FILE_0807

Prosper PTO

Council Bylaws

Revised May 31, 2023

Approved June 2, 2023

Article I – Name

The name of each Prosper ISD PTO organization shall be the name of the school followed by Parent Teacher Organization (PTO).

Article II – Purpose and Policies

The PTO is organized for the purpose of supporting the education of children at Prosper ISD schools by fostering relationships among the school, parents, and staff members.

Section 1 – Policies

1. The organization shall be noncommercial, nonsectarian, and nonpartisan. 2. 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.

3. The organization shall not in any way, including the publishing or distribution of statements, directly or indirectly participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office. The organization shall not devote more than an insubstantial part of its activities to attempting to influence legislation by propaganda or other means.

4. The organization shall not enter into membership or cooperate with other organization except such organizations and agencies concerned with child welfare, and no PTO representative shall make a commitment that binds the group he or she represents, without approval from the Executive Board.

5. A voting member of the Executive Board or any committee who receives compensation, directly or indirectly, from the organization for goods or services is precluded from voting on matters pertaining to that member’s compensation.

6. Notwithstanding any provision of the articles, the organization shall not carry out any other activities not permitted to be carried out:

a. By an organization exempt from Federal income tax under the 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or

b. By an organization, contributions to which are deductible under Section 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code.

7. Each organization may establish Campus Standing Rules for the purpose of providing more specific guidance necessary for operation of the PTO at that campus. In all cases, the Prosper PTO Council Bylaws supersede the Campus Standing Rules, if any conflict exists.

8. If a campus chooses to have Standing Rules, they shall be in written form, approved by the Executive Board, published, and filed with PTO Council.

Article III – Members

Section 1 – Membership

1. Membership in the PTO shall be made available without regard to race, color, creed, or national origin to any residents within the district’s schools who are parents/guardians or any individual whose associated youth is a student at a Prosper ISD school and who subscribe to the purpose and basic policies of this organization.

2. The principal and staff employed at the school may also become members and have voting rights.

3. Community sponsors may become members, but may not have voting rights unless they are already a member through Article III, Section 1, Items 1 or 2 above.

Section 2 – Enrollment

The PTO shall conduct an annual enrollment of members but may admit persons to membership at any time.

Section 3 – Dues

1. Each member of the PTO shall pay annual dues payable to the school’s PTO as may be prescribed by the organization.

2. Once dues are paid, a member is deemed an active member.

3. Membership is valid July 1-June 30 each year.

Article IV – Officers and Elections

Section 1 – Officers

The Executive Officers shall be, at a minimum, president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. 1. The president shall:

a. Preside over meetings of the organization and Executive Board

b. Serve as the primary contact for the principal

c. Represent the organization at meetings outside the organization

d. Serve as an ex officio member of all committees

e. Coordinate the work of all the officers and committees so that the purpose of the organization is served

2. The vice president shall:

a. Act as an aid to the president and perform the duties of the president in his/her absence or inability to serve

b. Maintain all members’ records and serve as Membership Committee Coordinator c. Perform such other duties as may be prescribed in these bylaws or as assigned to him/her by the organization or the Executive Board

3. The secretary shall:

a. Keep all records of the organization

b. Take and record minutes

c. Handle correspondence

d. Ensure notices of meetings are sent to the membership

e. Keep a copy of the minutes, bylaws, rules, and any other necessary supplies, and bring them to meetings

f. Perform such other duties as may be prescribed in these bylaws or as assigned to him/her by the organization or the Executive Board

4. The treasurer shall:

a. Receive all funds of the organization

b. Keep an accurate record of receipts, expenditures, disbursements, income, and bank account information

c. Pay out funds in accordance with the approval of the Executive Board

d. Present a financial statement at every meeting and at other times of the year when requested by the Executive Board, and make a full report at the end of the year e. Prepare and pay all sales taxes collected on the sale of spirit wear to the state f. Prepare and file all required IRS paperwork including Form 990-N, 990-EZ, or 990 g. Prepare an annual financial statement to be reviewed by a CPA or by the Audit Committee

5. The parliamentarian shall:

a. Be optional, and if used, may be named as a member of the Executive Board, as directed by the president

b. Verify meetings are conducted according to appropriate parliamentary procedure c. Elect to follow Robert’s Rules of Order, if desired, to govern meetings when they are not in conflict with the Prosper PTO Council Bylaws or Campus Standing Rules

Section 2 – Eligibility

1. Members are eligible for office if they are standing members prior to the nomination period. 2. In the case where a PTO member is graduating to a secondary school or moving from one school in the district to another, that member is eligible for office in the new school. 3. Executive Officers and Committee Coordinators must pay membership dues before the end of the second fiscal month, or the first month after position appointment.

Section 3 – Terms of Office

1. Executive Officers are elected for a one-year term and may not serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office. In the event of a vacancy on the ballot because no eligible member is nominated, the current Executive Board may nominate a person to fill that position, even if it means the position is held for a third consecutive term. In no case shall a person hold a position for more than three consecutive terms.

2. Each person elected shall hold only one elected office at a time.

Section 4 – Nominations and Elections

1. Elections will be held before the school year ends and will follow the process below. 2. An organization’s Campus Standing Rules for nominations and elections may be followed in addition to this process, as long as those Campus Standing Rules do not conflict with the Prosper PTO Council Bylaws.

3. A Nomination and Election Committee shall be made up of at least 3 people and must be appointed by the Executive Board. Members of the Nomination and Election Committee shall not accept nominations for a Board position without first resigning from the Committee.

4. Nominations for each Executive Board position will be taken from the PTO membership. a. A nomination ballot shall be made available to every PTO member.

b. Nominated individuals will be contacted for the opportunity to accept or decline the nomination.

c. Nominees shall meet the qualifications determined Article IV, Section 2 above. d. Members may nominate themselves or other members.

e. Nominees may accept only one nominated position.

f. The following must be communicated to the membership at least 14 days before the election.

i. Date nomination submissions may begin.

ii. Deadline for nomination submissions.

iii. Dates nominees will be contacted by the Nomination and Election

Committee.

iv. Date, times, and method by which voting will take place.

5. For any position without eligible nominees at the close of the nomination period, the Nomination and Election Committee may contact recommendations from campus administration and others in an effort to complete the ballot.

6. Any qualified nominee shall be included on the ballot.

7. Voting may be by ballot in written or electronic form as approved by the Executive Board. 8. Whichever form is used must allow for voters to be verified as eligible voters who have cast no more than one vote per paid membership per campus election.

9. Voters must be members prior to the beginning of the nomination period to be considered eligible voters.

10. In the case where a PTO member is graduating to a secondary school or moving from one school in the district to another, that member is eligible to vote in the election for the new school.

11. Votes shall be accepted only during the posted voting dates previously provided. 12. The Nomination and Election Committee will collect and count ballots.

13. Positions with no nominee at the beginning of the election period will remain empty on the ballot. Open positions will be filled according to Article IV, Section 5 once the new fiscal year begins.

Section 5 – Vacancies

1. A vacancy occurring in any office shall be filled for the unexpired term by a person elected by majority vote of the remaining members of the Executive Board.

2. In case of a vacancy in the office of president, the vice president shall fill the remaining term upon majority vote of the remaining members of the Executive Board. If a majority vote is not obtained, a general election must be held according to Article IV, Section 4. Section 6 – Reason to Remove

1. All affected individuals will meet with their campus principal or appointed staff member to discuss grievances. See Article X for details on the Grievance Resolution process. 2. By two-thirds vote of the Executive Board, any member of the Executive Board may be removed from office for failure to perform duties or for misconduct.

3. An Executive Board member who misses three consecutive meetings may be removed from office for failure to perform duties.

Article V – General Membership Meetings

Section 1 – General Meetings

1. General Membership Meetings of the organization shall be called at least once per semester.

2. Notice of the meeting shall be published to membership prior to the meeting. 3. Motions carry by majority vote.

4. General Membership Meeting minutes and approved budget shall be made available to all members of the organization.

Section 2 – Special Meetings

Special meetings of the organization may be called by the president or by a majority vote of the Executive Board.

Section 3 – Quorum and Voting

1. Two-thirds of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business in any meeting of the organization.

2. Any motion may be carried by the majority of the members present if a quorum has been established.

Article VI – Executive Board

Section 1 – Membership

1. The Executive Board shall consist of, at a minimum, the Executive Officers as defined in Article IV Section 1.

2. The Executive Board may be referred to as the Board or the Executive Board. Section 2 – Duties

The Executive Board shall:

1. Transact business between meetings in preparation for general meetings 2. Create Campus Standing Rules and policies

3. Create committees

4. Prepare and submit a budget to the membership for approval

5. Approve routine bills

6. Prepare reports

7. Make recommendations to the membership

Section 3 – Executive Board Meetings

1. Meetings shall be held monthly, at a time to be determined by the Executive Board. 2. Two-thirds of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business in any Executive Board meeting.

3. Motions made will be carried by majority vote.

4. Executive Board meeting minutes and current budget should be made available to all members of the organization.

5. There shall be a combined meeting of the outgoing and incoming Executive Boards before the end of the fiscal year. At such time, the outgoing executives will turn over their records to the newly elected officers.

Section 4 – Executive Board Authority

1. For existing PTOs, the new Executive Board authority to transact business begins July 1, with the start of the fiscal year.

2. For newly established PTOs, the new Executive Board authority to make decisions begins once the election results are final and validated. The fiscal year remains as stated in Article VIII, Section 4.

Section 5 – Quorum and Voting

1. Two-thirds of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum as defined in Article V, Section 3.

2. Any motion may be carried by the majority of the Executive Board members present if a quorum has been established.

Article VII – Committees

Section 1 – Committees

1. The Executive Board may form committees as needed for the planning of specific events or ongoing areas of operations.

2. No committee work shall be undertaken without the consent of the Executive Board. Section 2 – Coordinator

If an event or area committee is established:

1. A committee chair/coordinator must be appointed by the Executive Board. 2. The coordinator(s) must be member(s) of the PTO at that campus.

3. Coordinator(s) are appointed for a one-year term and may not serve more than two consecutive terms on the same committee. However, if no other member volunteers to coordinate a committee, the term may be extended for an additional year.

4. The president(s) shall act as ex officio member(s) of all committees.

Article VIII – Finances

Section 1 – Budget

1. A tentative budget shall be drafted by the incoming president(s) and treasurer for each school year and approved by a majority vote of the members present at the first general meeting.

2. All items not in an approved budget require a majority vote by the Executive Board. 3. Increasing or adjusting the budget amount for a category must be approved by a majority vote of the Executive Board.

4. All budget changes must be reflected in the meeting minutes.

Section 2 – Approval of Expenses

1. The Executive Board shall approve all expenses of the organization.

2. No funds raised at one school can be used for expenses at another school unless PTO Council approves. This excludes Seed Money.

Section 3 – Authorized Signatures

1. Two authorized signatures shall be required on each check over the amount of $250. 2. Authorized signers shall be president and treasurer of the Executive Board but may also include vice president and secretary.

3. No one can sign a check to themselves.

Section 4 – Fiscal Year

The fiscal year shall be July 1 - June 30.

Section 5 – Expense Reimbursement

1. To receive reimbursement for any expenses, expenses must be budgeted and approved and an expense reimbursement request form must be completed.

2. The reimbursement form must be accompanied by receipts and submitted to the treasurer. 3. No sales tax will be reimbursed. All members who make purchases shall be provided the Tax Exempt Status Form in order to avoid paying sales tax out of pocket.

4. All board members completing a debit card transaction must fill out a debit card transaction form.

5. Anyone collecting cash or check(s) must fill out a deposit form.

Section 6 – Ending Balance

1. The organization shall leave a minimum of $4,500 in the treasury at the end of each fiscal year.

2. No PTO may carry over more than $6,500 in the treasury without PTO Council approval. Section 7 – Audit Committee

1. The Executive Board shall appoint an Audit Committee or select a licensed CPA during Executive Board meeting in May.

2. The Audit Committee shall consist of no less than three members and shall review the annual financial statement and documentation prepared by the treasurer.

3. Once satisfied that the treasurer’s annual financial statement is accurate and the Audit Committee members or the CPA shall sign a statement of that fact at the end of the report. 4. The audit report is to be completed by July 31, in preparation for the new fiscal year. Section 8 – Contracts

Authority to sign contracts is limited to the president or the president’s designee. Section 9 – Seed Money

Upon the creation of a new PTO within the district, PTOs at the existing campuses will evenly distribute the Prosper PTO Council agreed-upon start-up funds of $5,500

Section 10 – Fundraising

All fundraisers must be submitted to the school principal for approval prior to being scheduled by the Executive Board.

Article IX – Dissolution

Section 1 – PTO Dissolution

If a PTO should dissolve as a viable organization, all funds held by the organization will be divided among the remaining PTOs.

Section 2 – PTO Council Dissolution

If Prosper PTO Council dissolves, funds will become property of Prosper ISD.

Article X – Grievance Resolution

Section 1 – Definition and Principles

1. A grievance is a formal written complaint that a student or parent (the grievant) has been adversely affected by a specific decision or action, or lack thereof, taken by an individual campus PTO.

2. This Grievance Procedure does not include any matter for which the method of review is prescribed by law, or for which there is a more specific campus or Prosper ISD policy providing a process for addressing the concern.

3. In general, disagreements and disputes at an individual campus PTO level should be resolved through free and informal communication as close as possible to the point of origin. The PTO exists for the purpose of supporting the education of children at Prosper ISD schools by fostering relationships among the school, parents, and staff members, and this should be foremost in mind when attempting to resolve local disputes.

4. Parties attempting to escalate dispute resolution by circumventing levels of resolution should be advised of the appropriate procedure by the person who inappropriately receives the grievance.

5. All references to written materials below may be submitted in either hard copy or electronic form.

Section 2 – Grievance Procedure

1. Informal Resolution – The first Level of the Grievance Procedure is always informal. PTO members and officers should first address their concerns directly one-on-one with each other or as a whole PTO through informal discussion or regular PTO meetings.

2. Local Resolution – In the event that Informal Resolution is unable to address a specific complaint, Local Resolution should be conducted.

a. Parties seeking Local Resolution should submit, in writing, to the PTO President and the principal of their individual campus, the following information using the PTO Local Resolution Grievance Form (Appendix A of the PTO Council Bylaws):

i. Date of Submission

ii. Campus

iii. Name and contact information of the grievant

iv. Name of individual, group of people, or PTO whose decision or action is at issue

v. Written description of the grievance, including the adverse effect alleged, facts, and witnesses (if any), including dates. Supporting documentation,

emails, or other correspondence should be included.

vi. Written description of specific action the party has taken to attempt to resolve the issue informally and the response to those actions. Supporting

documentation should be included if available.

vii. Written description of the specific resolution requested for the dispute b. The PTO President will meet with the campus principal within 5 business days of receiving the written Local Resolution request to discuss the grievance and attempt to resolve the dispute. A member of the PTO Council Grievance Committee (as outlined in Article X Section 2, Item 3, b. i.) will be available to attend this meeting at the request of either the PTO President or principal.

c. If the specific requested resolution can be provided, the PTO President or the principal will follow up directly with the grievant within 10 business days of

receiving the written Local Resolution request and provide the outcome and requested resolution.

d. If the matter cannot be resolved as requested within 10 business days of the Local Resolution request, the grievant may institute PTO Council Resolution.

3. PTO Council Resolution – If Informal and Local Resolution procedures fail to adequately address a grievance, the PTO Council Resolution process may be applied.

a. Parties seeking PTO Council Resolution should submit, in writing, to the President of the PTO Council, the following information:

i. The written PTO Local Resolution Grievance Form originally submitted to the Executive Board of the PTO and the principal.

ii. A written description of the outcome of the Local Resolution process, including whether there has been any local response, what that response was, and how this did not achieve the specific desired resolution.

b. The PTO Council President will distribute the written PTO Council Resolution Request to the PTO Council Grievance Committee and will lead appropriate Committee meetings or discussions about the matter within 10 business days of receipt of the Resolution Request.

i. The PTO Council Grievance Committee will consist of the PTO Council President, the PTO Council Secretary, and a third PTO Council member. If the grievant is from an elementary campus, the PTO Council representative from the middle school to which that elementary campus feeds will be the third Committee member. If the grievant is from a middle school campus, the PTO Council representative from the associated high school will be the third Committee member. If the grievant is from a high school, the third Committee member will be selected at random from other members of the PTO Council. If the PTO Council President or Secretary is from the campus with the grievance dispute, the PTO Council Vice President will serve as a replacement on the PTO Council Grievance Committee.

ii. If a meeting with the grievant is necessary to elicit additional information, the PTO Council Grievance Committee will meet with the individual (within the 10-business day review period).

c. The PTO Council Grievance Committee will decide whether the grievance has merit and needs to be addressed at the PTO Council level.

i. If the Committee determines that the grievance has no merit or relates to a matter outside the scope of the Council because it is covered by other

Prosper ISD policy or by law, a written letter stating this will be given to all parties involved in the grievance (principal, PTO Executive Board, and

grievant).

ii. If the Committee determines that the grievance has merit and is within the remit of the Council to address, the Committee will request a written

response from the Executive Board of the involved campus PTO within 10 business days.

iii. If the Committee determines that it is necessary to meet with the local campus PTO Executive Board to gain additional information, the PTO

Council Grievance Committee will set up a mandatory meeting with the

entire Executive Board. Failure by the local campus PTO Executive Board to accommodate this meeting may be grounds for the Committee’s

determination of the outcome of the dispute.

d. After gathering all available, pertinent information, the PTO Council Grievance Committee will attempt to create a Plan of Action to address the grievance. i. The Plan of Action may include items for the PTO Council Grievance Committee, the local campus PTO Executive Board, the campus principal, and/or the grievant.

ii. As one of its action items, the PTO Council Grievance Committee will monitor all

parties and their compliance with the Plan of Action.

iii. Actions recommended by the PTO Council Grievance Committee for the campus principal are not binding, however, actions assigned by the PTO Council to an individual campus PTO will be binding. Examples of such action items may include, but not be limited to, providing meeting minutes and current budgets to all requestors, having a PTO Council Grievance Committee member attend all future campus PTO meetings, or having regular oversight meetings with the campus principal.

iv. In certain circumstances, independent arbitration may be part of the Plan of Action. In this case, the PTO Council Grievance Committee will identify and contract with a qualified, professional arbitrator. All fees and expenses associated with such arbitration will be borne by the involved campus PTO. In the unlikely event that legal action is required or recommended by the independent arbitrator, any associated legal fees will also be borne by the involved PTO.

e. In rare circumstances, the PTO Council Grievance Committee may determine that the grievance has merit, is within the Council remit, and is sufficiently egregious to warrant removal of one or more officers from the campus PTO Executive Board.

i. In this situation, the PTO Council President will convene a meeting of the full Prosper PTO Council and the PTO Council Grievance Committee will present the grievance and the issue(s) for discussion.

ii. The Prosper PTO Council will vote on whether to follow the

recommendation to remove the responsible party/parties from the position(s) on the local campus PTO Executive Board.

iii. If not approved, an alternate Action Plan will be discussed and agreed by the Council.

iv. If approved, the remaining campus PTO Executive Board will vote to fill the empty position(s) or if there are multiple Executive Board members who are removed, there will be a campus-wide special election overseen by representatives of the PTO Council Grievance Committee within 15 business days of the removal of the Executive Board members.

v. If a new campus PTO Executive Board election is decided to be the resolution to the grievance, the vacated campus PTO Executive Board member(s) will not be eligible to be elected as a replacement officer for any position during that special election.

Article XI – Amendments

Section 1 – Voting Majority

These bylaws may be amended at any meeting of the Prosper PTO Council by two-thirds vote of the members present and voting.

Section 2 – Email Approval

Amendments may also be approved via email, as described in Article XII.

Section 3 – Advance Communication

1. Any proposed changes must be communicated in advance of the meeting at which they will be voted.

2. If material changes are discussed at a meeting, the recommended changes must be communicated before the next meeting. The changes may be voted in at the following meeting or approved via email after all parties have been made aware of the intended changes.

Article XII – Conducting Business via Email

Section 1 – Allowable Email Voting

If a vote needs to occur and there is not time to hold a PTO Council or Executive Board meeting, email voting is allowed and can be done at any time.

Section 2 – Email Voting Rules

A time limit for responses must be given, members that vote must “reply all”, and the majority of the voting body (those members who are eligible to vote) carries the vote.

Section 3 – Email Voting Results Communication

Final vote results must be sent out to all the PTO Council or Executive Board members by email. Section 4 – Email Voting Documentation

All email votes and the result must be documented by the Secretary as an addendum to the next regular Prosper PTO Council or Executive Board meeting minutes.

Article XIII – PTO Council Delegates

Section 1 – Membership

1. The Prosper PTO Council will be made up of the president(s) from each campus. 2. If the president(s) cannot a meeting, an Executive Board member with sufficient knowledge and authority should be sent as a designee to vote on behalf of the organization. 3. PTO Council members serve for the corresponding fiscal year.

Section 2 – Meetings

1. PTO Council meetings will be held at least once a semester and once in early summer. 2. Council delegates will elect a president, vice president, and secretary at the summer meeting.

3. If no delegate from an organization’s Executive Board attends, voting will be held and counted with that campus excluded from the Prosper PTO Council voting body. 4. Two-thirds of the Prosper PTO Council campuses shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business in any Prosper PTO Council meeting.

5. Motions made will be carried by majority vote.

These bylaws were approved by the Prosper PTO Council on June 2, 2023 and govern all Prosper ISD PTOs.

6/2/2023

Prosper PTO Council President Signature Date

6/2/2023

Prosper PTO Council Secretary Signature Date

Appendix A

PTO Local Resolution Grievance Form

Date of Submission:

Campus:

Name:

Contact Information:

Primary subject against whom the grievance is being filed:

Describe accurately the details of your grievance complaint (attach supporting documentation):

Describe attempts at informal resolution and the responses received (attach supporting documentation):

Describe accurately in detail the resolution requested: