JACKSONVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 

PARENT – TEACHER ORGANIZATION BYLAWS 

Adopted April 6 2009 

ARTICLE 1: Name 

The name of this organization is the Jacksonville Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). It is not affiliated with the state or national PTA. 

ARTICLE II: Articles of Organization 

This organization exists as an incorporated organization of its members. Its “articles of organization” comprise these bylaws, as from time to time amended. In the absence of separate articles of organization, the bylaws shall be deemed to be the articles of organization. In the event of any conflict between these bylaws and the articles of organization, these bylaws shall govern. 

ARTICLE III: Objective 

Section 1. Recognizing the value of parental participation in children’s education, the objective of the Jacksonville Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization is to foster an enriching and supportive environment of learning built through a partnership with parents, guardians, teachers and support staff and the community of Jacksonville. 

Section 2. This objective is promoted through conferences, committees, projects, and programs that are governed by the policies set forth in Article IV. 

ARTICLE IV: Basic Policies 

Section 1: All meetings of the PTO Board are open to the public. All Members (as defined) shall be eligible to vote when in attendance at a General Meeting. 

Section 2: This organization shall be noncommercial, nonsectarian and nonpartisan. 

Section 3: The name of the organization or the names of any member in their official capacities shall not be used in connection with any commercial concern for any purpose not appropriately related to promotion of the objectives of the organization. 

Section 4: Said organization is organized exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, and scientific purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations 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 organization shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that the organization shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of its objectives as set forth in Article III. No substantial part of the activities of the organization shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the organization shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any other provision of this document, the organization shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by an organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or (b) by an organization, contributions to which are deductible under section 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code. 

Section 5: The organization shall cooperate with Jacksonville Elementary School in ways that will not interfere with administration of the school and shall not seek to control their policies. 

Section 6: The organization shall not be dissolved without the approval of 2/3 of the voting members at a general meeting. 

Section 7: In the event of dissolution, after all outstanding bills have been paid, its assets shall be distributed for one or more of the exempt purposes specified in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 governing non-profit organizations as from time to time amended. It is suggested that the property both real and personal shall be turned over to Jacksonville Elementary School or the 549C Administration. This property will be held in trust for two (2) years pending the reorganization. After said time, all properties and monies belong to the school to be used as deemed best by the building Principal or, in the case of closure of Jacksonville Elementary, to the 549C Administration. 

ARTICLE V: Membership and Dues 

Section 1. All faculty members and all parents or guardians of children who are enrolled at Jacksonville Elementary School are members of this organization subject only to compliance with the provision of the bylaws and without regard to race, color, creed or national origin. 

Section 2. There shall be no membership fees or dues for this organization. 

ARTICLE VI: Officers and Committees 

This organization is classified as a nonprofit public benefit corporation with members. 

Section 1. Elected Officers 

A: Elected Officers shall consist of a President or Co-Presidents, a Secretary and a Treasurer. Additionally, the Principal and Teacher Representative shall sit on the Executive Board of the PTO and participate in all governance issues as more fully described in Section 3 of Article VI. Elect positions including President –Elect, Secretary –Elect, and Treasurer – Elect, as applicable shall not be considered voting members of the Executive Board, except the President – Elect shall have voting rights whenever she is fulfilling the duties of the President as defined in Section 2. 

Section 2. Duties of Elected Officers 

1. The President shall: 

1) Preside at all meetings of the organization and of the Executive Board seeing to it 

that the bylaws are enforced, and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed in these bylaws or assigned to her/him by the organization. 2) Help coordinate activities of other Chairpersons; 3) Coordinate the work of the officers and committees of this organization so that its 

objectives may be met; 4) Sign approval of all monies within the organization; 5) Communicate with the principal as needed about PTO matters; 6) Have responsibility of either personally attending or delegating the President- 

Elect to attend any community or School District meetings at which a subject of concern to the Jacksonville Elementary PTO is scheduled to be brought up; 7) Have the authority to spend up to $150 on PTO business, if needed, in the interval 

between meetings; and 8) Represent PTO on the school Calendar Committee. 9) Prepare “PTO Update” newsletter, with assistance from Secretary. 

1. The President – Elect shall: 

1) Act as aid to the President or Co-Presidents and shall perform the duties of the President or Co-Presidents in the absence or inability of the officer(s) to serve. 

2) The President – Elect will automatically move up and become President in the 

following year. 

1. The Secretary shall: 

1) Record the minutes of all meetings of the organization and post the minutes on 

the web site and near the school office within one week of the meeting. This shall include notices, agendas, sign-in sheets and material distributed at the meeting as appropriate. 2) Provide copies of minutes of prior meeting at all general meetings. 3) Write all acknowledgements and thank you letters. 4) Keep copies of the Bylaws, maintain a log of all amendments or changes to these 

bylaws, and ensure that a current copy of the bylaws is on file in the school office; 5) Notify parents, teachers and administrators of monthly meetings or changes in 

meeting dates and times; and 6) Perform other duties as may be designated by the President including “PTO 

Update”. 

1. The Treasurer shall: 

1) Have custody of all of the funds of the organization; 2) Keep full and accurate accounts of receipts and expenditures; 3) Make disbursements in accordance with the approved budget, as authorized by the 

Executive Board; 4) Present a financial statement at every meeting of the organization and at other 

times when requested by the Executive Board; 5) Be responsible for the filing of form 990 and other required tax returns and shall 

maintain a copy of the return on file in the school office. (Copies of the return are to be made available for public inspection upon written request to any Officer); 

1. Officers shall assume their official duties following the close of the final PTO meeting for the school year and shall serve for a term of one year or until their successors are elected. 
2. All Officers shall deliver to their successors all official material not later than ten days following the meeting at which new Officers assume their duties. 
3. Officers may be removed from office for negligence of their duties or malfeasance. This act may be taken by two-thirds majority of the Executive Board (excluding Committee Chairs) at any regular or special meeting. An Officer may not have more than three absences with due notice or cause in the school year. Upon the fourth absence of an Officer, that Officer will be removed from the PTO Executive Board and an alternate will be seated for the remainder of the term. 

Section 3. The Executive Board 

1. The Executive Board shall consist of: Executive Officers of the organization, the Principal, and the Teacher Representative. Chairman of Standing Committees are not members of the Executive Board, but may be required to attend meetings as needed to make a status report on their event. 
2. The duties of the Executive Board shall be to transact necessary business in the intervals between meetings and such other business as may be referred to it by the organization. Additional duties shall be to: 
3. Submit scheduled activities to the School Calendar Committee. 2. Prepare a list of proposed Standing Committees for the school 

year. Submit the list of proposed Standing Committees for the subsequent year to the organization for approval during the last PTO meeting of the school year. 3. Prepare a proposed budget for the school year. Submit the 

proposed budget for the subsequent year to the organization for approval no later than the last PTO meeting of the school year. 4. Recruit and appoint chairmen of the Standing Committees. 5. Approve the work plans of the Standing Committees. 6. Create or disband Standing Committees as needed during the 

school year. 7. Report at the regular meetings of the organization. 8. Decide agendas in advance of PTO meetings. 

1. The Executive Board shall meet prior to each PTO meeting. Such business may be conducted by email or by meetings in person as deemed appropriate by the President. Special meetings of the Executive Board may be called by the President or by a majority of the Executive Board upon adequate notification to all Executive Board members. 
2. Duties of Teacher Representative 
3. Attend all PTO meetings and when absent arrange for another teacher 

colleague to attend; 2. Inform the school staff about decisions and outcomes from all PTO 

meetings; and 3. Co sign all checks issued from this organization. 

Section 4: Duties of Standing Committee Chairs 

1. Coordinate a volunteer list and recruit volunteers as needed; 2. Attend (or send a designee) to either the Executive Board meetings or the PTO meetings before and after the scheduled event to give a status report, and summarize the event. 3. Turn in receipts for reimbursements to the Treasurer within thirty days of 

the completion of the event. The committee chair shall also be responsible for notifying all volunteers that they must turn in their receipts for reimbursement within 30 days of the completion of the event. No reimbursements shall be made for the previous fiscal year. 

Section 5: Suggestions for Standing Committees and their Duties 

1. ROOM PARENTS – Room Parents will be solicited by the Executive Board at 

the end of the year for the following year. Room parent duties include coordinating Harvest Carnival booths for their grade including set up, decorations, staffing and tear down. Other duties include organizing classroom parties for Christmas and Valentines Day. Room parents are encouraged to attend all PTO meetings, but required to attend a minimum of 2 meetings, one of which shall be the meeting preceding the Harvest Carnival. B. BOX TOPS - General Mills BOX TOPS are collected all year long and submitted 

for redemption of school equipment. In addition, the website offers redemption points through online shopping. The coordinator handles all collection, marketing and redemption. C. STUDENT DIRECTORY – Coordinators collect and correlate completed forms 

of student information and prepare the classroom lists for printing. D. KIDS RECYCLING CHALLENGE – Coordinator orders supplies, writes 

informational flyers and newsletter paragraphs regarding the fundraiser, coordinates collection of bags from classroom and delivery of bags to Walmart, and tracking of bags by classroom. E. TEACHER/STAFF APPRECIATION – Coordinates one teacher appreciation 

luncheon, and one classified staff appreciation luncheon (expenses paid by PTO). F. TALENT SHOW – Coordination and supervision of our annual talent showcase. 

Entails tryouts, rehearsals, and production of the final event. G. WEBSITE – Coordinator maintains PTO website and updates as needed with 

PTO minutes etc. H. HARVEST CARNIVAL – Coordinator is responsible for overall coordination of 

event, including directing room parents and Harvest Carnival committee, soliciting donors, ordering supplies, coordinating decorations etc. I. COMMUNITY PARTNERS – Committee oversees fundraising partnerships with 

local businesses to raise money for the school through recognized programs such as Skate Nights, Bank debit card promotions, grocery stores etc. Promotes the programs and educates the parents and school community how to designate Jacksonville Elementary PTO as their beneficiary. 

1. YEAR BOOK – Collects photos by class and grade and coordinates with 

publisher for annual year book. K. JOGATHON – Coordinates parent volunteers for marking laps, reporting total 

laps, calculating amount due per pledge form, and awarding prizes based on actual pledges received. Orders supplies such as water bottles and ribbons as needed L. SCIENCE FAIR – Coordinates food for Science Fair judges, schedules parents 

for project check-in and cookies and drinks for Science Fair social. M. DISTRICT COMMUNICATIONS – Attends School Board meetings, town halls etc as needed to understand issues affecting Jacksonville Elementary School students and programs. 

ARTICLE VII: Nominations 

Section 1. Nominating Committee 

There shall be a Nominating Committee consisting of at least 3 members. This Committee shall nominate at least one eligible person for each office to be filled, and report to the full Executive Board prior to the last PTO Meeting of the school year. This committee shall also prepare an announcement in the newsletter, PTO Update and website giving notification of elections to be held during the last PTO meeting of the school year. 

Section 2. Election of Officers 

Whenever possible, President – Elect, Secretary – Elect, and Treasurer - Elect will work side by side with Officers throughout the year, and will assume duties at the end of the last PTO meeting of the year. Otherwise, Officers shall be elected by secret ballot annually during the last PTO meeting of the school year. Ballots will be immediately counted and announced by the Executive Board. If there is only one candidate for each office, the President shall ask for a motion from the floor to accept or reject the slate of Officers as nominated by the Nominating Committee. 

Section 3. Vacancies 

A vacancy occurring in any office shall be filled for the unexpired term by a person elected by a majority vote of the remaining members of the Executive Board (excluding Committee Chairs), notice of such election having been given. 

ARTICLE VIII: General Membership Meetings 

Section 1. Meetings of this organization shall be held on a regular basis and no less than four times during the school year. Meeting dates will be set by the Executive Board (excluding Committee Chairs) prior to the beginning of school in the fall, five days notice shall be given for a change of dates. These meetings shall not coincide with School Board Meetings. 

Section 2. Special meetings of this organization may be called by the President or Co- Presidents or by a majority of the Executive Board (excluding Committee Chairs), three days notice having been given. 

Section 3. A quorum is defined as a majority of the Executive Board members present excluding the Committee Chairs. 

Section 4. Any proposed expenditure exceeding $150.00 and not more than $400.00 must be approved by motion during a PTO General Meeting. Two-thirds majority vote of members present is necessary to act on any motion. 

Section 5. Any expenditure exceeding $400 requires a quorum be present and voting as defined in Section 3 of this Article. 

ARTICLE IX: Parliamentary Authority 

Robert’s Rules of Order Revised shall govern the association in all cases in which they are applicable and in which they are not in conflict with these Bylaws. 

ARTICLE X: Amendments 

Section 1. These bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the organization by two-thirds vote of the members present and voting, provided that prior notice of the proposed amendment shall have been given. 

Section 2. A committee may be appointed to submit a revised set of Bylaws as a substitute for the existing bylaws only by majority vote at a meeting of the organization, or by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Board (excluding Committee Chairs). The requirements for adoption of a revised set of bylaws shall be the same as in the case of an amendment. 

_________________________________________ ___________________ 

Secretary, PTO Date Bylaws Approved