Cedar Island Elementary

CEDAR ISLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

PARENT TEACHER ORGANIZATION BY-LAWS

(final draft September 9, 2004)

ARTICLE I: NAME

The name of the organization shall be the Cedar Island Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization (CIPTO), an independent, non-profit organization, hereinafter referred to as the “Organization”.

ARTICLE II: OBJECTIVE

The Organization shall:

Serve as an advocate for the education and general welfare of students attending Cedar Island Elementary School (CIES) including advocating for educational enrichment and for providing a safe and healthy environment for its students,
Foster communication and cooperation among the faculty, administration, students, and parents of CIES, and
Foster optimum parent involvement in activities to support CIES.

ARTICLE III: GENERAL MEMBERSHIP

All parent and legal guardians of students currently attending CIES and all members of the CIES faculty are members of the Organization. The principal of CIES is an ex-officio member of the Organization.
All members with children currently enrolled at CIES have the right to vote.
There will be no dues collected.

ARTICLE IV: EXECUTIVE BOARD

Positions, Qualifications, Term of Office:
The Executive Board shall consist of a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer.
Members of the Executive Boards shall hold their positions for a term of two years and shall serve from the time of their installation until the installation of the new Executive Board member. No person shall serve in any position for more than one term (two consecutive years). However, service in any position shall not preclude a member of the Executive Board from running for or serving in a different position following his/her then current position. NOTE: There will be an exception with the 2005/2006 year as both the Secretary, Bonnie Keating and the President, Sherri Engstrand will remain in office for a third year. This is being done so that in the future we will never change all 4 officers in 1 year. Each year we will change 2 positions. Accordingly for the 2005/2006 school year we will be electing a new Treasurer and Vice President. In the 2006/2007 we will be electing a new President and Secretary and it will carry on that way in the future.
No person shall serve as a member of the Executive Board unless he/she has a child then currently enrolled at CIES.

B. Elections:

Nominations.
A Nominating Committee shall be comprised of three members, who shall be selected by the Executive Board. The President shall appoint one of the committee members to serve as Chairperson.
The Nominating Committee shall select at least one (1) nominee for each office to be filled. The names of these candidates shall be reported to the General Membership at least two (2) weeks prior to ballots being issued. An individual’s consent must be obtained before his/her name is officially placed on the ballot.
The Executive Board shall have the power to keep the nomination period for some of all of the positions open beyond June 1 if it deems it in the best interest of the Organization.
If an officer decides not to continue in their elected office for the 2 nd year of their term, they are required to communicate that to the Executive Board by no later than the March general membership meeting.
Voting.
Should there be only one (1) candidate for any office the Secretary may be instructed, by unanimous consent, to cast one ballot to elect such candidate.
Should there be more than one candidate for any office a ballot shall be distributed to the General Membership.
Ballots will be issued to the Membership, by the Executive Board, no later than the fifteenth of the month preceding the last Organization meeting of the school year. A deadline for returning ballots shall be determined by the Executive Board. No ballots shall be accepted after the deadline. Members shall be informed of the election results.
Voting shall be limited to the General Membership.
Once nominations are closed, seven (7) days prior to ballots being issued, there shall be no write-in candidates.
Incoming Executive Board members shall be installed during the last Organization meeting of the school year at which time all the records and property of the Organization shall be handed over by each Executive Board member to his/her successor.

ARTICLE V: POWERS AND DUTIES

The President shall preside at all meetings of the Organization and of the Executive Committee and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed in these By-Laws or assigned by the Organization or by the Executive Committee in order that the objectives may be achieved. The President and the Treasurer are responsible for approving and monitoring operating expenses.
The Vice President shall act as assistant to the President and shall perform the duties of the President in the absence or inability of that officer to serve. Should the position of President become vacant during a term of office, the Vice President shall serve as President for the remainder of the term.
The Secretary shall keep an accurate and permanent record of all meetings of the Executive Board and of the General Membership and shall maintain the official records and files of the Organization. In the absence of the Secretary, the President shall appoint a Secretary pro tem for that meeting. The Secretary shall post the minutes of the previous General Membership meeting on-line at the CIES website before the next regularly scheduled Board meeting. Copies of General Membership minutes shall be available to all Organization members upon request.
The Treasurer shall maintain and reconcile all bank accounts and pay all Organization bills in a timely manner pursuant to properly documented invoices and requests for reimbursements. The Treasurer shall keep an accurate and permanent record of all receipts and disbursements and present monthly written reports of the same to the Executive Board. The Treasurer shall present a comprehensive report of the current school year’s financial activity to the General Membership at its last meeting of the school year and shall provide the Membership with interim reports as requested. The Treasurer shall discharge all governmental reporting requirements in a timely manner. He/she shall serve as principal contact with all auditors, and facilitate the annual audit of the Organization’s books and accounts.

ARTICLE VI: GENERAL MEETING

The Executive Board shall hold regular monthly meetings once a month during the school year. The dates, time, and location of the meetings shall be convenient to at least a quorum of the Board, as determined by the President. The dates, time, and location of such meetings shall be published at the beginning of each school year. A good faith effort shall be made to give notice to the General Membership of such changed date, location or time in a manner deemed appropriate by the President.
The Executive Committee shall consist of the Officers of the Organization, the principal of the school or the principal’s appointed representative, two members of the faculty, and all group representatives as designated by the Executive Committee (i.e. peer representative, school board representative, etc.)
The duties of the Executive Committee shall be to:

Create standing committees,
Approve the plans of work of the standing committees,
Present a report at the regular meetings of the Organization,
Appoint an auditor or an auditing committee at least two (2) weeks prior to the last Executive Committee meeting of the school year to audit the Treasurer’s accounts, and to
Approve routine expenditures.

The Membership present shall constitute a quorum.
Except when amended by the Executive Board, the order of business at all Executive Board meetings shall be as follows:
Principal’s Report
Treasurer’s Report
Volunteer Report
Committee Reports
Student Council Report
Unfinished Business
New Business
Announcements
Adjournment
The privilege of holding office, introducing motions, debating and voting shall be limited to the current members of the Organization.

ARTICLE VII: FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION

The fiscal year of the Organization shall commence September 1 and end August 31.
The PTO will be bonded by a fidelity bond and will comply with the following requirements:

All checks over $1000 will require two signatures.
The Vice President shall have no signing privileges.
The president must appoint a member from each fundraiser committee to act as the financial representative and assist the treasurer with the deposits. That individual will be responsible for collecting money from the cashiers, pre-counting the money before giving to the treasurer as a check and balance, and, will also accompany the treasurer to the bank.
Signatories

The President and the Treasurer shall be authorized to sign checks. All checks will require two signatures.
No check shall be signed by a person to whom the check is payable.
All reconciliations need to be handled by a non-signer on the account. This shall be handled by the Vice President.
All contracts and investments must be signed by the President and the Treasurer.

Budget

The Executive Board shall generate a budget for the coming year based upon consultation with the chairs of the various committees, a review of the budget of the previous fiscal year and the expenses of the current fiscal year. This budget shall be used as a spending guide and as a means of informing the General Membership on the intended disbursal of Organization revenues.
The budget shall be presented by the Executive Board in its last meeting in May of each year, and upon the Board’s approval, shall be consigned to the incoming Executive Board for ratification. The approved budget shall be published in a September communicating to the General Membership and shall be offered as a topic of discussion at the Organization’s October meeting.
At all times the accounts shall have a reserve of the current year’s budget plus 3%.
The budget may be amended by the Executive Board as circumstances dictate.

Audit

The financial records of the Organization shall be audited at the end of every fiscal year.
An Audit committee, comprised of at least one member of the Organization and one member of the Executive Board who is not a signatory, shall examine the records and report their findings to the Executive Board no later than at it’s November meeting. Members of the Audit Committee shall be nominated by the President and approved by the Executive Board.

ARTICLE VIII: INDEMNIFICATION

To the full extent permitted by applicable law, the Organization shall indemnify and hold harmless each member of the Executive Board who is made a party to an action or proceeding by reason of the fact that he/she was an officer or member of the Executive Board of the Organization against all judgments, fines, amounts paid in settlement and reasonable expenses, including attorneys’ fees actually and reasonable incurred as a result of such action or proceeding or any appeal therein, if such Executive Board member acted in good faith, for a purpose and in a manner which he/she reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the Organization, and which he/she had no reasonable basis for believing was unlawful.
The Organization will maintain appropriate Officers insurance to protect the Organization in the event of a claim under such indemnification.

ARTICLE IX: COMMITTEES

The Executive Board shall have the authority to establish and revise such committees as it may from time to time deem appropriate. A list of the names and functions of all committees shall be published annually and disseminated to the General Membership.
Each committee shall:

Foster optimal involvement of the General Membership, where appropriate,
Identify and communicate the needs and concerns of the General Membership to the Executive Boards, and
Provide the Executive Board with a yearly summary of committee activities and expenses.

All members of the Organization are eligible to serve on any committee, subject to any specific criteria established by any applicable by-law or resolution.
Notices and correspondence generated by the committees which involve matters of Organization policy shall be approved by the President or the Executive Board.

ARTICLE X: PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

All procedural question not covered by these By-Laws shall be decided according to Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised.

ARTICLE XI: AMENDMENTS

These By-Laws may be amended or revised at any Organization meeting by a two-thirds vote of the attending members, providing that the amendments or revision has been submitted in writing to the Executive Board at least two weeks before the vote.

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