CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS
OF
HOLY CHILD CATHOLIC SCHOOL
HOME AND SCHOOL ASSOCIATION
ARTICLE I
NAME
The name of this organization shall be Holy Child Catholic School Home and School Association.
ARTICLE II
OBJECTIVE
The advancement of Catholic education and the welfare of all the school children of this regional school.
To act in the promotion of parent-school activities and to increase, on the part of its members, interest in educational and civic affairs.
To enhance the parents’ and teachers’ role in the education of the child by increasing their knowledge of its processes, by increasing their mutual understanding of children, and also by providing an opportunity for parents and teachers to work together for the good of the child.
To raise funds in order to provide additional opportunities for the students of Holy Child Catholic School not covered by the school budget.
ARTICLE III
AUTHORITY
The Pastors of Holy Family, St. Mary of the Assumption, and St. Lucy’s have the responsibility for the regional school, and this Association shall function only with their consent.
ARTICLE IV
MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. Membership
1.1. The membership shall be open to any person who is a parent, guardian or has other custodial care of a student currently enrolled in the school, subscribes to the objectives and purposes of this Association as set forth herein and has paid such membership dues as shall be determined by the Executive Board.
1.2. All Pastors, Faculty and Administrators of Holy Child Catholic School shall be members of the Association and are exempt from payment of membership dues. They shall have nominating and voting privileges, but cannot hold an office.
1.3. A member in good standing shall be defined as a paid member of the Association who subscribes to the objectives and purposes of this Association as set forth herein; attends a minimum of three of the four general meetings; and who is a parent, guardian or has other custodial care of a student currently enrolled in the school.
1.4. A voting member shall be defined as a paid member of the Association who attends a minimum of two of the four general meetings.
Section 2. Dues
2.1. Membership dues shall be collected at the first meeting of the Association upon each new school year.
2.2. The annual membership dues in the Association shall be ten ($10.00) dollars per family, or such amount as shall, from time to time, be determined by the Executive Board.
Section 3. Meetings
3.1. A minimum of four general membership meetings shall be held each year, the date of which shall be determined by the Executive Board in collaboration with the School Principal.
3.2. In order to fully accomplish the purpose for which the Association has been established, it is strongly suggested that all teachers and parents attend a minimum of three of the four general meetings.
3.3. All present at the general meetings shall constitute a quorum of the membership.
3.4. Special meetings may be called during the school year at times, if needed, by the President or majority of the Executive Board.
3.5. The order of business for all regular meetings of the Association, unless changes for a particular meeting by a vote of the Executive Board, shall follow the suggested format as follows:
(a) Opening Prayer and President’s comments;
(b) Old Business: will include approval of the previous month’s minutes; treasurer report and items previously brought to the Executive Board;
(c) Committee Reports: each committee chairperson will provide the Association with an update of their committee’s activities;
(d) School Updates: Principal or Principal’s designee will provide the Association with school updates, programs, activities, etc.;
(e) New Business: any new items brought to the Executive Board for discussion;
(f) Question/Answer Session: a time for any member to share their thoughts; and
(g) Closing Prayer/Adjournment.
ARTICLE V
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Section 1. Officers
1.1. The Executive Board of the Association shall consist of the following officers: President; Vice President; Secretary; Treasurer; Ways and Means; and Publicity.
1.2. The Pastors of Holy Family parish, St. Mary of the Assumption parish and St. Lucy’s parish, along with the Principal of the regional school shall be ex-officio members of the Executive Board.
1.3. The Executive Board will also consist of a CYO Liaison representative. This position is not an elected position. The representative will be chosen by the school administration and shall not hold a vote at the Executive Board meetings.
1.4. Any officer may resign at any time by giving written notice of such resignation to the President or Secretary. Unless otherwise specified in such written notice, such resignation shall take effect upon receipt thereof by such officer, and the acceptance of such resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective.
1.5. Any officer of the Executive Board may be removed from office by the affirmative vote of all the officers at any regular or special meeting called for that purpose, for non-feasance, malfeasance, or misfeasance, for conduct detrimental to the interests of the Association, for lack of sympathy with its objectives, or for refusal to render reasonable assistance in carrying out its purposes. Any officer proposed to be removed shall be entitled to at least five (5) days notice in writing of the meeting of the Executive Board at which such removal is to be voted upon and shall be entitled to appear before and be heard by the officers at such meeting.
1.6. A vacancy occurring in an office, during the school year, shall be filled for the unexpired portion of said officer’s term by a person elected by a majority vote of the remaining members of the Executive Board and the Principal and ratified at the next regular meeting of the Association.
Section 2. Terms
2.1. The Executive Board shall be nominated and voted into office during the May meeting for a 2-year term beginning August 1st to July 31st. The President from the outgoing Executive Board will remain as an ex-officio voting member of the Executive Board and will be available to assist the incoming elected Board as needed, for a term of one year. In the event the outgoing President is unable to accept the ex-officio position, another officer from the remaining members shall be selected by majority vote of the outgoing Executive Board to fill the ex-officio position. If an outgoing member of the Executive Board runs for and wins re-election to the Executive Board, the need for an ex-officio position will be null and void.
2.2. New officers elected in May will serve in conjunction with current officers until the completion of the school year. Newly elected officers will assume full responsibility and duties at the end of the prior officers’ term (July 31st).
2.3. No person shall be eligible to hold the same office for more than two consecutive terms.
Section 3. Duties of Officers
3.1. President. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Association and of the Executive Board. He/she shall perform all the duties pertaining to the office, shall appoint all special committees and shall receive notices of all meetings.
3.2. Vice-President. The Vice-President shall perform the duties of the President, in his/her absence, and shall assume the duties of the office until the next annual election if the office of the President becomes vacant.
3.3. Secretary. The Secretary shall maintain minutes showing a true and accurate record of all Association and Executive Board meetings and provide a copy of the minutes to all members of the Executive Board. The Secretary shall handle such correspondence as the President and the Executive Board shall direct, and shall perform such other duties as the President or Executive Board shall designate.
3.4. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall receive all dues and other monies and shall make disbursements only as directed by the Executive Board. He/she shall make a verbal financial report at each general and executive board meeting.
3.5. Ways and Means. The Ways and Means Person shall investigate and recommend money-raising endeavors. He/she shall determine financial objectives of the Home and School Association and tentatively plan for the entire year. The Ways and Means Person shall have control over interim committees formed to raise funds.
3.6. Publicity. The Publicity Person shall promote Holy Child Catholic School to the community, students and teachers by developing and implementing plans that increase interest in and awareness of the programs and activities of the School. He/she shall assist in updating promotional information and provide timely press releases and photographs to local municipal newspapers and other publications. The Publicity Person shall assist in organizing the annual Catholic Schools Week events which highlight Catholic education. He/she shall develop, maintain and support an ongoing outreach program of publicity functions and presentations.
Section 4. Duties of Executive Board
4.1. All officers are expected to assist with Home and School projects and activities. Officer participation is required at a minimum of 50% of the functions or their office may be considered vacant by a majority vote of the Executive Board.
4.2. The Executive Board shall consult with the Principal or the Principal’s designee regarding the school’s need before funding materials for school use.
4.3. The Executive Board shall have the authority to act on behalf of the Association and to perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the by-laws. The Executive Board shall be responsible to inform the Association of its activities at regularly scheduled meetings.
Section 5. Nominations/Elections
5.1. At the spring elections, a Nominating Committee will be formed, which will consist of the Principal, a Pastor, an Executive Board member and a member of the General Assembly, and shall accept nominations in writing from the Association and formulate a slate of nominees to be presented and distributed to the Association for voting consideration. The nominations shall be made and accepted only at the General Body Nominations Meeting, no absentee ballots shall be accepted. Written notice of the Nominations Meeting will be provided to the Association in advance of the meeting date.
5.2. The first order of business for the Nominating Committee shall be to elect a Chairperson. The Chairperson shall ascertain if any Nominating Committee member wishes to run for one of the elected offices; if so; that member shall be replaced on the Nominating Committee to avoid a conflict of interest.
5.3. The Nominating Committee shall, after soliciting nominations from the general membership, prepare a slate of officer candidates to be presented to the membership based on the potential candidate’s good standing requirements being fulfilled as well as their acceptance of a nominated office. A candidate may only accept and run for one nominated office of the Executive Board. The Executive Board Secretary shall notify the membership of the slate of candidates for the Executive Board at least two weeks prior to the Election Committee meeting.
5.4. A candidate for each office shall be elected by secret ballot and counted by the Principal, a Pastor, a member of the Executive Board and a member in good standing of the Association at the Board Election Meeting. All voting members of the Association shall have voting privileges at the Board Election meeting. Voting shall be done only at the Board Election meeting, no absentee ballots shall be accepted. Written notice of the Board Election meeting will be provided to the Association in advance of the meeting date.
5.5. If there is but one nominee for an office, the written ballot is not necessary.
5.6. All candidates for election must be members in good standing of the Association. Candidates must agree to guarantee time and availability for the requirements of the position. Candidates must attend a minimum of three of the four general meetings of the Association. All Candidates must be a parent, guardian or have custodial care of a student enrolled in the school for their entire term of office on the Executive Board.
5.7. In the case of a tie, it will be necessary to ballot again for that specific position only. Continued balloting would occur until a candidate is elected by a majority vote.
Section 6. Meetings
6.1. The Executive Board shall meet monthly on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 7:00pm. Special meetings of the Executive Board shall be held whenever called by the President or a majority of the Executive Board, at such time and place as may be specified in the respective notice thereof.
6.2. The Executive Board shall draw up the agenda for each general meeting. This must be sent to the entire Executive Board, Pastors and Principal for review no later than two days prior to the general meeting.
6.3. If an officer of the Executive Board is absent for more than two consecutive, scheduled executive meetings, without good cause and without prior notification to the President or Secretary, then the office may be considered vacant by a majority vote of the Executive Board.
6.4. The Principal shall approve all written communications of the Association.
6.5. A quorum of the Executive Board shall be a majority of members of the Executive Board.
6.6. At all meetings of the Executive Board, the presence of a majority of the Board members shall be necessary and sufficient to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. If a quorum is not present for a meeting, the members in attendance may adjourn to a later date, upon which notice is to be given to members as to time and place of the adjourned meeting. If a quorum is present, only the affirmative votes of a majority of the whole number of the Executive Board shall control official action. Any action taken by the Executive Board may be taken without a meeting if agreed to in writing by all members before the action is taken and if a record of such action is indicated in the minute book.
ARTICLE VI
BASIC POLICIES
The Association shall respect the established school policies and practices as set forth by the Diocesan Department of Education, the Pastors, Finance Committee, the School Principal and the Faculty.
The Association may make suggestions to the administration concerning activities of the school, if such suggestions are made toward the betterment of conditions for all concerned (i.e., students, teachers, administrators, and parents).
No part of the net earnings of the Association shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, officers, or other private individuals except that the Association shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in Article II thereof.
This Association shall keep correct and complete books and records of accounts, subject to an external annual review or audit at the conclusion of a term. This Association shall also keep minutes of the proceedings of its meetings. Any Home and School Association member in good standing may inspect all books and records of the Association, at any time, by written request addressed to the President.
In the event that the Association is dissolved, by a majority vote and after a 30-day notice, the assets of the Association shall be frozen (other than for outstanding bills), and placed under the custody of the School Principal, until a re-organization occurs. If the Association does not re-organize, all funds belonging to the Association will become the property of Holy Child Catholic School.
ARTICLE VII
PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE
The rules contained in “Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised” shall govern this Association in all cases not otherwise covered by these By-Laws or Standing Rules.
ARTICLE VIII
AMENDMENTS
The Executive Board shall have power to make, alter, amend and repeal these bylaws of the Association by affirmative vote of a majority of the Executive Board provided, however, that the action is proposed at a regular or special meeting of the Executive Board and adopted at a subsequent general meeting by the Association.
ARTICLE IX
STANDING RULES
The Association shall open a bank account with a registered financial institution selected by the Executive Board. Checks shall be signed by any two (2) members of the Executive Board agreed to by the Board with an alternate officer appointed in case of absenteeism. One of the signing officers should be the Treasurer.
The fiscal year of the Association shall be August 1st to July 31st.
Expenditures over $300.00 must be approved by the Executive Board without the vote of the general membership and will require the signature of two (2) members of the Executive Board. Any expenditure voted by the membership must be for previously approved projects. In connection with any project approved by the membership, it will not be necessary to vote for the money needed to continue the project, if it is an ongoing venture. Receipts must be provided for all expenses incurred.
Copies of the Treasurer’s Report shall be given to the Pastors and the membership quarterly.
This Constitution and By-Laws of Holy Child Catholic School, Home and School Association has been APPROVED and ADOPTED on May 21, 2007 by majority vote of the Executive Board, Founding Pastors and School Principal.
This Constitution and By-Laws of Holy Child Catholic School, Home and School Association has been MODIFIED and APPROVED on November 19, 2008 by majority vote of the Executive Board, Founding Pastors and School Principal as well as being ADOPTED on November 19, 2008 by majority vote of the Home and School Association’s General Body Membership.