Bylaws

Need to get PTO information from school, and determine if they want PTO to contribute content (articles) to the website.

ARTICLE I: NAME
The name of the organization is the DeGrazia Parent Teacher Organization (“PTO”). It is a local PTO unit and an independent organization.

ARTICLE II: ARTICLES OF THE ORGANIZATION
The articles of the organization of the PTO include the bylaws of such organization.

ARTICLE III: OBJECTIVES
Section 1. The objectives of the organization are:
A. To promote the welfare of children and youth in home, school, places of worship, and community
B. To raise the standard of home life
C. To secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth
D. To bring into closer relation the home and the school, that parents and teachers may cooperate intelligently in the education of children and youth
E. To develop between educators and the general public such united efforts as will secure for all children and youth the highest advantages in physical, mental, social, and spiritual education.
Section 2. The objectives of this organization are promoted through an educational program, directed through parents, teachers, and the general public, developed through conferences, committees, projects and programs, and are governed and qualified by the Basic Policies ser forth in Article IV.

ARTICLE IV: BASIC POLICIES
The following are basic policies of the organization:
A. The organization shall be noncommercial, nonsectarian, and nonpartisan
B. The name of the organization or the name of any member in their official capacity shall not be used in connection with any commercial concern or with any partisan interest or for any purpose not appropriately related to promotion of the objectives of the organization.
C. The organization shall work with the school to provide quality education for all children and youth and shall seek to participate in the decision making process establishing school policy, recognizing that the legal responsibility to make decisions has been delegated by the people to the Board of Education.
D. The organization shall no enter into membership with other organizations. The PTO or any of its divisions may cooperate with other organizations and agencies concerned with child welfare, but a PTO representative shall make no commitments that bind the group s/he represents.
E.  In the event of the dissolution of the organization, its assets shall be distributed for one or more of the exempt purposes specified in Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as from time to time amended.
F.  We agree to abide by all rules and regulations of the Marana Unified School
District Governing Board Policy KMA, Parent/Citizen Organization.

ARTICLE V: MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. Eligibility for membership is open to all parents and staff members connected with DeGrazia Elementary School, as well as interested members of the local community who subscribe to the Objectives and Basic Policies of the DeGrazia PTO. Membership will be defined by the Officers of the Executive Board at the beginning of the school year.
Section 2. The DeGrazia PTO shall conduct an annual enrollment of members but may admit persons to membership at any time. Only members in good standing of the organization shall be eligible to serve on the Executive Board, or in any of its elective or appointive positions.

ARTICLE VI: EXECUTIVE BOARD
Section 1. The essential business of formulating, voting on, and implementing the PTO initiatives is delegated by the members at large to the organization’s Executive Board, and to those attending meetings where issues have been brought before the Board.
Section 2. The Officers of the Executive Board will consist of 5 duly elected officers (President, 1st and 2nd Vice Presidents, Recording Secretary and Treasurer), a teacher representative and the Principal of our school.
Section 3. The Executive Board will also include among its members chairpersons or coordinators of Standing Committees, and important parent-teacher task forces or committees. These are to include, but are not limited to the chairperson/coordinator of the following standing committees: Room Parent Coordinator, Hospitality Coordinator, Fundraising Coordinator, Newsletter Coordinator, etc. This group may include as many persons as are nominated, elected, or appointed at the annual general membership meeting held in May, and will also include any other persons appointed by the President or the Executive Board throughout the year.
Section 4. The duties of the Executive Board shall be:
A. To transact necessary business in the intervals between general membership meetings.
B. To create standing committees
C. To present the plans of work to the standing committee
D. To present a report at regular meeting of the organization
E. To appoint an outside auditory or an auditing committee to audit the books at least two weeks prior to turning over the checkbook to the new Board.
F. To prepare and submit to the organization for approval, proposed spending for the fiscal year.
G. To approve routine bills within the limits of the budget.

ARTICLE VII: ELECTION/APPOINTMENT OF EXECUTIVE BOARD
Section 1. The election/appointment of the Executive Board will be conducted as follows:
A. The Executive Board shall appoint a nominating committee at the March meeting for the purpose of presenting a slate of officers for the following year.
B. The opportunity to serve shall be advertised through all appropriate parent publications prior to the final nominations.
C. The nominating committee shall call for nominations in each office to be filled and report its nominees at the regular meeting in April, at which time additional nominations may be made from the floor.
D. Only those persons who have signified their consent to serve if elected shall be nominated for, or elected to such office or position.
E. Elections will be held at a general membership meeting to be held in May. If there are two candidates for an office, a vote must be taken on it by secret ballot, with the person receiving a majority of votes being declared the winner. However, if there is but one nominee for any office, it shall be in order to move that the secretary cast the elective ballot of the organization for the nominee.
F. Only teachers and staff members may be allowed to vote by proxy. On the day of the general membership meeting in May at which new officers will be elected, a ballot box will be set up in the school office, with ballots available. The school secretary, or some other office employee designated by the school principal, will act as voting registrar, guaranteeing that each teacher or staff person interested in voting, votes only once, and that all voting is done in a proper manner. The principal will then ensure that these ballots are secured and brought to the general membership meeting to be counted.
G. New Executive Board members shall assume their official duties following the close of the regular meeting in June, and shall serve a term of one year.
H. A member shall not be eligible to serve in more than one position as officer of the Executive Board in a given year, nor shall there be more than one person per family holding a position as officer on the Executive Board each year.
I. A member shall not be eligible to serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office on the Executive Board.
Section 2. In the event a vacancy arises in an elected or appointed position:
 If an officer cannot fulfill the obligations of a position, the president will appoint someone to finish the term. In case a vacancy occurs in the office of President, the 1st Vice President shall serve as president. The 2nd vice president shall then serve as first vice president and the president shall appoint a new 2nd vice president.
B. If a vacancy arises in any non-officer position on the Executive Board, the president shall appoint a new member to that position.
Section 3. A PTO Executive Board Member can be removed form office by the following procedure.
A. A PTO Executive Board member can be removed from office on the basis of reliable information, that has been submitted in writing and received by the Officers of the Executive Board, which a 2/3 majority of the Officers believe, in their discretion, would be potentially harmful to the function of the organization, if such a person were not removed from office.
B. In order to remove a PTO Board member, a vote of the executive Board must occur at any regular or special meeting of the Executive Board, at which a quorum is present. Removal shall require 2/3 votes of those Executive Board members present. A meeting called pursuant to this section may be closed to all but the Executive Board, so long as such closure does not violate the open meeting clause. Once a PTO Board member has been removed from office pursuant to this section, that person shall no longer be eligible to hold a DeGrazia Elementary School PTO Board position without the unanimous approval of the Executive Board.
C. Any officer who fails to attend three consecutive executive board meeting without good cause can be removed from office by a 2/3 vote of the Executive Board.

ARTICLE VIII: DUTIES OF OFFICERS
Section 1. The President presides over all Executive Board meetings and general Membership meetings, calls special Board meeting, sets the agenda for all meetings, serves as the spokesperson for the organization, and after calling for volunteers, appoints all subcommittee chairs/coordinators and members. The President has the responsibility of either personally attending or delegating the 1st or 2nd Vice President to attend any community ore School District meetings at which a subject of concern to the DeGrazia community is scheduled to be brought up. The President has the authority to spend up to $50 on PTO business, if needed, in the interval between Executive board meetings.
Section 2. The First Vice President acts as an aide to the President, and shall perform such duties as are requested by the President. The First Vice-President will assume the position of President in the event that the President is unable to carry out his/her duties.
Section 3. The Second Vice-president shall act as an aide to the president and shall perform such duties as are requested by the President. The Second Vice-President shall also serve as a Financial Secretary, assisting the Treasurer, double-checking all receipts, verifying the accuracy of the PTO’s financial transactions and ensuring that a financial report is made available to the public.
Section 4. The treasurer shall have custody of all of the funds, of the organization; shall keep a full and accurate account of receipts and expenditures; and shall make disbursements as authorized by the Executive Board. The treasurer shall present a financial statement at every meeting of the organization and at other times when requested by the Executive Board, and shall make a full report at the general membership meetings. The treasurer is required to see that the PTO’s tax returns for the I.R.S., and an outside audit of the books are completed by May 15 of each year, and that a copy of the tax return is on file in the Principal’s office.
Section 5. The recording secretary shall record and issue the minutes of each meeting of the organization and the Executive Board. This shall include notices, agendas, sign-in sheets and material distributed. The minutes shall be written up an available to the general membership in the school office. The recording secretary shall also maintain a copy of our bylaws, maintain a log of all amendments and/or changes to these bylaws, and ensure that a current copy of our bylaws is on file in the principal’s office. The secretary shall perform other duties as may be designated to her/him.
Section 6. All officers shall:
A. Attend meetings designated by the Executive Board
B. Perform the duties outlined in these bylaws and those assigned from time to time.
C. Deliver to their successors all official material no later than ten days following the assumption of office by their successors.
D. Create and maintain files.

ARTICLE IX:  STANDING AND SPECIAL COMMITTEES
Section 1. The Executive Board may create such standing committees, as it deems necessary to promote the objectives and carry on the work of the organization. The term of each committee shall not exceed one year.
Section 2. The chairman/coordinator of each standing committee shall present a plan of work to the Executive Board for approval, shall keep the Board informed of its progress, and will submit a final, written report at the conclusion of its activity for the year. No committee work shall be undertaken without the consent of the Executive Board.
Section 3. The power to form special committees and appoint their members rests with the organization and /or the president, with the approval of the Executive Board.

ARTICLE X: FISCAL RESPONSIBILITIES
Section 1. The fiscal responsibilities of the PTO are as follows:
A. The fiscal year of the organization shall begin with the Executive Board meeting in July and end at the annual meeting in June.
B. Each board shall leave a balance of $500.00 of unrestricted funds to the new Board.
C. The organization shall be on a calendar year for federal and state information return purposes, as established with the Internal Revenue Service, when the first return of the organization was filed.
D. All money-cash, check, and cash-in-kind (Fry’s certificates, etc.)-must stay at school at all times.† It may only removed if it is in transit to the bank.† If cash or cash certificates must be removed in the normal conduction of PTO business (such as petty cash for an after-hours event, or Fry’s receipts being delivered to a customer), the exact amount being withdrawn, and the responsibility for the money or cash certificates, must be signed for by two members of the Executive Board.
E. Donations may be received and accepted by the PTO, and receipts will be provided.
F. An annual audit of the books will be conducted by an outside person or committee, as discussed in Article VI, Sec. 4E.
G. The president, treasurer and school principal shall be authorized to sign checks.† Two signatures are required on each check.
H. A budget committee shall be called for, and is responsible for preparing a baseline budget outlining anticipated annual expenses, and reviewing any changes from the previous year’s budget.

ARTICLE XI: AMENDMENTS
Section 1. These bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of all those present and voting at a general membership meeting, provided the meeting is attended by an Executive Board quorum. The amendment(s) to be voted on must have been so presented and discussed at a previous meeting of the
Executive Board. Announcements about a general membership meeting during which amendments are to be proposed must include information about the specific amendments, and must be signed and dated by the Presidents.
Section 2. One-time rule changes-exceptions to these bylaws- may be voted into force for a single meeting by a 2/3 majority of those present and eligible to vote at the meeting.† Any attempt to make that change apply on a regular basis must take the form of a proposed amendment of these bylaws.
Section 3. A bylaws review committee will be called by the president every 3 years to review these bylaws, to ensure that they remain current and understandable.† If changes are recommended, they will be presented to the Executive Board to be acted on in accordance with Section 1 of this Article.

Reviewed and updated during the 2005/2006 school year
Donna Berge, President