The name of this organization shall be the Turlington Parent Teacher Organization, hereinafter called TES PTO.

The purpose of this organization is to support the education of children at Turlington Elementary by fostering relationships among the school, parents and teachers.

The organization shall be noncommercial, nonsectarian and non-partisan. It may work with other organizations and agencies concerned with child welfare, but persons representing the organization in such matter shall make no commitments that bind the organization.

*Annual membership dues for the 2022-2023 school year will be waived.

Memberships: Any parent or guardian of a student at Turlington Elementary who has paid membership dues and any and all faculty members currently employed at Turlington Elementary may become a PTO member. Persons may be eligible to join the organization at any time.

Honorary Memberships: All parents and/or legal guardians of former students and former faculty of Turlington Elementary School, who has paid membership dues, shall have the right to participate in the organization as an honorary member. Honorary members shall have the same rights as regular members.

Dues: Each member shall pay annual membership dues in an amount determined by each individual Executive Board, to apply the following school year. Dues paid shall be good through the current fiscal year of the PTO which will end on June 30th. Membership dues, no matter when paid, will apply to the school year the dues were paid in. A member is considered to be in “good standing” when their membership dues have been paid.

Voting Rights: Only members in good standing shall be eligible to serve on the Executive Board and be eligible to vote as a member of the Executive Board. General members and Honorary members do not have voting rights.

The officers shall be President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Parliamentarian, Volunteer Coordinator, Hospitality Officer, Technology Coordinator, Turlington Beautiful and Bilingual Coordinator. All officers shall be a member of the Executive Board. All officers shall act in the best interest of the PTO, students and school.

President: The President shall preside over the meetings of the PTO, prepare each meeting’s agenda, serve as an ex officio member of all committees, coordinate all committees and the PTO as a whole, represent the PTO at any meeting outside the organization, appoint special committees as needed and announce meetings to the school population at least one week in advance of that meeting, and keep record of activities and progress of the president position. The president shall be subject to the control of the Executive Board and under the direction of the general memberships.

Vice President: Perform the duties of the president in his/her absence, resignation or inability to serve, and act as chairperson of the fundraising committee, assist the president when needed, and keep record of all activities and progress of the vice president position.

Secretary: Shall keep all records of the organization, take and record minutes, handle correspondence, and send notices of meetings to the membership, keep a copy of the minutes book, bylaws, rules, membership lists and bring a copy to meetings, and keep a record of all activities and progress of the secretary position.

Treasurer: Shall receive funds of the organization, deposit funds in a timely manner, keep an accurate record of receipts and expenses in accordance with the approval of the executive board, and present a financial statement at each executive and general meeting and at any other time of the year when requested by the executive board. Make a full report at the end of the year and keep record of all activities and progress of treasurer position.

Parliamentarian: Shall keep all PTO Executive Board meetings in order and help follow Roberts Rules of Order in all meetings.

Volunteer Coordinator: Shall help recruit and schedule volunteers for all events for which volunteers are needed.

Hospitality Officer: Shall organize events that help staff and parents socialize. Organize staff appreciation week

Bilingual Coordinator: Shall help PTO communicate with volunteers and parents, and must be fluent in both Spanish and English.

Elections shall be held during March or April PTO meeting of the school year. Prior to that meeting a nomination form shall be sent out to parents and guardians of students at Turlington Elementary, giving the option of letting the PTO members know of their intent to run for office. To run for office a person must be a member of the PTO and in good standing. At the PTO meeting, nominations will be taken from the floor and from returned nomination ballots. Any person running for office must be in attendance to be eligible for a board position and must express consent to serve. Voting shall be voice vote if only one person is running for a position; if tow or more persons are running for a single office then a ballot vote will be taken.

Eligibility: The person must be a member of the PTO and in good standing.

Terms of Office: Officers are elected for one year and may serve no more than two consecutive terms in the same office. Each person elected shall only hold one office at a time. If a person has held an office for a one-year term or two-year maximum term, they will be eligible to run for that office again once they have vacated the office for one year.

Vacancies: If there is a vacancy in the office of president, the vice president will become the president, and the vice president position will remain vacant until the next regularly scheduled election meeting. If there is a vacancy in any other office, members will fill the vacancy through an election at the next regular meeting.

Attendance Requirement: Each PTO board member is required to attend 6 out of the 8 regularly scheduled executive board meetings. Failure to attend all required meetings may result in removal from office.

Removal from office: Officers can be removed from office with or without cause by two-thirds vote of those present (assuming a quorum) at a regular meeting where previous notice has been given.

Executive Meetings: The regular scheduled executive meetings shall be at Turlington Elementary at a day and time determined by the Executive Board at the beginning of the school year.

General Meetings: The PTO shall have no fewer than one general meeting per quarter at a time and place established by the PTO executive board. All PTO members shall be notified of upcoming meetings no later than fourteen days prior to the meeting.

Special Meetings: Special meetings may be called by the president, and two members of the executive board or five general members submitting a written request to the secretary. Previous notice of special meetings shall be sent to the members at least one week prior to he meeting by flyer, phone call, email or text message.

Quorum: The quorum shall be ten members of the organization.

Membership: The Executive Board shall consist of PTO officers, principal, assistant principal and teacher liaisons.

Duties: The duties of the Executive Board shall be to transact business between meetings in preparation of the general meeting, create standing rules and policies, approve the current work of all standing committees, select an entity to audit treasurer’s books, select dispersment of collected funds, create standing and temporary committees, prepare and submit a budget, approve bills and coordinate volunteer efforts and PTO involvement in the school.

Quorum: Half the number of board members plus one constitutes a quorum. (5 Executive Board members will constitute a quorum.)

Each officer is expected to serve on a minimum of one committee.

Committee chairpersons will be voted on and appointed by the Executive Board, with a term of chairmanship of one year.

All committees shall have the approval of the Executive Board before any work shall be undertaken.

The chairperson of all existing committees shall be responsible for keeping accurate records of each committee meeting. Each chairperson will also keep a procedure and budget manual defining the duties and costs of their respective committee for the school year.

No officer shall be compensated by the PTO for their service.

No officer shall secure any contract in the name of the PTO without the approval to do so by a vote of the PTO board. Any approved purchases must be made within the budgetary restrictions.

Reimbursements for all expenses shall be made only after receipts for the expenditures have been documented and approved by the PTO treasurer. Reimbursement requests should be submitted to the PTO treasurer within 30 days of the incurred expense or by three weeks prior to the end of the fiscal year, whichever comes first, and must be accompanied by a receipt. Any cash advance to cover expenses prior to a purchase must be documented in detail and all unused funds must be returned to the PTO treasurer immediately following the purchase.

A tentative budget shall be drafted for each school year and approved by the majority vote of the PTO Executive Board. Upon recommendation of the treasurer, the executive board will be permitted to transfer any unused portion of a budgeted item to off-set any deficit in other budgeted items. Any budget revision will be reported to the organization at its next board meeting. The treasurer shall keep accurate records of any disbursements, income, and bank account information. The board shall approve all expenses of the organization.

Checks: All expenditures must be paid by check and will require two signatures. The treasurer will be one of the two signatures on each check. No check shall be made payable to and signed by the same officer.

Financial Statement: The treasurer will prepare a financial statement for each meeting and will prepare a statement for the end of the year.

Fundraising: All fundraisers, special events, or matters directly affecting the school will need the approval of the principal and/or assistant principal. All fundraising funds are to be counted and certified by two people and turned in to the treasurer within five days. A written report shall be made to the members of the organization within 45 days after all fundraising projects.

Dissolution: Upon dissolution of the organization, any remaining funds should be used to pay any outstanding bill and, with the executive board approval, spent for the benefit of the school.

Fiscal year: The fiscal year shall begin on July 1 and end on June 30.

Government/Tax Accountability: All necessary tax documents must be filed every year in accordance with government deadlines to maintain tax exemptions and 501(c)(3) status.

The organization is organized exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, and scientific purposes under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

No part of the net earnings of the corporation shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that the corporation shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes described in section 501(c)(3). No substantial part of the activities of the corporation shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the corporation shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles, the corporation shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by a corporation exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or (b) by a corporation, contributions to which are deductible under section 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

Upon the dissolution of this organization, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose.

The Rules in the “Roberts Rules of Order Newly Revised” shall govern the organization in all cases in which they apply and in which they are not in conflict with these bylaws.

These bylaws may be altered, amended or repealed and new bylaws may be adopted by the voting members at any regular or special meeting.

Standing rules may be established when necessary to clarify the duties or the responsibilities of the officers, committees and activities of the organization and a record of these rules shall be kept by the secretary.

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