Buckingham Elementary PTO Bylaws
Adopted May 10, 2001, Revised May 12, 2006

ARTICLE 1. Name

The name of this organization shall be Buckingham Elementary Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). The principal office of the PTO shall be located at Buckingham Elementary School, Buckingham, PA.

ARTICLE 2. Objectives and Policies

Section A.        The basic objective shall be to assist Buckingham Elementary School in providing the best possible education for the children enrolled at the school.

Section B.        To implement the above objective the PTO’s policies shall be:

• To provide an alternate means of communication between parents and the school.
• To aid and assist the school in various programs.
• To provide extension education and/or enrichment programs for children and adults.
• To promote the interests of Buckingham Elementary School to the Central Bucks School District and other governmental authorities.
• To fund the PTO, various fundraising activities will be held in accordance with School District policies. No part of the net earnings of the PTO shall go towards the benefit of any member of officer of the PTO. No PTO member shall benefit from any PTO fundraiser.
• There will be no annual dues.

Section C.       The PTO shall be non-commercial, non-sectarian, and non-partisan; no part of the activities of the PTO shall consist of carrying out propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, or participating, or intervening in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office.

Section D.       The PTO shall not seek to direct the administrative activities of the school or control its policies.

ARTICLE 3.     Fiscal Year

The fiscal year of the PTO shall begin on July 1 and end on June 30. The books and records of the PTO shall be maintained on an accrual basis.

ARTICLE 4.     Membership

All parents and guardians of children enrolled at Buckingham Elementary School and all administrators and faculty members of Buckingham Elementary School are members of the PTO. All members are eligible to vote at the monthly meetings.

ARTICLE 5.     Officers

Section A.        The executive Board of the PTO shall be a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. The office of President may be shared by two people with the duties being distributed between them according to their own discretion.

Section B.        The term of office shall be two years with no officer serving for more than one term in the same office. If there is no candidate for a particular office, then that standing officer may continue for one more year. The term of office, including the extension, shall be no longer than three years in the same office.

Section C.        The two year terms of the Treasurer and the President will be staggered with the two year terms of the Vice President and Secretary so that each new Executive Board will always have carry-over members from the previous year. If there are two Presidents, their terms must be staggered so that one is on the same schedule as the Treasurer and the other is on the same schedule as the Vice President and the Secretary.

Section D.       The officers shall be elected at the general meeting in May. Officers shall assume the duties of their respective offices at the beginning of the fiscal year.

Section E.       In the event of a vacancy in the Presidency between annual elections, the Vice President shall assume the Presidency. In the event of a vacancy in any other office, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the President, with approval from the executive Board. In the event an officer completes only one year of his/her two year term, a new officer will be elected (at the annual elections) to complete the remainder of the term (one year) only.

Section F.        Duties of the Officers

• The President shall preside at all meetings, coordinate the work of the officers and committees, and shall perform such duties as may be assigned by the PTO. The President shall perform the duties of the Treasurer in the absence of that officer.
• 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 Secretary shall record and distribute minutes of general meetings, post a copy of the minutes in a central location, take roll at general membership meetings, be responsible for PTO correspondence, and carry out other responsibilities as directed.
• The Treasurer shall receive all monies of the PTO and keep accurate records of receipts and disbursements authorized by the PTO. The Treasurer shall prepare a monthly report to the PTO. The Treasurer’s ledger and checkbook shall be available at each PTO meeting. The outgoing and incoming Treasurers shall work together over the summer until the year’s books can be closed in preparation for the start of the new school year in September. The Treasurer shall adhere to School District policies on money management.

ARTICLE 6.     Executive Board

Section A.        The function of the Executive Board (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer) 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 the general meetings.

Section B.        Meetings of the Executive Board shall occur at least once between general meetings at the discretion of the President. The School Principal may be invited to attend Executive Board meetings.

Section C.       At meetings of the Executive Board, any individual item acted on may have a limit of five hundred dollars. Items costing more than five hundred dollars must be acted on by the general membership.

Section D.       Membership on the Executive Board will be terminated by resignation, moving out of the school’s attendance area, expiration of term of office, or dismissal by majority of the Executive Board.

Section E.        Each Executive Board member shall have one veto to cast on motions brought before the board. When two individuals are filling one office, they each have one vote.

Section F.        More than half of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business of any meeting of the Executive Board.

ARTICLE 7.     Teacher Representative

A teacher representative or representatives shall be designated by the faculty each year to serve as a liaison between the PTO and the staff.

ARTICLE 8.     Standing and Special Committees

Section A.        Committees shall be created by the PTO as deemed necessary to carry out the work of the organization.

Section B.        Volunteer committee chairs shall be responsible to the Executive Board of the PTO and shall make reports and recommendations as needed.

ARTICLE 9.     Nominations and Elections

Section A.        Members of the PTO will be given the opportunity to nominate candidates for each office at the April meeting.

Section B.        Elections will be held at the May meeting. The elected officers will begin their terms with the start of the new fiscal year.

Section C.       Elections for officers with more than one candidate shall be by written ballot.

ARTICLE 10.   Meetings

Section A.        The PTO meetings shall be held once a month throughout the school calendar year. The meetings will be held at Buckingham Elementary School. All meetings shall be open to the general membership and voting rights will be limited to those attending the regular meetings.

Section B.        Special meetings of the PTO may be called by the President, five days notice having been given.

Section C.       The meetings will be conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order, revised. All motions must be made, seconded, and voted upon by the members. The voting will be decided by majority of those in attendance.

Section D.       All requests for expenditures not included in the budget must be submitted in writing to a member of the Executive Board at least one week prior to the regular monthly PTO meeting.

Section E.        At the discretion of the Executive Board, a vote on any fiscal matter may be delayed until the next general PTO meeting.

ARTICLE 11.   Bylaws

These bylaws may be amended at a general meeting by a two-thirds majority vote of the members in attendance.