Prince of Peace Catholic School Parent Teacher Organization Bylaws Article I – Name and Purpose Section 1: Name This organization shall be called the Prince of Peace Catholic School Parent Teacher Organization, (PTO). Section 2: Purpose and Goals The purpose of the Prince of Peace Catholic School PTO is to support and enhance Prince of Peace Catholic School by: - Promoting open communication between the administrators, teachers, and parents; - Encouraging student, parent, administrator, and teacher participation at school   functions; - Providing an atmosphere for parental support (i.e. parents volunteering and   sharing their ideas experiences, problems, and solutions); - Organizing and/or contributing funds and services to special projects and extra –curricular activities; - Fostering the growth of Catholic education in the home so that parents and    teachers may cooperate in the religious education of the children. Section 3: Boundaries These Bylaws and the existing policies and procedures at Prince of Peace Catholic School govern the Prince of Peace Catholic School PTO organizational boundaries.  Governance instruments include the Prince of Peace Catholic School Mission Statement, the Prince of Peace Catholic School Handbook, and all other published school policies.  The Prince of Peace Catholic School PTO will conduct all activities in a manner consistent with and institutional commitment to the Catholic faith and the Stated purpose of the PTO. The Prince of Peace Catholic School PTO will not serve as a grievance committee.  The Prince of Peace Catholic PTO strongly encourages that all parental or teacher concerns be addressed directly with the appropriate school authority, following procedures set forth in the Prince of Peace Catholic School Handbook. Article II – Membership The parents or legal guardians of a student enrolled in Prince of Peace Catholic School and each teacher employed by Prince of Peace Catholic School represents an automatic single voting member of the Prince of Peace Catholic School PTO.  Members must be present at meetings in order to vote, or have completed an absentee ballot prior to the meeting.  The PTO assembly may assess nominal dues at the first General Meeting of the school year. Article III – General Meetings Section 1:  Annual Election Meeting The Annual Election meeting will occur each year during the April monthly PTO meeting. Elections of new Executive Committee members or election of current members to a Second term will occur as the first item of business at the annual meeting of the Prince of Peace Catholic School PTO. Section 2:  Monthly Meetings Prince of Peace Catholic PTO shall meet monthly, on the third Tuesday of each month, at 7:00 PM in Croghan Hall, unless otherwise scheduled.  Notices for the meetings and agendas will be the responsibility of the Prince of Peace Catholic School PTO Executive Committee and will be distributed to all parents and teachers.  The Meetings are open to all PTO members.  A quorum is established by 10% of the official membership.  A simple majority of the voting members present shall constitute a voting quorum. Section 3:  Special Meetings The Principal, President, or the Vice-President of the Prince of Peace Catholic School PTO Executive Committee may call special meetings. The Secretary shall send out notices of Special Meetings to all members at least 24 hours in advance. Article IV – Executive committee Section 1: Executive Committee The Executive Board shall consist of eight (8) Officers, including: President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer, Director of Ways and Means, Director of Programs, Director of Volunteers, and Director of Communications. Three (3) non-voting, advisory representatives will also serve in the following capacities:  Principal, Teacher Representative and Past President. The long-range plan for the executive board is to be comprised of four officers, Including: President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Three (3) non-voting Representatives will also serve in the following advisory positions; Principal, Teacher Representative and Past President.  Decisions on which, if any Directors will serve as voting members for the next year’s board will be decided after review by the current year’s board in January. It is expected that all who choose to serve on the board will exercise discretion with regards to PTO board matters, and maintain any confidentialities.  No one will run for or hold more than one board position at one time.  Only one family member per household may run for or hold a board position. Two non-related individuals may hold a single executive committee position as “co-executive committee members”, representing a single vote. Section 2: Executive Committee Duties The duties of the Executive Committee are as follows: The PTO President shall:  Convene regularly scheduled Executive Committee meetings; preside at each Executive Committee and Monthly PTO meeting, or designate an alternate Executive Committee member to preside (in the following order: Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer); assist with the preparation of the PTO budget; and serve as the PTO primary liaison to the Principal and sit on the Prince of Peace Catholic School Board.  The President is an automatic member of each committee, and accepts Director reports on a committee activity. The PTO Vice-President shall: Chair committees on special subjects as designated by the Executive Committee; perform the President’s duties in the President’s absence; assist with the preparation of the PTO budget.  The Vice-President is responsible for planning and implementing the monthly General PTO meetings. The Secretary shall: Summarize and distribute to PTO Board a record of all Executive Committee and Monthly PTO action in the form of meeting minutes in written or electronic format; generate and distribute Executive and Monthly PTO Meeting Agendas upon consultation with other Executive Committee members; keep the calendar for PTO events and activities; assist other Executive Committee members with development and reproduction of presentation, information, and ad hoc materials for various audiences; archive, maintain, and pass on all PTO written records to the next Secretary; and in 2006-2007 and henceforth, assist with the preparation of the PTO budget. The Treasurer shall:  Directly report to the school financial advisor; submit quarterly reports to the Diocese; compile, maintain, and report on the financial components of any PTO activity; prepare and maintain audit records for all PTO financial activity; Chair the Finance committee; have the Principal cosign all checks for $100.00 or more; assist with the preparation of the PTO budget; assist with the development of fundraising plans for PTO projects; and make PTO financial information available to the Executive Committee and the public. Teacher Representative shall:  Be chosen by the teachers and be a non-voting member for the Executive Board; disseminate information to the teachers from the board meetings. The Principal shall:  Interact with the executive board on a regular basis; and offer direction and input to the PTO consistent with school policies and budgets and within the boundaries of the PTO Purpose and Goals.  The Principal shall not hold a voting executive board position. Section 3: Directors For the 2004-2005, the Director positions are voting Executive Board positions, and for subsequent years, any positions shifted from the board will then be Standing Committee Chairmen. The Director of Ways and Means shall:  Present fundraising ideas to the Executive Board, run all fundraisers that the board approves; and track all donations that the school receives through fundraising with the Treasurer. The Director of Programs shall:  Plan and manage all special events (Back to School, Red Ribbon Week, Catholic Schools Week, End of School, Teacher Appreciation Week and other events approved by the board). The Director of Volunteers shall:  Organize, recruit and help to assign volunteers to activities and events sponsored by the PTO; be the PTO Organizer/Liaison to the Room Parents; and track the activities of volunteers. The Director of Communications shall:  Create, distribute and track all PTO notices, flyers, and forms for all PTO activities and events (i.e., meeting flyers, Citrus fundraiser forms, etc.); assist with PTO website, help update and check the site for accuracy. Section 4: Executive Board Meetings The Executive Board shall meet monthly as regularly scheduled meetings, and as needed with at least 7 days advance notice, unless an emergency meeting is called, and notices sent to all members at least 24 hours in advance.  An Executive Board  quorum is 5 voting members with the President or Vice-President in attendance.  For subsequent years, a quorum will be decided based on the number of board members, but at least 60% of the board. Section 6: Executive Committee Qualification for Service Each teacher, parent or legal guardian of a current Prince of Peace Catholic student is eligible to be nominated and serve as a PTO Executive Committee Officer after being a member of the PTO during the prior school year.  A Teacher may not serve in the position of President or Vice-President, and if a teacher is serving on the Executive Board, he/she may also be the Teacher Representative. Section 7: Executive Committee Elections Elections of new Executive Committee members or election of current members to a second term will occur as the first item of business at the annual meeting of the PTO.  Executive Committee members will be elected by a majority of votes cast by the voting membership present, and those who completed an absentee ballot prior to the meeting. Section 8: Executive Committee Terms and Term Limits Each Executive Committee officer shall serve a one-year term that runs July through June of each year.  A first-term Executive officer is eligible for reelection to the same position, but no officer shall be eligible to serve more than two consecutive terms in the same Executive position. Section 9: Executive Committee Vacancies When a vacancy on the Executive Committee exists, the Secretary or President may receive nominations for new members from any member two weeks in advance of the next Executive Committee meeting. These nominations shall be placed on the next monthly PTO meeting agenda and voted upon.  Any such replacement of an Executive Committee member will be effective upon conclusion of the vote. The new Executive Committee member’s term obligation is only to the end of the replaced Executive Committee member’s term.  If a replacement is elected before January 1st, this counts as a full term toward their 2-year term limit. Section 12: Resignation, Termination and Absences The President or Vice-President must receive resignations from the Executive Committee member in writing.  An Executive Committee member shall forfeit their office and their term shall be terminated for the following, but not limited to: inactivity/dereliction of duty or excessive absences from Executive Committee or Monthly PTO meetings.  “Excessive absences” is defined as three unexcused absences (with no prior, approved notification to the President) from Executive Committee or Monthly PTO meetings during an Executive Committee term. It is expected that all who choose to serve on the board will exercise discretion with regards to PTO board matters, and maintain any confidentialities.  An Executive Committee member may be removed for other reasons by an unanimous vote of the remaining officers including a vote given to the Principal. Article V – Temporary and Ad Hoc Committees The Executive Committee recognizes the need to organize and maintain temporary and ad hoc committees dedicated to specific short-term aspects of the PTO Purpose and Goals.  Such temporary and ad hoc Committees shall be assigned titles indicative of their purpose.  An individual nominated from among members of the committee and/or confirmed by a majority vote of the Executive Committee will chair each temporary or ad hoc committee. Article VI – Amendments These Bylaws may be amended by a three-fourths majority of the members present.  Proposed amendments must be submitted in written draft form to the Secretary, who must distribute such draft to all teachers and parents with the next regular Executive Committee announcements.  The Prince of Peace Catholic School PTO General members must ratify any subsequent change or amendment to these Bylaws in a ¾ majority of voting members present. Article VII – Ratification To be ratified these bylaws must pass 2/3 of the 2004-2005 Executive Board, by a ¾ majority of 2004-2005 voting members present at the ratification, and also by ¾ votes by the 2005-2006 Executive Board.  After final ratification, amendments will be made using the aforementioned Article VI.