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

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