PTO Bylaws- Day Middle School- May 2017 Final Version
BYLAWS OF THE
F.A. DAY MIDDLE SCHOOL
PARENT-TEACHER ORGANIZATION
Amended and Restated as of May 21, 2017
ARTICLE I - NAME, LOCATION, DESCRIPTION, AND PURPOSE
Section 1. NAME AND LOCATION. The name of this organization shall be the Day Middle School Parent-Teacher Organization (“the PTO”). The PTO is located at Day Middle School, 21 Minot Place, Newton, MA 02460.
Section 2. DESCRIPTION. The PTO is a non-profit organization that exists for charitable and educational purposes and that qualifies as an independent organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Section 3. PURPOSE.
The purpose of the PTO is to:
1. Promote the core values of Day Middle School.
2. Promote the intellectual, social, emotional and physical growth of Day Middle School students.
3. Support the efforts of the staff in providing an optimal educational
experience for students.
4. Encourage cooperation, collaboration and communication between staff and parents/guardians and develop a closer connection between school
and home.
5. Provide support and information to the parent/guardian community by informing them of city and state-wide educational issues and social issues of the middle school-aged child.
6. Encourage the participation of all Day Middle School faculty, staff,
parents/guardians and students in its activities.
ARTICLE II - MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. MEMBERSHIP. All parents, legal guardians, teachers and staff of Day Middle School children are members of the PTO. Membership coincides with the school year.
Section 2. DUES. Dues shall be requested by the Executive Board and solicited annually. Payment of dues by members is voluntary.
Section 3. VOTING. All members have voting privileges of one vote per member. Voting may be in person or by conference call, email, video conference, social media, or other media outlet, as determined by the Executive Board, provided that all members present and voting have access to the selected media and voting instructions. The Executive Board shall establish procedures to conduct voting electronically.
ARTICLE III - OFFICERS
Section 1. TERM OF OFFICE. The term of office for all officers is one (1) year, beginning immediately at the start of the PTO fiscal year (August 1) and ending upon the last day of the PTO fiscal year (July 31) of the following year.
Section 2. QUALIFICATIONS. Any PTO member may become an officer of the PTO. Insofar as possible, each of the feeder schools shall be equally represented on the Executive Board.
Section 3. SHARED OFFICE AND OTHER OFFICERS. Officer positions may be shared. In any year, other officers may be elected if the Executive Board deems necessary.
Section 4. DUTIES.
1. President. The President shall preside at general PTO meetings and
Executive Board meetings, shall serve as the official representative of the PTO, and shall retain all official records of the PTO. The President shall
serve as an ex-officio member of the Day Middle School Council and all
PTO committees. The President shall represent Day Middle School at
Newton PTO Council meetings and at Newton School Committee
meetings, or designate a representative. The President shall appoint ad
hoc committees and liaisons throughout the year and call meetings of the Executive Board as provided herein or as otherwise necessary.
2. Secretary. The Secretary shall keep all written records of the organization and the Executive Board, and shall attend all regular and called meetings of the PTO and the Executive Board and record the proceedings. The
Secretary shall post the minutes from each meeting in a public place prior to the next PTO meeting and maintain files of the minutes of past
meetings. At the beginning of each PTO meeting, members will vote to
approve the prior meeting’s minutes. The PTO website shall constitute a public place for purposes of this section.
3. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall receive all monies of the PTO, shall keep an accurate record of receipts and expenditures, and shall make
authorized disbursements. The Treasurer shall be required to sign all
disbursements of monies for the PTO, which shall be reviewed by the
President. The Treasurer shall make available a statement of account at meetings of the PTO and as requested by the Executive Board, and shall
prepare with the Executive Board an annual budget for approval and
make a full report at the Spring Annual Meeting. The Treasurer shall
prepare and file all fiscal reports of the PTO as may be required by
federal and state law.
Section 5. REMOVAL. An officer can be removed from office by a two-thirds (⅔) vote of the Executive Board, after reasonable notice, for failure to perform the duties of his/her office.
Section 6. VACANCY. In the event of a vacancy in an officer’s position or committee chair, the President shall appoint a member to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the officer or chair’s term. If there is a vacancy for the President, the remaining Executive Board will appoint a new President for the remainder of the term.
ARTICLE IV - EXECUTIVE BOARD
Section 1. COMPOSITION. The Executive Board shall consist of all Officers of the PTO and the Principal. The President may appoint other ex-officio members.
Section 2. DUTIES. The Executive Board shall govern the PTO. The duties of the Executive Board shall be to transact business between meetings of the PTO and other business as may be referred to it by the PTO or the President, to present reports at meetings of the PTO, to create and approve the work of standing committees, to request membership dues, to elect members to serve out unexpired terms of officers, to establish any fundraising programs, to consider bonding requirements for the Treasurer and his or her recommendations for handling cash, to approve by majority vote of the Board any unbudgeted expenditures of $250.00, and to assist the Treasurer to develop the annual budget.
ARTICLE V - ELECTIONS
Section 1. TIMING. Elections shall be held annually in the spring. The Executive Board shall present the slate of officers and elections will take place.
Section 2. METHOD. Election shall be by ballot if there is more than one nominee for an open position. Votes may be taken electronically as determined by the Executive Board.
ARTICLE VI - COMMITTEES
Section 1. PURPOSE. The Executive Board shall establish committees, as needed from time to time, to support the PTO’s programs and budget. The President shall appoint the chairperson(s).
Section 2. DUTIES. Committees shall have such duties and powers as delegated to them by the Executive Board. The Chairperson shall appoint any number of members of the PTO to assist in implementing the committee activities within the current PTO budget set for the committee.
ARTICLE VII - MEETINGS
Section 1. GENERAL PTO MEETINGS. The PTO shall hold no less than two (2) regular meetings during the school year to conduct the business of the PTO. These shall include one (1) meeting in the fall and one (1) meeting in the spring. During the first fall meeting, PTO officers and committee chairpersons in attendance shall be introduced, and the Principal shall welcome the school community and be available for questions.
Section 2. SPECIAL MEETINGS. Special meetings may be called by the President, any two members of the Executive Board, or five (5) general members submitting a written request to the Secretary.
Section 3. ELECTRONIC MEETINGS. The PTO and the Executive Board may conduct meetings by conference call, email, video conference, social media, or other media outlet, provided that all members present and interested in participating have access to the information and to the debate. The Executive Board shall establish procedures to conduct meetings electronically.
Section 4. NOTICE. The Executive Board shall publish notice of General and Special PTO Meetings to PTO members at least one (1) week prior to the meeting. Notice may take place electronically.
ARTICLE VIII - FINANCES
Section 1. FISCAL YEAR. The fiscal year of the PTO shall be from August 1 to July 31 of the following year.
Section 2. BUDGET. The annual budget, prepared by the Treasurer and the Executive Board, shall be presented for approval at a PTO meeting in the spring prior to the beginning of each fiscal year. Any expenditure in excess of $250.00 not contained in the budget must be approved by the Executive Board prior to its disbursement.
Section 3. FINANCE COMMITTEE. The Finance Committee shall consist of the President and the Treasurer. The Finance Committee shall confer in person or electronically a minimum of two (2) times during the fiscal year to review the PTO’s financial status. One of these meetings includes a meeting during which a preliminary budget is prepared for the presentation to the PTO members at the annual meeting in the spring.
Section 4. BANKING. All funds shall be kept in at least one account in the name of the PTO at a financial institution. The Treasurer and the President shall have full authorized access to any and all accounts, including online accounts, at all times, except in the event of misconduct. Statements of the accounts shall be sent electronically to the President and Treasurer, and reviewed by the Secretary or another officer or member of the PTO other than the Treasurer and the President, as designated by the Executive Board. The Executive Board shall seek to reserve at least six (6) months of operating costs at all times.
Section 5. REPORTING. All financial activity shall be recorded in a manual or computer accounting system. The Treasurer shall reconcile the account(s) and report all financial activity to the Executive Board monthly.
Section 6. SIGNATURES. The Treasurer and the President are the authorized signatories for all expenditures.
ARTICLE VIX - AMENDMENTS
These Bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the PTO by a two-thirds (⅔) vote of the members present and voting, provided a two-week prior written notice of the proposed amendment(s) has been given to the members of the PTO. The Executive Board may give notice and hold voting electronically, provided that all members present and voting have access to the selected media and voting instructions.
ARTICLE X - CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Section 1. TRANSACTIONS WITH INTERESTED PARTIES. No part of the net earnings of the PTO shall benefit or be distributable to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that the PTO shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in these Bylaws if the Executive Board decides that no conflict of interest exists. No substantial part of the activities of the PTO shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the PTO shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles, the PTO shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by a corporation exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or (b) by a corporation, contributions to which are deductible under section 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.
Section 2. ANNUAL STATEMENTS. Each officer and member of a committee with powers delegated by Executive Board shall annually sign a statement which affirms that such person received, read and understood the conflict of interest policy. See Attachment A for Conflict of Interest Annual Statement.
Section 3. PROCEDURES. Each officer and member of a committee with powers delegated by the Executive Board will disclose any possible conflict of interest to the Executive Board. The Executive Board shall review the disclosure, exercise due diligence, and determine if conflict of interest exists prior to entering into a transaction or arrangement.
Section 4. VIOLATION. The Executive Board shall give an officer or member of the PTO an opportunity to respond to any alleged violations of the conflict of interest policy. If the Executive Board determines that the officer or member has failed to disclose an actual or possible conflict of interest, it shall take appropriate disciplinary and corrective action.
ARTICLE XI - RULES OF ORDER
The rules contained in “Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised,” or any subsequent edition of “Robert’s Rules,” shall govern the PTO in all cases not covered by these Bylaws.
ARTICLE XII - DISSOLUTION
Upon dissolution of the PTO, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or the corresponding provisions of any future Federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the Federal, state, or local government for a public purpose. Any such assets not so disposed of shall be disposed of by a court of competent jurisdiction of the county in which the principal office of the organization is then located, exclusively for such purpose.
Page - PTO Bylaws of the F.A. Day Middle School
Amended and Restated as of May 21, 2017
