ALCOTT PTG BY-LAWS

Revised October 2020

 

ARTICLE I. NAME

The name of the organization shall be the Alcott School Parent Teacher Group, hereinafter referred to as the “PTG.”

ARTICLE II. PURPOSE

The PTG is a non-profit organization that exists to enrich the education and welfare of the Alcott School children and to promote Alcott community and school spirit.  The PTG works with parents/guardians, teachers, staff, school administrators and community members to meet its objectives. The objectives of the PTG, at the discretion of the Board, are to foster communication among these groups, to sponsor specific programs and activities that enhance the education of all Alcott School students, to assist students of need with needs related to their education, and to create community among its Members. 

Section 1.  Any parent or guardian of the students at Alcott Elementary School is automatically a member of the PTG and shall have voting rights, regardless of ability to pay dues, as a Member.  The principal and any teacher employed at the school may be a Member and have voting rights.  Members have one vote per student, with a maximum of one vote per household.

Section 2.  Annual dues, if any, will be established by the PTG Board, but the board will encourage donations rather than dues where it is practicable to do so. 

ARTICLE III. PTG BOARD

Section 1.  The PTG Board shall consist of the President, Vice President, Treasurer, Clerk, Principal of Alcott School (or the Vice-Principal sitting in their place), an optional Faculty Representative, a Communications Chair, an Enrichment Chair, an Events Chair, a Fundraising Chair, a METCO chair and a School Community Chair.

Section 2.  The duties of the PTG Board shall be to transact business, manage the committees, finances and communications of the PTG. The PTG Board creates and approves the budget and approves all PTG events/committees.  The Members of the Board shall act in good faith at all times. 

Section 3.  The PTG Board will meet once a month during the school year. Half the number of board members plus one constitutes a Board quorum.  A simple majority vote of PTG Board members present and voting shall decide all issues at PTG Board meetings, assuming a quorum is present, with the exception of amendments to the By-Laws and the removal of an Officer as stated herein.  Where there is a tie of the Executive Committee of the Board, a full Board vote will be called. 

Section 4.  Officers, or Executive Committee Members. The Officers of the PTG shall be the President, Vice President, Treasurer and Clerk.  The Officers shall also sit on the Executive Committee of the PTG Board.  In addition to the duties listed below, each Officer will also perform other such duties as applicable to the office as prescribed by the authority of this organization.

A. President: The President shall:

  1. Preside over meetings of the organization and PTG Board;

  2. Carry out the objectives of the organization according to the By-laws;

  3. Work with the PTG Board to address concerns and needs;

  4. Set times and agendas and preside over all PTG general meetings;

  5. Communicate regularly with the Alcott community via the Alcott OWL, PTG meetings and Back to School Nights; and

  6. Attend monthly Superintendent/ PTG President’s meetings to ensure that the Alcott community is represented.

B. Vice-President: The Vice President shall:

  1. Assist the President and carry out the President’s duties in their absence or inability to serve;

  2. Work with the President to facilitate smooth operation of the PTG;

  3. Attend monthly PTG Board meetings and PTG general meetings;

  4. Coordinate the committee chairs and oversee the work of replacing committee chairs.

C. Clerk: The Clerk shall: Record and publish the minutes of all PTG meetings; and attend monthly PTG Board meetings, make all/ any State filings.

D. Treasurer: The Treasurer shall:

  1. Receive all funds of the organization, keep an accurate record of receipts and expenditures, and pay out funds in accordance with the approval of the PTG Board;

  2. Present a financial statement at every meeting and at other times of the year when requested by the PTG Board;

  3. Prepare the annual PTG budget for the upcoming year;

  4. Attend monthly PTG Board meetings;

  5. Be responsible for timely and accurate preparation and submission of required tax filings; and

  6. Make accounting books available to the PTG Board for inspection;

  7. To secure insurance for the PTG; and

  8. To file Annual Reports with all applicable Agencies of the Commonwealth.

Section 5.  Nominations and Elections.  Elections of Officers will be held at the Spring meeting of the PTG membership.  The PTG Board shall present a candidate for each office and publish the slate two weeks prior to the last meeting of the school year, where possible.  Additional nominations shall be accepted from the floor. The nominee receiving the greatest number of votes shall be elected.

Section 6.  Term of Office.  Officers are elected for one year and shall begin serving each year on July 1st. They may serve no more than two (2) consecutive terms in the same office, unless approved by the PTG Board. No member of the Concord School Committee or Concord-Carlisle Regional School Committee shall be eligible to hold office in the PTG.

Section 7. Removal from Office.  Officers can be removed from office by a two-thirds vote of the PTG Board, where previous notice has been given.

Section 8. Vacancies.  If there is a vacancy in the office of President, the Vice President will become the President.  At the next regularly scheduled meeting, a new Vice President will be elected.  If there is a vacancy in any other office, members of the Executive Committee of the PTG Board will appoint a replacement for the vacancy for the remainder of the term.

ARTICLE IV. MEETINGS

Section 1. Meetings.  The PTG shall meet in open session with Members no fewer than 3 times per year: Fall, Winter and Spring. The dates of all meetings shall be published in advance. The PTG Board shall meet monthly during the school year.  Where possible, the PTG Board shall provide access to the Members via teleconference or videoconference to the open sessions. 

Section 2. Voting. 

    1. In Person Voting: A simple majority vote of Members present, and voting shall decide all issues at PTG General Meetings, assuming a Member quorum of 10 is present. Absentee and proxy votes are not allowed, except where an e-vote is called by the Executive Committee for issues that cannot wait until the next Board meeting or open meeting.

    2. Electronic voting. When there is a time-sensitive question on which the Board needs to vote and for which a Meeting cannot be scheduled in time the President(s) may call for an electronic discussion and vote. The Board members should treat the electronic discussion with the same open and inclusive discourse with the entirety of the Board as in an interactive meeting. The voting should take place as follows:

1.     The President(s) shall prepare a shared electronic voting sheet that lists:

(a)     The text of the Question.

(b)     The Closing Date and Time for the Question that must be at least twenty-four (24) hours after the Notification will be sent.

(c)     A line for each Board Member, listing full name, and places to indicate “Yes” or “No” and to provide optional comments (discourse as mentioned in the opening paragraph B).

2.     The President(s) shall send Notification of Electronic Vote via electronic mail to the Board, posing the Question, stating the Closing Date and Time, linking to the voting sheet, and providing any further relevant background information.

3.     The Board Members may register their vote any time up to the end of the Closing Date and Time.

4.     After the Closing Date and Time the President(s) shall capture the result and communicate it to the Board in reply to the Notification email. If fewer than a majority of Board Members have registered a vote, no quorum will be found to be present.  Without an electronic quorum, there is no decision and the Question remains open. If a majority of Board of Members have registered a vote; and a majority of those votes are Yes, the question is decided in the affirmative; or if a majority of those votes are No, the question is decided in the negative.

5.     At the next Board Meeting the President(s) shall announce the outcome of the vote to have it filed with the records of that meeting.

ARTICLE V. COMMITTEES

Section 1.  Membership.  Committees should be chaired by a member of the board, may consist of general members and board members and subcommittees where needed.

Section 2.  Standing Committees.  The following committees shall be held by the organization:  Communications, Enrichment, Events, Executive, Fundraising, METCO and School Community where still applicable to our district.

Section 3.  Additional Committees.  The PTG Board may appoint additional committees as needed.

ARTICLE VI. FINANCES

Section 1. A preliminary budget for the next school year will be prepared by the Treasurer and adopted by the PTG Board at a spring meeting and can be amended as needed by a vote of the Board.

Section 2.  The Treasurer shall keep accurate records of any disbursements, income, and bank account information.

Section 3.  The Executive Committee shall approve all non-budgeted expenditures of the organization greater than $300.  Notification of any proposed non-budgeted expenditures greater than $300 must be made available to the PTG Board prior to the next business meeting. A simple majority vote of the PTG Executive Board members present and voting is required to approve of and disburse the funds. Requests for funds shall be evaluated by the PTG Board using the following criteria:

  1. Equal access or allocation of funds to all persons in the same position (i.e. to all teachers or to all students, school wide or a particular grade level).

  2. Enrichment value of an activity or program to the current curriculum.

  3. The number of students and/or faculty who will benefit from the activity.

  4. Social value, community building, or school/community service.

  5. Requests for funds to be granted on a case by case basis from the PTG to persons or entities will be reviewed and voted upon by the PTG Board. Requests will be considered with respect to whether they are in accord with the PTG’s purpose as stated in Article II herein. The PTG Board reserves the right to delay or deny any request for funds without cause.

Section 4.  The fiscal year shall coordinate with the school year and begin on July 1 of each year.

Section 5.  Any contracts signed on behalf of the PTG must first be reviewed and approved by the Committee Chair(s).

Section 6.  All prices and fees set by the PTG, including but not limited to tickets, admissions, raffle, and concessions must be approved by the Committee Chair(s) prior to notification of the public.

Section 7.  Upon the dissolution of the organization, any remaining funds should be used to pay any outstanding bills and, with the membership’s approval, spent for the benefit of the school.

ARTICLE VII. DISSOLUTION.

The organization may be dissolved with previous notice (14 calendar days) and a two-thirds vote of those members present at the meeting.

ARTICLE VIII. AMENDMENTS.

The procedure for amending these By-Laws shall be as follows:

  1. Notice of the proposed amendments shall be made available to all members of the PTG Board at least two weeks prior to the meeting at which the amendment is to be discussed.

  2. Approval of the proposed amendments must be by a two-thirds vote of the PTG Board members present and voting, assuming a quorum.

  3. After such approval, any amendment must then be ratified at the next PTG meeting by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting, provided notice of such amendments has been given to all members at least two weeks prior to the meeting.

ARTICLE IX. REVISION OF BYLAWS

The Executive Committee and the past President shall review the By-Laws every four years. Recommendations of the committee shall be reported to the PTG Board.  Action on these recommendations requires the same procedure as outlined for amendments.

ARTICLE X. CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY

The purpose of the conflict of interest policy is to protect this tax-exempt organization’s interest when it is contemplating entering into a transaction or arrangement that might benefit the private interest of an officer or director of the organization or might result in a possible excess benefit transaction. This policy is intended to supplement but not replace any applicable state and federal laws governing conflict of interest applicable to nonprofit and charitable organizations.

Section 2. Definitions.

  1. Interested Person. Any Board Member, Officer or Member who has a direct or indirect financial interest, as defined below, is an interested person.

  2. Financial Interest. A financial interest is not necessarily a conflict of interest. Under Section 3b, a person who has a financial interest may have a conflict of interest only if the appropriate governing board or committee decides that a conflict of interest exists. A person has a financial interest if the person has, directly or indirectly, through business, investment, or family:

    1. An ownership or investment interest in any entity with which the organization has a transaction or arrangement

    2. A compensation arrangement with the organization or with any entity or individual with which the organization has a transaction or arrangement; or

    3. A potential ownership or investment interest in, or compensation arrangement with, any entity or individual with which the organization is negotiating a transaction or arrangement. “Compensation” includes direct and indirect remuneration as well as gifts or favors that are not insubstantial.

Section 3. Procedures and Duties.

Duty to Disclose. In connection with any actual or possible conflict of interest, an interested person must disclose the existence of the financial interest and be given the opportunity to disclose all material facts to the members of committees with governing board-delegated powers who are considering the proposed transaction or arrangement.

Determining Whether a Conflict of Interest Exists. After disclosure of the financial interest and all material facts, and after any discussion with the interested person, he/she shall leave the governing board or committee meeting while the determination of a conflict of interest is discussed and voted upon. The remaining board or committee members shall decide whether a conflict of interest exists.

Procedures for Addressing the Conflict of Interest.

These procedures shall be determined by the Executive Committee if any Board member or Member raises a conflict question. If the board or committee has reasonable cause to believe a member has failed to disclose actual or possible conflicts of interest, it shall inform the member of the basis for such belief and afford the member an opportunity to explain the alleged failure to disclose.  If, after hearing the member’s response and after making further investigation as warranted by the circumstances, the board or committee determines that the member has failed to disclose an actual or possible conflict of interest, the Board maintains the right of removal, under Section 7 of Article IV.

Section 4. Records of Proceedings. The minutes of the board and all committees with board delegated powers shall contain:  The names of the persons who disclosed or otherwise were found to have a financial interest in connection with an actual or possible conflict of interest; the nature of the financial interest; any action taken to determine whether a conflict of interest was present; and the board’s or committee’s decision as to whether a conflict of interest in fact existed.  Included are the names of the persons who were present for discussions and votes relating to the transaction or arrangement; the content of the discussion; including any alternatives to the proposed transaction or arrangement; and a record of any votes taken in connection with the proceedings.

Section 5. Notice:  This policy shall be placed on the Alcott OWL Website, in section within by-laws and all Board Members will be presumed to have knowledge of these terms.   It is the duty of the Board to report any conflicts of which they have notice to the entirety of the Board by the next scheduled Board meeting. 

Article XI: Personal Liability

The Members, Board and Officers of the organization shall not be personally liable for any debt, liability or obligation of the organization. All persons, corporations or other entities to the funds and property of the organization for the payment of any such contract or claim or for the payment of any debt, damages, judgment or decrease, or any of the money that may otherwise become due or payable from the corporation.