out funds authorized by the Organization.

• Present a statement of the account at every meeting of the Organization and at other times when requested by the Executive Board.

• Keep only current books in his/her possession:

o All other books and canceled checks shall remain for a period of (7) seven years in a designated area in the school.

o The Treasurer’s books shall be examined an independent, qualified person who is not a Member of the Organization between July 1 and July 31.

• Be Bonded

o The fee necessary to obtain liability insurance for the Organization through the Toledo Board of Education shall be paid annually from PTO funds.

o All funds are to be kept in a local checking account.

o Withdrawal from the account will require two signatures.

o The President, Treasurer, and two (2) of the remaining voting members of the Executive Board will be authorized to sign checks. No two (2) people signing checks shall be related by marriage or otherwise.

• Be responsible for keeping the signature card on file at the banking institution current.

o Movement of the account from one institution to another will require a vote of the Executive Board.

o The account must be kept at a regular banking institution carrying FDIC insurance and cannot be a credit union.

o The bank must have a branch office within five (5) miles of Beverly School, unless good cause can be shown otherwise and approved by a majority vote of the membership at a general meeting.

• Be responsible to file or have filed all appropriate filings and fees paid to the Internal Revenue Service, and the Ohio Attorney General.

• Coordinate with the Ways & Means Coordinator and Athletics Coordinator to verify that an appropriate check and balance structure is in place for the handling of monies at each event or activity.

• Upon receipt, submit monthly statement from bank, general ledger and back-up information to yearly assigned member of the Executive board who is a not a signatory of the bank account for monthly reconciliation of account.

The WAYS & MEANS COORDINATOR shall be responsible for bringing to the Executive Board details involving any and all fundraising activities where students are asked to participate. This person should help coordinate the type of fundraising so it does not interfere with fundraising activities already planned during the year. The Ways & Means Coordinator will review each fundraising event to make sure that check and balance procedures for the handling of monies are in place. The Ways & Means Coordinator shall be responsible for the collection and accounting of all funds for any fundraising event or fundraising activity. All monies shall be deposited into the Organization’s bank account within 48 hours after the event. The Membership will be responsible to approve, through vote, the fundraising activity being proposed.

The COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR shall handle the website administration, Google Calendar, monthly PTO newsletter, e-mail lists where applicable, all mass mailings (whether through email or regular mail) needed by the Board to the Membership, and shall act as a liaison between the PTO and TPS communications department. The Communications Coordinator shall also be responsible for the administration of all Facebook page(s) and groups of the PTO and its standing committees, including but not limited to monitoring discussions, or appointing moderators to monitor discussions, to keep the pages and groups free from spam, vitriol, abuse, personal attacks, and other behavior that is counter to the mission of the PTO and its work in the school and the community.

The ATHLETICS COORDINATOR shall serve as chair of the standing Athletics Committee. The Athletics Coordinator shall propose an annual calendar of sports activities to the membership at the first meeting of the year, to be approved by a simple majority of the membership. The Athletics Coordinator will be responsible for coordinating the logistics of the various sports activities. The Athletics Coordinator will review the cash-handling procedures of each athletic activity to make sure that sufficient check and balance procedures for the handling of monies are in place. The Athletics Coordinator shall be responsible for the collection and accounting of all funds collected or paid out related to all athletic events activity. All monies shall be deposited into the Organization’s bank account within 48 hours after the event. The Athletics Coordinator shall report to the Membership at each regular meeting on the activities of athletics and its committee.

The PARLIAMENTARIAN shall be responsible for making sure that meetings are conducted in an appropriate manner. The Parliamentarian will monitor discussion time for member. Each member will be limited to two minutes per agenda item to state his/her point of view, ask questions, receive response, and to pose follow up questions. The Parliamentarian may provide education on Rules & Procedures as necessary or requested by the Membership. Recommendations for procedures are to be made as needed to the President. From time to time the Parliamentarian may call a special committee to review and revise the By-Laws as provided in Article IX. The Parliamentarian will act as a greeter at all PTO meetings.

ARTICLE VII: MEETINGS

A regular meeting of the Organization will be held monthly September through November, and January through May. Special meetings may be called by the President, or by a majority of the members of the Executive Board. On issues regarding the expenditure of funds of $500 or more, a majority passing vote by the voting Membership present at the meeting will be required*. The Executive Board may vote on expenditures less than this amount or on any expenditures that arise and require attention during school breaks. Expenditures for self­funded, “standing committee” accounts such as 6th grade camp, 8th grade trip, arts funds, and library funds do not require a membership vote to authorize expenditures that do not exceed the balance of their individual fund. However standing committee expenditures over $500 require the approval of the Principal or Assistant Principal and the PTO President. These accounts must provide an invoice or quote and request for all payments requested. All issues concerning the expenditures of funds from the PTO account between June and August will be voted on only by the Executive Committee from the last day of school to the first PTO meeting of the new school year. New officers shall be installed at the last meeting of the school year.

* For all practical purposes, this amount will be assumed to be the total expense and not an individual “piece” of the total. Operating costs on such items as paper, stamps, checks, poster board and like items used to promote PTO events, etc. shall not be included in the total expense. In addition, funds allocated for reoccurring special events—Open House, Student Directory, Fun Walk, Santa Shop, Staff Appreciation Luncheon, Grandparents/Special Person Day, Carnival, Field Day and Eighth Grade Recognition—shall not be included in the total expense.

ARTICLE VIII: STANDING AND SPECIAL COMMITTEES

The committee and event chairpersons shall be approved by the Executive Committee. All chairpersons must be PTO members in good standing.

A list of necessary committees and events will be approved by the Membership at the May meeting for the upcoming year. Changes during the year will be approved by the Executive Committee as needed.

The PTO authorizes standing committees provided the following provisions:

• The Committees must establish and maintain operating procedures and requirements filed with the Executive Board each year.

• Each Committee should report to Treasurer monthly with incoming and outgoing funds for reconciliation.

• Individual participant committees such as athletics and trips should establish fees to cover all the costs of those committees, or execute some combination of fundraisers and participant fees.

• Rosters for individual participation committees and payment status by participant must be reported to Treasurer monthly.

• Any standing committee fundraiser should be coordinated with the PTO Ways and Means Officer(s) to prevent conflicts in date or repetition.

• Any PTO funds requested to sponsor or support a committee require a vote of the membership in accordance with VII.

ARTICLE IX - BY-LAW REVIEW

The By­Laws are to be reviewed and approved by the Membership at a minimum of every other year. In January of the review year, The Past-President and Parliamentarian will begin to review the By-Laws and to look for possible changes. The Past-President and the Parliamentarian will bring the proposed changes to the Membership in April of that year, and a vote will be taken in May by the Membership. A simple majority is required to pass amendments proposed during the May meeting.

From time to time, the Parliamentarian may recommend the formation of a special committee to review, revise, or rewrite the By-Laws. The formation of a special committee shall be approved by a majority vote of the Executive Board. The Parliamentarian shall be the chair of any special By-Laws review committee. Upon formation of a special committee, the Parliamentarian may present amendments to the By-Laws at any general meeting with a vote to occur on the amendments at the next subsequent meeting, unless a two-thirds majority of the voting members present vote to enact the amendments immediately.

ARTICLE X: REIMBURSEMENTS AND DEPOSIT OF FUNDS

The Executive Board will not reimburse any PTO member, teacher, or staff member without preapproval for any purchase that exceeds $100.00. Receipts must be submitted to Treasurer within 30 days of incurred expense, except where school breaks.

ALL cash and check funds accepted by any Board member or committee must be deposited with the Treasurer or deposit box within 48 hours of receipt of funds and documented with a Board approved deposit form. Treasurer should verify amount of funds received with depositor.

No Board member, committee chair or volunteer shall “hold” cash for anticipated cash expenses. All funds must be deposited. Should an event require cash, the Treasurer should be notified two weeks in advance of need so that cash will be provided.

ARTICLE XI: COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS

The PTO will annually evaluate available funds and determine whether to grant up to two $500.00 college scholarships to Bowsher High School graduating seniors, or any other qualifying senior who is a graduating high school senior within the Toledo Public School system, including TPS academies and magnet schools, if any. Criteria for eligibility for these scholarships are outlined in the Scholarship Notebook.