Exton Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization
Charter Bylaws
Revision: 5/2019
ARTICLE I: TITLE
The name of this organization is the Exton Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization and shall be referred to hereafter as “Exton Elementary School PTO.”
ARTICLE II: PURPOSE
A. To promote a spirit of cooperation and communication between home and school, and better serve the welfare of the children as individuals and as part of the student body.
B. To enhance the learning environment of the students by providing materials and activities that will aid in their mental, physical and emotional development.
C. To encourage and coordinate activities of parents, teachers and other members of the surrounding community for the betterment of the children.
D. To have the ability to suggest additions and deletions to the current school programs.
E. Said corporation/organization is organized exclusively for charitable, religious, education and scientific purposes, including, for such purpose the making of distributions to organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (or the corresponding section of any future Federal tax code).
F. Upon dissolution of this corporation/organization, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future Federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the Federal government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose.
G. To raise funds for any purpose that directly benefit the students of Exton Elementary.
ARTICLE III: POLICIES
A. This group is not associated with any state, national or other local organization.
B. The organization shall be non-commercial, non-sectarian and non-partisan. No commercial enterprise or political candidate shall be endorsed by it. The name of the organization, or the names of any members in their official capacities, shall not be used in connection with any partisan interest, or for any other purpose than the regular work of this organization.
C. This organization will seek to work in conjunction with the school administration and not to direct or control its policies.
ARTICLE IV: MEMBERSHIP AND DUES
A. Membership is automatically granted to all parents of students at Exton Elementary School and to all school staff members at Exton Elementary School.
B. No dues are charged for membership. An annual support donation will be requested.
C. All officers and committee chairpersons must be active members of the Exton Elementary School PTO.
ARTICLE V: MEETINGS
Meetings of the Executive Board will be held monthly, while General Membership meetings will be held up to five (5) times per year.
ARTICLE VI: ELECTION OF THE EXECUTIVE
A. The elected members of the Executive Board Committee are the officers comprised of a President and President Elect and a Vice President and Vice-President Elect, a Secretary, a Treasurer and a Treasurer-Elect and, if needed, a PTOC representative(s). The school principal and teacher representatives (appointed by the school principal) will be non-elected members of the Executive Board.
B. A vacancy occurring in any office, except President, shall be filled for the remaining term by a person appointed by the Executive Board and will be announced to the general membership. If the President is unable to complete their term, the office of President will be filled by the President-Elect and the Executive Board will appoint a new President-Elect if necessary.
C. All officers are elected for a term of two (2) years. No officers will be eligible to serve more than three (3) consecutive terms in the same office. After serving three (3) consecutive terms as an officer, that person will be required to take a two (2) year hiatus from the Executive Board.
D. Officers shall assume the official duties of their respective offices at the conclusion of the last day of the school year.
E. The Executive Board is responsible for assembling a list of open Executive Board positions, notifying the community of the open positions, gathering a list of interested candidates, and then presenting the list of interested candidates (slate) to the community. The list of candidates will be sent to the entire Exton Elementary school parent/guardian body at least 14 days prior to the final General Membership meeting of the school year, in May. If more than one person is interested in the same position, an election would be held with an attending majority vote by the General Membership at the final May meeting.
F. All elected officers, committee chairpersons and co-chairpersons are required to
have children currently enrolled at Exton Elementary.
G. All elected officers are required to have volunteered in some capacity before being eligible to hold an Executive Board position.
ARTICLE VII: DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS
A. The President and President-Elect shall be the Chief Executive Officer(s) of the PTO.
1. May not serve more than two (2) consecutive terms of two years, unless a replacement(s) cannot be found after all efforts have been exhausted to search for a replacement.
2. If the President is not able to fulfill their commitment, the President-Elect or the Vice President will be considered for the position of President.
3. The President must have one year previous experience on the Executive Board.
4. The President shall distribute the Executive Board meeting Agenda via email two (2) days prior to the meeting and distribute the General Membership meeting Agenda in print format the night of the meeting.
B. The President-Elect shall assume the duties of the President in the event of absences or resignation.
1. If the President-Elect is not able to fulfill their commitment to be President at the end of the school year, the Vice President, or other interested/eligible Board members will be considered for the position of President for the following year.
2. Shall assist the President in performing such duties as may be assigned by the President or the Executive Board.
C. The Vice President shall perform such duties as may be assigned by the Executive Board.
1. Shall serve as the fundraising chairs responsible for reviewing all fundraising opportunities and making recommendations to the Executive Board at the board meetings. They will make recommendations on current fundraisers as well as potential fundraisers.
D. The Secretary shall perform such duties as may be assigned by the Executive Board.
1. Shall record the minutes of all Executive Board and General Membership PTO meetings.
2. Shall ensure that the Board is following the Bylaws and Parliamentary Law by Robert’s Rules of Order.
3. Shall be responsible for distributing all PTO Board and General Membership minutes monthly.
E. The Treasurer shall keep an accurate record of all financial transactions.
1. Shall receive all monies of the Exton Elementary PTO and shall keep an accurate record of receipts and expenditures.
2. All money disbursed by the Treasurer shall be documented with valid receipts/bills/invoices.
3. All PTO expenditure and reimbursement checks must be signed by President and/or President-Elect and Treasurer.
4. Shall provide a year to date budget report, an itemized categories report and a monthly Treasurer’s Report at the monthly Executive Board meetings.
5. Shall submit a written year-end financial report by June 30th.
6.Shall provide a copy of the PTO bank statement to the President and/or President-Elect at the monthly Executive Board meetings.
7.Shall have the appropriate tax forms prepared and submitted to the IRS within the timeframe allowed by the IRS. (Currently every 4 years.)
8. Shall work with the current President to write up a proposed budget for the next year. The incoming Board will review the budget proposal, make the necessary changes, and bring it to a vote at the June Executive Board meeting. The budget will be brought for a vote at the September PTO General Membership meeting for approval.
9.The Treasurer-Elect shall assume the duties of the Treasurer in the event of absences or resignation during the school year.
F. The PTOC Representative shall serve as a voting member(s) of the Executive Board.
1. Shall attend one (1) monthly PTOC meeting for the district as an Exton Elementary representative(s)
2. Shall report back to the Executive Board at each monthly meeting any/all news/ideas discussed at the PTOC meeting or will provide the Executive Board with a written summary of each meeting attended one week of attended meeting
3. Will be responsible for finding a replacement for any PTOC meetings that have to be missed and will ensure that representative provides the Board with a written summary of the meeting.
G. The Exton Principal shall serve as a voting member of the Executive Board.
1. Shall advise the Board and the PTO throughout the year with regard to the school district policy and all the proposed PTO activities.
2. Shall appoint a teacher representative(s) to serve on the Executive Board.
H. The Teacher Representative(s) will be appointed by the Exton Elementary Principal.
1. Shall be the prime liaison between the PTO and the teaching staff at Exton Elementary and shall be a voting member of the Executive Board.
2. The Teacher Representative position can be shared by more than one person. However, the teacher representative vote will count only as one vote.
I. The immediate past President shall be available to advise the President and/or President-Elect and/or Vice President and/or Vice President-Elect and other officers on the issues of the previous year to ensure proper follow-through.
J. All officers shall perform the duties prescribed in these Bylaws and those assigned throughout their terms of office. All officers shall deliver to their successors all official materials within ten (10) days following the meeting at which they are inducted.
ARTICLE VIII: EXECUTIVE BOARD
A. The Executive Board shall consist of the elected officers of the organization, the Exton Elementary Principal, and Teacher Representative(s).
B. The duties of the Executive Board shall be:
1.To present a program and a budget for consideration, amendment, and adoption by the organization at its first General Membership meeting of the school year.
2.To transact all PTO business, including approval of all necessary expenditures during the school year and the months of June, July and August.
3.To create or delete committees by a majority vote of the attending Executive Board.
4.To approve the plans of work of the committees.
5. To attend PTO Executive Board and General Membership meetings on a regular basis.
6.The unallocated balance left in the treasury at the end of the school year, for use by the incoming Board, shall be no less than five thousand dollars $5,000, but no more than $10,000, to allow for expenditures during the summer break and start of school year in September.
7. To approve expenditures within the framework of the approved budget. The Board shall have the power, in its discretion, upon the majority vote of the attending board members, to approve any expenditure it shall deem appropriate, provided such expenditures shall benefit the school, the students or the staff.
8. All money requested by the faculty and staff must be provided in writing to the Treasurer and he/she will present it to the Board for approval.
9. All issues that come before the PTO will be voted on by the Executive Board and determined by the majority vote of the attending Board members. The General Membership will vote to approve the budget and election of officers.
10. In the event that the Executive Board finds that any member of its body does not perform their duties to the satisfaction of the Executive Board, the Executive Board, or a majority thereof, shall call a special meeting of the Board for the purpose of discussion and voting. An 80% majority of the Board members is required to relieve the person in question of their duties. The Executive Board would then appoint a new Board member.
11. If the Executive Board finds that a committee chairperson does not perform their duties to the satisfaction of the Executive Board, the Board may, at a regularly scheduled Board meeting, have a discussion of the issues and request a vote to remove the chairperson. An 80% majority of the Board members is required to relieve the person in question of their duties. A Board member will then assume that chairperson position.
12. At year end, all records will be passed on to the newly elected Board members.
ARTICLE IX: STANDING AND SPECIAL COMMITTEES
A. Committees shall be created by the Executive Board as becomes necessary.
B. No committee work shall be undertaken without the consent of the Executive Board.
C. No elected Executive Board officer should act as committee chair for any committee unless no other option is presented and after removal of said committee is discussed.
D.An annual list of Standing and Special Committees shall be created by the Executive Board for planning/organizational purposes. The list will also note the chairperson(s) in charge of the committee in question. The list will be edited from year to year.
ARTICLE X: COMMITTEE CHAIR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
A. A Policy and Procedures document will be updated annually. This document will be distributed to all chairpersons.
B. A Volunteer Guideline and Building Guideline document will be updated annually and be distributed to all chairpersons, homeroom parents, and volunteers.
C. Both documents will be distributed to all Board members and committee heads.
D. It is suggested that committee chairs only hold one committee chair position at a time, to ensure proper execution of that committee’s duties. This also ensures that volunteer positions are spread among the entire community and not restricted to a select few.
E. All current committee chairs will have the option to continue to chair their current committee for three (3) years or have the first opportunity to select any open chair position.
F. The Executive Board will assist in the process of filling any open chair positions.
ARTICLE XI: AMENDMENTS TO THE BYLAWS
These Bylaws may be amended by affirmative vote of two-thirds of the General Membership present at the General Membership meeting, provided the membership is given notice at least 10 days in advance that such a meeting will occur. The Executive Board must provide the proposed amendment changes being considered to their members with the meeting notice. Absentee ballots and voting by proxy shall not be accepted for amendments to these Bylaws