PTO Constitution
The Parent-Teacher Organisation (PTO) of the International School of Ho Chi Minh City (ISHCMC).
Article II: Objectives
1. To promote positive communication between teachers, administrators, parents, students, and the community.
2. To provide a mechanism for parents and staff to raise and discuss matters pertaining to the school community.
3. To enable parents and staff to share ideas and information about education and how to improve the students' academic and non-academic performance.
4. To provide support, both materially and otherwise, for the various activities of the school.
5. To provide a mechanism for the school to be represented in the broader community.
Article III: Members
Membership is open to all parents/guardians of current ISHCMC students and to all current teachers at ISHCMC.
Article IV: Officers
1. The officers will consist of a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Parliamentarian.All officers must be parents/guardians.
2. Officers, with the exception of the Parliamentarian, will be elected by secret ballot at an evening meeting during the month of January.In the case of a single nomination for an office, election for that office will be by voice vote.Proxy votes may be submitted in writing to the Election Committee anytime up to four hours prior to the meeting.The Parliamentarian shall be appointed by the newly elected officers, with the most recent ex-President being given first consideration.
3. There will be a Nominating Committee, consisting of at least four and not more than six members, elected by the general body at a meeting at least two months prior to the election of officers.No one on the Nominating Committee may run for elected office.The Nominating Committee will report its nominees for President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer at a meeting prior to the election.Additional nominations may be made from the floor at that same meeting.
4. Elections will be established by an Election Committee, consisting of two members of the Executive Committee and one general member.The Election Committee will be responsible for publicising the election, collecting proxy votes, collecting and counting ballots, and announcing the winners.
5. Officers will assume their duties on February 1st and will serve for a term of one year.No person may hold a position for more than two consecutive one-year terms.
6. The President will:
a) Convene and preside at all general and Executive Committee meetings;
b) Coordinate the work of the PTO officers, co-ordinators, and committees in order to achieve the objectives of the PTO;
c) Approve the minutes of meetings before the Secretary publishes them.
7. The Vice-President will:
a) Aid and assist the President;
b) Assume the duties of the President in the event of the President's absence or resignation;
c) Be responsible for recording events and activities to be presented as the official history.
8.The Secretary will:
a) Take minutes at all general and Executive Committee meetings and then publish them after they have been approved by the President;
b) Prepare and publish agendas for meetings;
c) Maintain the list of the members holding any position in the PTO (both elected and volunteer);
d) Handle all correspondence of the PTO.
9. The Treasurer will handle the financial business of the PTO.
10. The Parliamentarian will:
a) Attend all meetings of this organisation and shall advise on matters of parliamentary procedure when requested;
b) Not vote on any question except in the case of a ballot vote.
11. Special elections may be held in order to fill vacancies in the position of Vice-President, Secretary, or Treasurer.Nominations for any special election will be handled in the same manner as for the general election, with the exception that the Nominating Committee may be created one month before the election.
Article V: Meetings
1. There will be a general meeting at least once a month during the school year.At least one third of the PTO meetings during the school year will be scheduled in the evening.The time and date of meetings will be established by the Executive Committee and published at least fourteen days prior to the meeting.Five days notice will be given if a change of date is needed.
2. Agenda items for meetings must be submitted to the Secretary at least ten days prior to the meeting.An agenda prepared by the Executive Committee will be published at least seven days prior to the meeting.
3. Ten members will constitute a quorum for the transaction of business in any meeting of this organisation.Motions will be passed by a simple majority of the members attending the meeting.
4. The minutes of each meeting will be published within two weeks of the meeting.
5. The Headmaster is the conduit for passing information and queries raised at both general and Executive Committee meetings of the PTO to the Advisory Council.
6. The definition of "publishing" all official PTO announcements and minutes will be determined at the first Executive Committee meeting of the year.
Article VI: Executive Committee
1. The Executive Committee officially consists of the four elected officers (President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer) and no more than four teacher representatives (preferably one from each section of the school: Junior, Elementary, Middle, and High School), plus the Headmaster.
2. The term of the teacher representatives is one school term, with a maximum of four consecutive terms for any one teacher.The Headmaster is responsible for ensuring there are teacher representatives willing to serve on the Executive Committee every term.
3. The Executive Committee will meet at least once a month.Minutes will be kept for all meetings and will be considered public records.
4. The quorum for a meeting of the Executive Committee will be two elected officers and one teacher representative.
5. Each official member of the Executive Committee has one vote, with the President only voting in case of a tie.
6. By two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee an officer or committee chair may be removed from office for failure to perform duties. An officer or committee chair who:
a)Misses three consecutive meetings may be removed from office;
b)Disrupts the harmony of the organisation may be removed from office.
Article VII: Committees and Co-ordinators
1. Working committees and co-ordinators for volunteer functions within the school community may be created when necessary and dismissed when their appointed task is finished, as determined by the Executive Committee.
a) A United Nations Day committee will be created at a meeting in April.
b) A Co-ordinator of National and Cultural Representatives will be elected at a meeting in April for a term of one year.The Co-ordinator will ensure that every nation (defined by a legal entity issuing passports) and cultural group (defined by members themselves on the basis of language, geographical area, religion, common experience, etc.) in the school community desiring representation has at least one National or Cultural Representative.
c) A Co-ordinator of Classroom Parents will be elected at a meeting in August for a term of one year.The Co-ordinator will ensure that every classroom or homeroom in the school has at least one parent/guardian designated as the Classroom Parent.
d) A Newsletter Co-ordinator will be appointed at a meeting in August and will be responsible for any newsletter issued by the PTO and for submitting regular reports of PTO events to the school newsletter.More than one member may share the position.
2. Co-ordinators for volunteer functions will be elected by written ballot, with nominations taken from the floor at the same meeting.In the case of a single nomination for a position, a voice vote may be taken.Co-ordinators are responsible for preparing written guidelines for volunteers to be submitted to members for approval at the following meeting.
3. Ex-officio committee members, who are not members of the PTO, may be appointed by a working committee on a needs basis.
Article VIII: Finance
Financial records must be kept up to date by the Treasurer and may be audited at any time by an auditing committee of not less than three members appointed by the Executive Committee.
Article IX: Amendment of Bylaws
Any amendment to this constitution, including dissolution of the PTO, must be approved at a meeting by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting.Notice of the proposed amendment shall have been given at a previous meeting or thirty days prior to the meeting at which the amendment is voted upon.When notice of the meeting is made, the proposed amendments must accompany the notice in writing.
A committee may be appointed to submit a revised constitution as a substitute for the existing constitution only by a majority vote at a meeting, or by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee.The requirement for adoption of a revised constitution will be the same as in the case of amendment.
Article X: Parliamentary Authority
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised will be used to govern this organisation in all cases in which they are applicable and in which they are not in conflict with these bylaws.