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ARTICLE I
NAME OF ORGANIZATION
The name of this organization shall be WESTSIDE HIGH SCHOOL PARENT TEACHER ORGANIZATION, hereinafter referred to as the “PTO”, a not for profit corporation organized under the laws of the State of Texas.
ARTICLE II
OBJECTIVE
To enhance the education (including but not limited to academic education, physical education, social education, preparation for higher education or entry into the workforce, and community leadership) of those students attending Westside High School.
ARTICLE III
NOT FOR PROFIT PURPOSE
EARNINGS No part of the property of this organization shall be paid or distributed to any private individual member, officer, or member of the Executive Board, except as reasonable compensation for goods or services furnished or rendered.
DISSOLUTION Upon dissolution of this organization, after adequately providing for the debts and obligations of the organization, all remaining assets shall be distributed to Westside High School or in its absence, distributed to one or more non-profit funds, foundations or organizations which have established their tax exempt status under Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code from time to time amended.
ARTICLE IV
BASICÂ POLICIES
This organization shall be noncommercial, nonsectarian and nonpartisan.
The name of the organization or the names of any members in their official capacities shall not be used to endorse or promote a commercial concern or in connection with any partisan interest or for any purpose not appropriately related to promotion of the objectives of the organization.
The organization shall not, directly or indirectly, participate or intervene(in any way, including the publishing or distribution or statements) in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office, or devote more than an insubstantial part of its activities to attempting to influence legislation by propaganda or otherwise.
The organization shall work with the school to provide quality education for all students, and shall seek to participate in the decision-making process establishing school policy and practices, but shall seek neither to direct the administrative activities of the school nor to control its policies.
ARTICLE V
MEMBERSHIP AND DUES
Membership is open to any parent, guardian or adult relative of any active or incoming student attending Westside High School as well as any current teacher or staff member of Westside High School who subscribes to and supports the objectives and basic policies of this Organization. This class of membership shall be defined as the “Active Membership” and shall be the only class of membership with voting rights. Only Active Members of the Westside PTO shall be eligible to serve in any elective or appointed position or vote on matters submitted to a vote of the members.
A “Community Membership” class is established for the sole purpose of allowing individuals and organizations to provide additional financial support to this Organization. Rights, benefits, privileges, levels of membership and dues shall be determined from time to time by the Executive Board. Community Members shall have no vote, but may be called upon from time to time to provide advice and guidance to this Organization.
MEMBERSHIP DUES shall be paid by each member in an amount to be determined by the Executive Board.
RESIGNATION Any member may resign by filing a written resignation with the Recording Secretary.
TERMINATION After an appropriate hearing and for just cause, the Executive Board, by its unanimous vote, may suspend or expel a member. Notice of such hearing shall be given to the member. If the member is on the Executive Board, that member shall have no vote in the hearing.
ARTICLE VI
MEETINGS
GENERAL MEETINGS of the PTO shall be held as scheduled by the Executive Board with there being at least one meeting in the Fall Semester and one in the Spring Semester. An election of the officers shall be conducted at a general PTO meeting in the Spring Semester. Notice of General Meetings shall be provided by the PTO President at least one (1) week in advance of the meeting date and shall specify the place, date, hour and purpose of the meeting.
SPECIAL MEETINGS may be called by the Executive Board as necessary. or may be called by the President or the Executive Board upon written request of twenty (20) percent of the Active Membership. Notice of Special Meetings shall be the responsibility of the persons calling such meeting and shall be provided to the membership at least three (3) days in advance of such meeting and shall specify the place, date, hour and purpose of such meeting.
QUORUM A quorum shall be the Active Members present at any General or Special meeting.
VOTING RIGHTS On all matters brought to a vote before the general membership, all Active Memberships shall have one (1) vote).
MEASURE PASSAGE shall be by a simple majority of the quorum.
PROXIES No member may cast a vote by proxy.
All meetings of the general membership shall be conducted in accordance with Roberts™ Rules of Order (Newly Revised) except when in conflict with these By-Laws wherein the By-Laws shall prevail.
ARTICLE VII
PTO EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS
BOARD MEMBERS The PTO Executive Board shall be made up of the following offices and three (3) faculty members.
PTO EXECUTIVE BOARD The members of the Executive Board shall be:
President
1st Vice President – Membership
2nd Vice President – Fundraising
Recording Secretary
Corresponding Secretary
Treasurer
Volunteer Coordinator (VIPS)
Parliamentarian
Faculty members -Three (3) members of the faculty shall serve on the PTO Executive Board. One of these shall be the Principal, the other two shall be appointed by the Principal.
These officers shall be elected at the Spring Meeting of the general PTO membership. Officers shall assume their official duties following the close of the final meeting of the PTO in May, and shall serve for a term of one year or until after their successors are elected.
RESTRICTIONS No one may serve in any official capacity for this organization if they have ever been convicted of a felony criminal offense or if they have received a deferred adjudication or probation for such offense.
TERM LIMITS Officers shall not serve more than two (2) consecutive years in the same position. One who has served more than one-half of a term shall be credited with having served that term.
VACANCY Any vacancy on the Executive Board shall be filled by majority vote of the members of this board. If necessary, a special meeting of the Executive Board shall be called for this purpose.
TERMINATION After an appropriate hearing and for just cause, the Executive Board by its unanimous vote, may suspend or expel a member. Notice of such a hearing shall be given to the member. If the member is on the Executive Board, that member shall have no vote in the hearing.
ARTICLE VIII
NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS
NOMINATION COMMITTEE The nominating committee shall consist of five (5) members. One shall be the elected faculty representative and the four others shall be chosen by a majority vote of the PTO Executive Board. Of those chosen, one (1) shall come from the Executive Board and the others shall come from the general PTO membership. Every effort should be made to provide representation of each of the Small Schools as well as the incoming Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior classes. The Principal shall serve as the ex-officio member and as per Robert’s Rules of Order is a voting member of the committee. Members of the nominating committee are not barred from becoming nominees. The committee shall prepare a slate of nominees for each office to be presented to the Executive Board. At the Spring Meeting, the committee members shall be available to assist the President. They shall also be called upon by the President in the event a ballot vote is necessary.
CONSENT The consent of each candidate must be obtained prior to being placed in nomination.
OFFICERS Officers must be parents, guardians, or adult relatives of current or incoming Westside students.
NOTIFICATION The slate of nominees shall be included with the notice of the Spring meeting.
ELECTION The President shall introduce the slate of nominees at the Spring meeting, at which time additional nominations may be made from the floor. The names of all nominees shall be posted in sight of all present at the meeting.
ARTICLE IX
FUNCTIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD
MEETINGS A Board meeting shall be held at least once per semester and as needed to conduct the business of the organization. A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. Special meetings of the Board may be called by the President or by a majority of the Board members present, by giving at least twenty-four hours notice to each Board member.
DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD The duties of the Board shall be:
(1) To transact necessary business in the intervals between PTO meetings;
(2) To create or dissolve special committees;
(3) To approve the plans and work of all committees;
(4) To present a report at the general meetings of the PTO;
(5) To appoint an auditor or an auditing committee to audit the Treasurer’s final report for the annual meeting;
(6) To prepare and submit to the PTO for approval an annual budget at the first general meeting of each school year;
(7) To approve routine bills within the limits of the budget. The Principal and the President may approve expenditures on non-budgeted items up to 0.00 (Five Hundred) without approval of the Board. A report of such expenditures shall be given to the Board at its next meeting;
(8) To reassign budgeted monies not spent during the year.
ARTICLE X
DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS
PRESIDENT The President shall preside at all meetings of the PTO and of the Executive Board; shall be ex-officio member of all committees except the nomination committee; shall appoint special committee chairpersons; shall coordinate the work of Board members and committees in order that the objectives stated herein may be promoted; and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed in this Constitution or assigned to the President by the PTO Executive Board. The President shall also serve on the SDMC (Shared Decision Making Council). The President shall have signature authority on all PTO accounts
1st VICE PRESIDENT The 1st Vice President shall act as an aide to the President; shall perform the duties of the President in the absence or the inability of that member to serve; and shall coordinate the PTO membership drive.
2nd VICE PRESIDENT The 2nd Vice President shall act as an aide to the President; shall perform the duties of the President in the absence or the inability of the President or 1st Vice President to serve; and shall coordinate all fund raising.
RECORDING SECRETARY The Recording Secretary shall prepare the minutes of all meetings of the PTO and the Board; shall present the minutes of each meeting at or prior to the next meeting; shall send approved minutes to the webmaster for posting on the PTO information website; and shall preserve copies of meeting minutes, both hard copies and electronic, and pass to his/her successor
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY The Corresponding Secretary shall send out notices of Board meetings; shall conduct the correspondence of the PTO; shall maintain a list of names and addresses of all members of the Board and committee chairmen.
TREASURER The Treasurer shall have custody of, and be responsible for all funds of the PTO. The Treasurer will deposit such funds in the PTO official depositories approved by the Board and will pay out money as directed by the Board. The Treasurer shall make a statement of account available at Board meetings, at general meetings, and at other times when requested by the Board. The Treasurer™s books shall be audited at the end of the term and at other times when directed by the Board. Audits shall be conducted by an audit committee appointed by the Board. In the absence or inability of the Treasurer to serve, the President may act as a primary signatory.
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR (VIPS) The Volunteer Coordinator shall administer the volunteer program at the school; shall serve as liaison for HISD’s Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS) program; shall develop and implement strategies for encouraging and rewarding volunteerism; and shall maintain a database of volunteers and their talents.
PARLIAMENTARIAN/LEGISLATIVE LIAISON The Parliamentarian shall be familiar with parliamentary procedure as presented in Robert’s Rules of Order (Newly Revised) and shall advise the presiding officer on questions of parliamentary law and matters of procedure. The Parliamentarian shall keep a copy of the Westside High School PTO Constitution/By-Laws and amendments and shall present copies of these to the newly elected Board members.
ARTICLE XI
AMENDMENTS
This constitution may be altered, amended, or repealed, in whole or in part, by a majority vote of Active Members at any general meeting. The Executive Board shall review the proposed amendments before the meeting. At least one week prior to the meeting, the amendments shall be made available to the membership by the President and his/her appointee. The proposed amendments shall be read at the general meeting with a vote of the members present required to ratify the amendments.
ARTICLE XII
AUDIT
The financial books, accounts and records of this organization shall be audited annually by an appointed person or committee elected by the Executive Board with a report to the Executive Board and available to any member.
The treasurer shall prepare a monthly operating statement to present to the Executive Board.
ARTICLE XIII
FINANCIAL CONTROLS
Any single non-budgeted expenditure exceeding $500 requires the majority vote of the Executive Board.
Any single non-budgeted expenditure exceeding $10,000 requires the approval of a quorum of the membership in attendance at a general meeting.
The Executive Board may elect to purchase a Fidelity Bond to protect the financial assets of the organization. The cost will be paid from the operating funds.
The PTO shall keep correct and complete records of its accounts. It shall also keep minutes of the proceedings of all Board meetings and general meetings. A current list of names and addresses of all Board members shall be kept in the school office. All books and records of the PTO shall be available for inspection by members or their agents.
ARTICLE XIV
INDEMNIFICATION OF OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, APPOINTEES
All Directors, Officers and Appointed officials of this organization serve in a volunteer capacity and as such they shall be indemnified by this organization for claims arising against them as a result of their service to this organization within the scope of these by-laws. This indemnification shall not apply to criminal or fraudulent acts.
Revised & approved September 3, 2013
Copyright 2015
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