Lamarque PTO
Article I - Name
The name of this organization is the Lamarque Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization or Lamarque PTO
Article II - Objectives/Purposes
Section 1: The purpose of this PTO is to create a close relationship between the parents, teachers and administrators of Lamarque Elementary School with the intent of securing for each student their maximum potential in all aspects of school life.
Section 2: The goal of the PTO is to support and enhance the education, safety, and well being of our students through the planning, organizing and executing of fundraising events each school year.
Section 3: The PTO will determine with school administration how the funds raised will be used and effectively disseminate this information to all families of Lamarque Elementary students.
Section 4: The PTO will carry over sufficient funds for the next school year so that event planning can begin immediately.
Article III - Basic Policies
The following are the basic policies of this organization:
Section 1: The organization shall be noncommercial, nonsectarian, and nonpartisan.
Section 2: The name of the organization or the name of any members in their official capacities shall not be used in any connection with a commercial concern or with any partisan interest or for any purpose not appropriately related to the promotion of the objectives of the organization.
Section 3: The organization shall not, directly or indirectly, participate or intervene (in any way, including the publishing or distributing or statements) in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office.
Section 4: The PTO shall not seek to direct the administrative activities of the school or control its policies.
Section 5: The organization may cooperate with other organizations and agencies concerned with child welfare, but persons representing the organization I such matters shall be prohibited from making commitments in any form that bind the organization.
Section 6: In the event of the dissolution of the organization, its assets shall be distributed for one or more of the exempt purposed specified in Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as from time to time amended.
Article IV - Articles of Incorporation
The PTO organization exists as an incorporated organization of its members. Its Article of Incorporation comprises these By-Laws, which from time to time can be amended.
Article V - Membership
Section 1: Membership in the PTO shall be made available to any individual without regard to race, color, creed or national origin.
Section 2: Membership in the Lamarque Elementary PTO shall be open to the parents or legal guardians of the children currently enrolled in Lamarque Elementary School and the staff of Lamarque Elementary School.
Section 3: Every member shall have the privilege of making motions, voting and serving on committees.
Article VI - Executive Board and Their Election Process
Section 1: The Executive Board of officers of the organization shall be a President, Vice President, Secretary, PALS Coordinator, Treasurer; and Principal. Officers shall hold office for one year and shall not be eligible to serve for more than two consecutive terms in the same office without majority vote of general membership, except the Principal who shall be the Principal of Lamarque Elementary. Nominees for President shall have served on the Lamarque Elementary PTO Executive Board for at least one year; whenever possible. One person may not hold more than one office concurrently. All Board Members must be PALS approved.
Section 2: The Election Process will begin with the Nominating Committee which shall be chaired by the Assistant Principal and shall consist of two or more additional members at large.
a. The committee will be responsible for the necessary publicity to obtain nominations from the members at large.
b. If a member of the committee is nominated for an office and accepts, then he/she must resign from the committee. At this time, the President will appoint a person to fill the vacancy on the nominating committee.
c. The committee shall obtain each candidate's consent before presentation as a nominee and shall brief each nominee as to the duties of that office.
d. Nominations are open 30 days prior to the election meeting. The Committee shall present the slate of officers to the membership at the election meeting before the casting of ballots with nominations from the floor accepted at this time. If there are no accepted nominations for an office, the President, with the approval of the Executive Board, will appoint someone to that position.
e. The election shall be held at the April meeting of the school year. This meeting shall be the annual election meeting. After the Annual Report has been given and accepted by the membership, the duties of the newly elected Executive Board Officers will commence in conjunction with the present Executive Board Officers. New Board Members shall meet with present members so as to learn policy, procedures, and roles. New Board Members will run the following PTO meeting in May of the school year with help from the past Board Members who are present as needed.
f. Members present shall vote in the election at the April meeting. The candidate receiving the most votes shall be deemed elected. In case of a tie, the Principal's vote will serve as the tiebreaker. Two volunteer tellers appointed by the President at the April meeting will count the ballots.
Section 3: The President with the Executive Board approval shall appoint vacancies in office.
Article VII - Duties and Functions of the Executive Board of Officers
Section 1: The President shall preside at all meetings of the organization; shall be a member ex-officio of all committees, except the Nominating Committee; shall with the cooperation of the officers elected, appoint committees; shall perform all other duties pertaining to the office.
Section 2: The Vice President shall act as an aide to the President, perform duties of the President in the absence of that officer, and shall carry out other responsibilities as directed. The Vice President advises the President, Executive Committee and members at large on matters of parliamentary procedures; and counts votes when a motion is voted upon. The Vice President, Treasurer and Principal shall be the three signers for the PTO checking account.
Section 3: The Secretary shall be responsible for PTO correspondences. The Secretary shall keep a correct record of the minutes and votes of all meetings of the organization and of the Executive Board. These records shall be kept in a hard copy format, shall be organized and all records and correspondence shall be made available for historical purposes. The Secretary shall update and duly record any amendments made to organization's by-laws and will be responsible for submitting copies of the minutes for public viewing.
Section 4: The Treasurer shall receive and deposit all monies of the organization in a timely manner; shall keep an accurate record of receipts and expenditures; shall pay out funds only in accordance with a majority vote of members or the approval of the Executive Board between meetings; shall file any IRS documents as required; shall insure all forms are filed for approval of school fund-raisers by the county Board of Education; shall present a financial statement at every meeting and at other times as requested by the Executive Board; shall make a full report at the end of the current school year; shall prepare an annual financial report to be submitted to the Executive Board and members at their annual meeting.
Section 5: The PALS Coordinator shall recruit, interview, orient, place and train volunteers; act as a liaison between the school’s volunteer program, the community and the PALS office; attend PALS Volunteer meetings and all PTO meetings; maintain volunteer records; assist volunteers in “registering” on the PALS Count program, intercede between staff and volunteers if a problem arises. The PALS Coordinator shall recognize school volunteers, such as, planning year-round and end of the school year activities; assist principal with nomination forms for district and outstanding school volunteer awards, and submit forms to PALS office by specified deadline.
Section 6: The Principal shall be the Lamarque Elementary Principal or their designee.
Section 7: The function of the Executive Board is to set the dates of the general meetings; to propose the annual budget of income and expense for presentation to the general membership; to compile the calendar of activities; and to transact business of the PTO between general meetings.
Section 8: Meetings of the Executive Board shall occur at least once between general meetings at the discretion of the Principal.
Section 9: All officers shall perform the duties outlined above as well as any other duties prescribed in these by-laws, and such other duties as may be delegated to her/him by future, approved editions of the Lamarque Elementary PYO by-laws.
Section 10: All Board Officers shall deliver to the newly elected Executive Board all PTO related materials at the close of their service of office.
Article VIII - Teacher Representative
A teacher representative or representatives, with one-vote eligibility status, shall be designated by the faculty each year to serve as a liaison between the PTO and the staff.
Article IX - Meetings
Section 1: The annual meeting of the Past and Present Executive Boards shall be held in May of each calendar year, the exact date to be decided upon by the Executive Board.
Section 2: The regular meetings of the organization shall be on the second Thursday of each month, to be determined each year. Should a meeting date occur when school is not in session, the Executive Board will decide upon the alternate date with sufficient notice. A list of dates of all PTO meetings for the current school year shall be made available at the beginning of the school year. The theme, date, time, and topics/agenda shall be published and made available to the membership prior to each meeting.
Article X - PTO Committees
Section 1: The President, with the approval of the Executive Board, will appoint committees which will promote the objectives and interests of Lamarque Elementary School and its student body.
a. Chairpersons of committees shall be appointed by the Executive Board to serve for the term of the current school year.
b. Members of the committees will be volunteers from the general membership.
c. A list of potential committees is as follows:
Fundraising: Fall and Spring
Family Fun Activities
Home Room Parents
Staff Appreciation Week
By-Laws
Holiday Shop
Changes to this list can exist at any time at the discretion of the Executive Board. All committees are to encourage support from parents, teachers, committees, and promote educational success of the students.
Section 2: Chairpersons of all committees shall present their plans to the Executive Board and/or the general membership for their approval. No committee projects shall be undertaken without Executive Board and/or the general membership approval.
Section 3: The President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees, except Nominating Committee.
Article XI- Parliamentary Authority
Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall govern the organization in which they are applicable and in which they are not in conflict with these by-laws. A copy of Robert’s Rules of Order shall be present and available at all PTO meetings.
Article XII - Amendments
Section 1: These by-laws may be amended in any regular meeting of the organization by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting, providing that notice of the proposed amendment shall have been given at the previous meeting.
Section 2: A By-laws Committee will be appointed to review by-laws at the beginning of each even numbered school year by the Executive Board to review the by-laws and submit recommendations for revision or no change to the Executive Board. The requirements for adoption of a revised set of by-laws shall be the same as in the case of an amendment.
Welcome to the Lamarque PTO Website! We are so glad you're here!
Copyright by: Lamarque Elementary School PTO 2008
 | ||||||
By-Laws
