PTO Bylaws
ST. ANDREW THE APOSTLE
CATHOLIC SCHOOL
PARENT-TEACHER ORGANIZATION (PTO)
CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS
ARTICLE I. NAME
ARTICLE II. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES
ARTICLE III. AUTHORITY
ARTICLE IV. MEMBERSHIP
ARTICLE V. OFFICERS
ARTICLE VI. EXECUTIVE BOARD
ARTICLE VII. ELECTIONS
ARTICLE VIII. GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENTS
BY-LAWS SECTIONS:
ARTICLE I. DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS
ARTICLE II. DUTIES OF OTHER BOARD MEMBERS
ARTICLE III. EXECUTIVE BOARD
ARTICLE IV. COMMITTEES
ARTICLE V. PROCEDURE
ARTICLE VI. AMENDMENTS
CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE I. NAME
The name of this organization shall be the St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic
School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO).
ARTICLE II. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES
The purpose of the PTO is to provide a structure in which the parents, faculty,
Principal and Pastor can work together to further the growth and development
of the students, faculty, staff, parents and the school. It shall advise the Principal
about policies relating to the school's educational program and it will be
consultative to the Principal and to the Pastor. It shall also advise school
administrators in the areas of long-range planning, policy development and
public relations. It shall be the vehicle through which school parents and
guardians are organized to support fundraising, extracurricular programs,
special activities and any other events that foster the growth and development
of the school community.
ARTICLE III. AUTHORITY
The school Principal has the responsibility for administration of St. Andrew the
Apostle Catholic School under the direction of the Pastor and in accord with the
directives of the Diocese of Arlington. The role of the PTO shall be principally to
act as a forum and assistance center where matters relating to the school may be
discussed, solved and acted upon as necessary and appropriate.
ARTICLE IV. MEMBERSHIP
All parents and guardians of students of St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic School
may become members of the PTO by payment of annual dues. All members of
the faculty, the Principal, and the Pastor of St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic
Church shall automatically be considered members of the PTO. Dues are
established annually by the Executive Board.
ARTICLE V. OFFICERS
The officers of the PTO shall be President, Vice President for Parent Volunteers,
Vice President for Ways & Means, Vice President for Communication, Secretary,
and Treasurer. Officers shall be elected annually. The term of office shall be for
one year. No person shall be eligible to hold the same office for more than two
consecutive terms. No person shall be an officer for more than four consecutive
terms. All officers must be members in good standing.
ARTICLE VI. EXECUTIVE BOARD
Section 1. The administrative body of the PTO shall be known as the Executive
Board. The Executive Board shall consist of voting and non-voting members.
Voting members shall be the Pastor (or his representative) of the parish, the
Principal, a faculty member chosen by the faculty, and the six elected officers of
The PTO. Non-voting advisory members shall be the immediate past President of
the PTO (if not otherwise holding another elected office), the CYO Parish repre-
sentative and Chairpersons of the committees. The Executive Board acts for the
membership between general meetings.
Section 2. All matters of policy and administration shall be vested in the
Executive Board.
Section 3. A quorum of the Executive Board shall be a majority of the voting
members present in person.
Section 4. Meetings of the Executive Board shall be held at the call of the
President or any three members of the Executive Board.
Section 5. The Executive Board shall have the right to expend funds in urgent
situations between meeting of the general membership. During the school year,
the Board shall call a general membership meeting to approve any unbudgeted,
non-reimbursable expenditure in excess of $1,000.
Section 6. The Executive Board shall have the right to fill any vacancies among
the officers of the organization, subject to the subsequent approval of the
membership.
Section 7. The Executive Board shall have the right to add or delete special
standing committees, and appoint chairpersons of said committees by majority
vote without prior notice.
ARTICLE VII. ELECTIONS
Section 1. The officers of the PTO shall be elected from and by members of
the PTO in good standing.
Section 2. Nominations of officers shall be solicited by a nominating committee.
The nominating committee shall be composed of at least three volunteers from the
general membership appointed by the Executive Board at least three months prior
to the election meeting. The nominating committee shall report the names of the
candidates for each office at the nominations meeting, which meeting shall be
held at least one month prior to the election meeting. Additional nominations
may be made from the floor at the nominations meeting. The consent of all
nominees must be obtained.
Section 3. All members in good standing shall be entitled to one vote. Voting
shall be by secret written ballot. Members may vote either in person at the
election meeting or by absentee ballot. Proxy votes shall not be obtained.
Section 4. Absentee ballots shall be accepted until the close of voting during the
election meeting as determined by the nomination committee.
Section 5. The nominating committee shall establish procedures for conducting
Absentee balloting and shall give notice of the final slate of candidates for office
to the general membership one week prior to the election. This notice shall be
disseminated through normal school channels (i.e., school newsletter).
Section 6. Election results shall be tabulated by the nominating committee at the
election meeting and results announced before the close of business. A plurality
of votes cast shall be sufficient to elect candidates to office.
Section 7. If at the close of nominations in Section 2 of this article (Article VII.
Elections) it is determined that there is one or less nominee for each Executive
Board position, Sections 3 through 6 of this article may, at the discretion of the
current Executive Board and the Nominating Committee, be replaced by a
Majority vote taken at the election meeting.
ARTICLE VIII. GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
Section 1. The election meeting shall take place at the last business meeting of
the organizational year. The organizational year shall run from June 1 to May 30.
Section 2. The PTO shall hold a general membership meeting at least every
other month during the school year, with the first meeting of the year held no
later than the last day of September.
Section 3. There may also be meetings during the year at such times as the
President and or the Executive Board shall decide.
Section 4. At any regularly called meeting of the general membership, those
present shall constitute a quorum.
ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENTS
This constitution may be amended or suspended by a two-thirds vote, provided
written notice has been given to the general membership at least 21 days
prior to the meeting and a quorum is present. Notice published in the school
newsletter shall constitute sufficient notice for purposes of this article. A quorum
for the purpose of this article shall be those members present.
BY-LAWS
ARTICLE I. DUTIES OF OFFICERS
Section 1. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Board and
the general membership, compile an agenda for all meetings, act on behalf of the
PTO in urgent matters arising between Executive Board meetings, attend PTO
federation meetings, fill vacancies on the Board with the approval of the
Executive Board members between elections, appoint committees with the
approval of the Executive Board, be an ex-officio member of all committees,
receive notices of committee meetings, as well as all communications dispersed
by the committees, and represent the PTO to all other parish organizations.
Section 2. The Vice Presidents shall be three in number. The Vice Presidents
shall be named Vice President for Parent Volunteers, Vice President for Ways &
Means and Vice President for Communications. The Vice President for Parent
Volunteers shall act as President in the absence or incapacity of the President
and shall assume the duties of the office until the next annual election if the
office of the President becomes vacant. In the event that the Vice President for
Parent Volunteers must assume the duties of President, the Board shall fill the
vacancy of Vice President for Parent Volunteers subject to subsequent approval
of the membership. Vice Presidents shall chair any ad hoc committees at the
discretion of the President.
A. The Vice President for Parent Volunteers shall coordinate staffing of
school programs/activities requiring the time and talents of school parents
and guardians, suggest and provide means to recognize those who
volunteer their time and talents to the school and perform other duties
as the President or the Executive Board shall designate.
B. The Vice President for Communications shall produce and coordinate
periodic newsletters that serve as vehicles for communications between
the school and parents, coordinate all publicity for school fundraisers and
other school activities or programs sponsored by the PTO, submit items
for publication in church bulletins, the Arlington Catholic Herald, and
local newspapers concerning school activities, accomplishments, and the
like, and perform other duties as the President or the Executive Board
shall designate.
C. The Vice President of Ways & Means shall solicit ideas and volunteers
for fundraising projects, develop a fundraising master plan consistent with
the fundraising goals of the Board, present the master plan to the Board for
approval, oversee and coordinate all fundraising events and insure that
accurate records are maintained on expenditures and on the hours worked
by those parents and guardians involved in them, maintain accurate records
and reports on all fundraisers, coordinate with parish and school office to
ensure proper scheduling and reservation of appropriate facilities, investigate
new fundraising ideas, and perform other duties as the President or the
Executive Board shall designate.
Section 3. The Secretary shall keep a minute book showing a true and
accurate record of all meetings of the PTO and the Executive Board. The
Secretary shall record, post, and report the minutes of all PTO meetings and
place one copy in the minute book. In addition, one copy should be given to
each member of the Executive Board as soon as possible after each meeting.
The Secretary shall prepare and distribute notices and communications of
the Executive Board, post the agenda for all meetings, prepare and disseminate
official correspondence of the PTO and the Executive Board, maintain a file of
all such correspondence, and perform such other duties as the President or
the Executive Board shall designate.
Section 4. The Treasurer shall prepare and present a written annual financial
report to the general membership at its first meeting in the fall, update the
Executive Board and the general membership on the PTO's financial status at
Executive Board and general membership meetings, keep a full and accurate
account of all receipts and disbursements of the PTO, receive all dues and
monies, make disbursements that come due in the ordinary course of PTO
business subject to the guidance and direction of the Executive Board, and
perform other duties as the President or the Executive Board shall designate.
ARTICLE II. DUTIES OF OTHER BOARD MEMBERS
Section 1. The Principal shall represent the administration at all Executive Board
meetings by bringing matters of concern to them before the Executive Board, and
then report back to the administration the details and results of these meetings.
Section 2. The faculty representative shall represent the faculty at all Executive
Board meetings by bringing matters of concern to them before the Executive
Board, and then report back to the faculty the details and results of these
meetings.
ARTICLE III. EXECUTIVE BOARD
Section 1. The Executive Board shall carry out the objectives and policies of the
PTO and propose new objectives and policies when necessary.
Section 2. In accord with the provisions of the Constitution and By-Laws, the
Executive Board shall manage the affairs of this organization.
Section 3. The Executive Board shall approve the plans, programs and actions of
the committees. All matters of the committees requiring a vote of the Executive
Board shall be submitted in writing to the President one week prior to the
Executive Board meeting.
Section 4. Any issues of the general membership requiring the Executive Board's
vote must be submitted in writing to the President one week prior to the
Executive Board meeting.
Section 5. Executive Board meetings are open to all members of the PTO unless
an Executive Session is called. The Pastor, Principal or the PTO President may
call an Executive Session and at the Executive session only voting members of
the Executive Board shall attend.
ARTICLE IV. COMMITTEES
Section 1. Committees shall be appointed by the President with the approval of
of the Executive Board.
Section 2. Each committee chairperson shall be responsible for organizing their
committee, appointing such deputies and establishing such subcommittees as
they may deem necessary or desirable. The Secretary shall be informed of the
membership of each committee by the chairperson.
Section 3. Each committee chairperson shall present a proposed budget to the
Executive Board. All committee chairs must work with the Treasurer to insure
proper collection of and disbursement of any monies, as deemed appropriate by
the Executive Board.
ARTICLE V. PROCEDURE
All meetings of the PTO and the Executive Board shall be conducted according to
"Robert's Rules of Order, Revised", when not consistent with this Constitution and
By-Laws.
ARTICLE VI. AMENDMENTS
These By-Laws may be amended or suspended by a majority of a quorum of
members present at any PTO general membership meeting, provided written
notice has been provided to the general membership at least 21 days prior to the
meeting. Notice published in the school newsletter shall be sufficient notice for
purposes of this article. A quorum shall be those members present in person.
Updated: __________________, 2000.
By: ___________________________
Submitted 6/7/00
By Cate Lione
Proposed Amendments to the
St. Andrew the Apostle School PTO
Constitution/By-Laws
Constitution
ARTICLE IV. MEMBERSHIP-
Amend the first sentence in the Article to read as follows:
"All parents and guardians of students of St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic
School shall be members of the PTO by payment of annual dues."
Reason: Since all students of St. Andrew the Apostle School benefit from
the fundraising and social activities of the PTO, it is reasonable to expect
that all parents and guardians support the PTO by becoming members.
By- Laws
Article I. Duties of Officers-
Add the following sentence to Section 3 after "In addition, one copy should
be given to each member of the Executive Board as soon as possible after
each meeting." To read as follows: "It shall be the responsibility of the
Secretary to update the Constitution and By-Laws to show all approved
changes. The Secretary will then provide each Executive Board member
with an updated copy."
Reason: At the present time, no one is designated as the official "Keeper of
the Constitution and By-Laws". This has created a lot of confusion which
could have been avoided had someone been assigned to incorporate
changes and keep this document current.
