Bylaws

BYLAWS

of

Meadow Glen Elementary School PTO – EIN 45-2863502

ARTICLE I – Name, Articles of Organization, & Purpose

Section 1: Name – The name of the organization shall be Meadow Glen Elementary School PTO. The PTO is located at 510 Ginny Lane, Lexington SC 29072.

Section 2: Organizational Documents:  The organizational documents of the PTO consist of the Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation of the PTO.  The Articles of Incorporation were filed with the South Carolina Secretary of State on September 8, 2011.

Section 3: Purpose – The PTO is a charitable organization that enhances the quality of education by raising funds for school supplies, equipment, programs, and field studies that fall outside of the school budget.  The PTO is a group that encourages a strong partnership between school and family.  It develops strong parent involvement within our community and supports the educational experience at Meadow Glen Elementary School.

ARTICLE II – Membership

Section 1:  Any parent, guardian, or other adult standing in loco parentis for a student at the school may be a member and shall have voting rights.  The principal and any teacher employed at the school may be a member and have voting rights.

Section 2:  Dues for membership will be established annually by the Executive Board. 

Members who have paid their dues have voting privileges, one vote per household.

ARTICLE III – Officers, Elections, and Duties

Section 1: Executive Board– The Executive Board shall consist of the following officers:  President, President – Elect, Vice President I & II, Secretary, Co-Treasurers, Treasurer – Elect and Legislation/Compliance Officer.  Officer positions can be shared.  The School Principal, or his/her designee, is a voting member of the Executive Board. 

Section 2:  Term of Office – The term of office for all officers is one year.  However, officers may be elected to serve three consecutive terms in the any Executive Board position. The newly elected officers will assume their duties on July 1^st.  One Co-Treasurer will be a school staff employee that will be appointed by the Principal, this position will not have a term limit.

Section 3:  Qualifications – Any PTO member in good standing may become an officer of the PTO. 

Section 4:  Elections

a.       A nominating committee shall be formed, consisting of 4 members elected by the PTO Board which should be representative of the entire membership.  The committee should be elected and confirmed no later than the March PTO Board meeting, so they can begin to actively search and recruit members in good standing with the organization for all positions.  The nominating committee shall consist of one member who is an Executive officer of the organization, one member of the faculty or staff (who may or may not be a member of the PTO Board), one members of the organization not currently serving as an Executive officer of the organization, and any one member of the PTO membership.  The committee shall elect a chairman.  The committee will be responsible for verifying and obtaining approval from each candidate nominated.

b.       Members are eligible for office if they are members in good standing before the nominating committee presents its slate.

c.       The nominating committee shall nominate at least one eligible person for each office to be filled and present its slate of nominees at a general session or via a paper ballot distributed to all PTO members at least one month prior to voting.  At this time additional nominations may be presented for consideration from the floor or via written communication to the nominating committee.

d.       The officers shall be elected in the month of May by the voting body of the organization. 

e.       Officers shall be elected at the last general session of the organization during the school year.  A voice vote can be taken at the general session meeting for the slate of officers presented.  If more than one person is running for office, a ballot vote will be taken.

f.        The newly elected officers and the current officers shall have a combined meeting in June so as to provide an orderly and complete transfer of responsibility prior to the start of the new fiscal year.

Section 5:  Duties–

Executive Board – Transact business between meetings in preparation for the general meeting, create standing rules and policies, approve check requests, prepare the PTO’s annual budget and submit it to the membership, prepare reports, establish and oversee committees to conduct the work of the PTO, establish fundraising programs, approve by majority vote of the Executive officers unbudgeted expenditures of more than $100.00.

PTO Board  - The PTO Board shall consist of the Executive officers, the principal, and standing committee chairs.

President – Preside at General PTO meetings and Executive Board meetings, serve as the official representative of the PTO, serve as ex officio member of all committees except the nominating committee, coordinate the work of all the executive officers and committees so that the purpose of the organization is served, and retain all official records of the PTO.

President – Elect – This position will be elected in the last year of the current President’s term and will cross-train with the current President for that year. This will include all the necessary training in order to assume the role of President the following year.

Vice President I & II – Oversee the standing committee system of the PTO, assist the President and chair meetings in the absence of the President.  The PTO Board shall determine other duties of the Vice-President.

Secretary – Record and distribute minutes of all Executive Board meetings and all General PTO meetings, prepare agendas for official PTO meetings, keep all records of the organization that includes, but not limited to a copy of all approved executive and general membership meeting minutes and copies of all organizational documents. 

Treasurer(s) – The Treasurer and Co-Treasurer shall have joint custody of all the funds of the organization. They shall keep full, transparent, and accurate records of all revenue and expenses, process authorized check requests, ensure that expenses are in accordance with the approved budget, ensure that event reconciliations are being completed and maintain these records, maintain inventory reports of merchandise, report financial activity every month, and hold all financial, legal, and tax records.  The Treasurer shall present a financial statement at every PTO Board meeting that reconciles to the bank account.  All tax forms and end-of-year financial reports shall be prepared, presented, and filed as required by law.

Treasurer – Elect – This position will be elected in the last year of the current elected Treasurer’s term. This person will cross-train with the Co-Treasurers and receive all necessary information in order to be prepared to assume the role of Co-Treasurer the next year as the PTO elected member.

Legislative/Compliance – Legislative/Compliance oversight will be the responsibility of the President, Vice Presidents, and Secretary. The Legislative/Compliance officers will manage PTO procedures to insure compliance with District, State, and Federal guidelines. The Legislative/Compliance officers will assist the Treasurer with respect to preparing financial documents, tax information, and facilitate an audit. They may be called upon by the Principal to represent the school and PTO in matters of local and state government.

Section 6:  Board Meetings – The Executive Board shall meet monthly during the school year and at the discretion of the President.

Section 7:  Removal – Any officer can be removed from office for failure to fulfill his/her duties, after reasonable notice, by a majority vote of the Executive Board.

Section 8:  Vacancy – If a vacancy occurs on the Executive Board, other than the President, a replacement will be elected by a majority vote of the PTO Board, for the remainder of the officer’s term.   If the office of the President becomes vacant, the Vice President will become President for the remainder of the term.

ARTICLE IV – Meetings

Section 1:  GENERAL PTO MEETINGS – General PTO meetings shall be held to conduct the business of the PTO.  There will be at least four (4) General PTO meetings during the school year.  The annual election meeting shall be held in May.  Notification of General PTO meetings will be communicated at least 10 days before the meeting via newsletter, phone messaging, and flyer. Additional special PTO meetings may be called at the discretion of the Executive Board. 

Section 2: VOTING – Each member in attendance at a PTO meeting is eligible to vote, one vote per household.  Absentee or proxy votes are not allowed.

Section 3 – QUORUM – The quorum for a General Membership meeting (1 vote per household) shall be thirty (30) present members that are in good standing with the organization. The quorum for the Executive Board shall be four (4) Executive Board members present and in good standing with the organization. 

ARTICLE V – Financial Policies

Section 1: Fiscal Year - The fiscal year of the PTO begins July 1 and ends June 30 of the following year.

Section 2: Budget – A tentative budget shall be drafted by the Executive Board to be used to facilitate the budget discussion at the August monthly PTO board meeting.   This budget should be finalized by September 1 and approved by a simple majority vote of the members present at the first general membership meeting, assuming a quorum in present.

Section 3: Banking - All funds shall be kept in a checking account in the name of Meadow Glen Elementary School PTO requiring two signatures of non-school staff, Executive Board members and held at a local financial institution if unbudgeted or greater than $100.  If the amount is budgeted and less than $100, only one signature by a non-school staff, Executive Board members is required.

Section 4: Reporting - All financial activity shall be recorded in a manual or computer-based accounting system.  The Treasurer(s) shall reconcile the account(s) monthly and report all financial activity monthly.

Section 5:  Audit:  The PTO will annually hire a CPA firm to review the financial records of the organization to ensure that proper accounting guidelines have been followed for a Non-Profit organization, adequate internal controls exist, and that no fraud and/or embezzlement has been committed. This should be completed prior to the first meeting in August.

Section 6: Ending Balance - The organization shall leave a minimum of $2,500.00 in the treasury at the end of each fiscal year.

Section 7: Contracts - Contract signing authority is limited to the President or the President’s designee.

Section 8:  Insurance – The Executive Board should be bonded to ensure the integrity of fund management. 

ARTICLE VI - Committees

Section 1:  Only members of the organization shall be eligible to serve in any elective or appointed positions.

Section 2:  The PTO Board may create such standing committees, as it may deem necessary to promote the organizational objectives and carry on the work of the organization.  The term of each chairperson may be up to 3 years.

Section 3:  The chairperson of each committee shall present a status report at each monthly PTO Board meeting.  No committee work shall be undertaken without the consent of the PTO Board.

Section 4:  The power to form special committees and appoint their membership rests with the President and the PTO Board.

ARTICLE VII – Bylaw Amendments

Amendments to the bylaws may be proposed by any PTO member.  Amendments presented at a PTO meeting shall be considered for voting at a subsequent meeting.  Amendments will be approved by an affirmative simple majority vote of all members present, assuming a quorum of 30 voting members, at a General PTO meeting or by an affirmative super majority vote (two-thirds) of all PTO Board members, at a PTO Board Meeting.  The Executive Board will determine the forum most appropriate for each amendment.

ARTICLE VIII - Dissolution

Section 1:  The Corporation may be dissolved at any regular or special meeting with prior notice of intent to dissolve given to all members at least 14 days prior to the meeting.

Section 2:  At least 51% of the current membership roll must present at this meeting.  An affirmative super majority (two thirds) vote of the members (1 vote per household) present, is required for dissolution, assuming 51% of the current membership is present at this meeting.

Section 3:  In the event of dissolution of the PTO, any funds remaining shall be donated to Meadow Glen Elementary School.

     

ARTICLE IX – Parliamentary Authority

The authority for this organization shall be “Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised.”                         

These bylaws were adopted on October 17, 2011.

These bylaws were amended to add new officer positions of President Elect and Treasurer-

Elect on February 11, 2013.

Bylaws were amended to update Legislation and Compliance Officer on September 14, 2014.