PUXI CAMPUS
PARENT, TEACHER, STUDENT
ASSOCIATION
CONSTITUTION AND BY LAWS
Adopted
1.
Name:
The name of
this organization, formed in November of 1994, shall be the Shanghai American
School Puxi Campus Parent, Teacher, Student Association (“SAS Puxi PTSA” or
“PTSA”). Hereafter, the
2.
The SAS Puxi
PTSA is a volunteer, non-profit service organization committed to supporting
the school community through social, educational and fund raising activities.
3.
Goals:
A. To promote close cooperation and communication between parents,
teachers, students, administration, the Superintendent and the
B. To create
opportunities for parents of students at SAS to become better acquainted with
each other and with SAS.
C. To work with SAS
and First Friends to welcome and support new SAS families as they adjust to
life in
D. To sponsor
activities to raise funds for the School for purposes designated by the PTSA.
E. To receive
donations for the purposes outlined in (d) above, or for the purposes
designated by the donor(s), and approved by the PTSA.
F. To provide an
additional channel of communication between parents, teachers, students,
administration, the Superintendent and the School Board.
G. To provide assistance
and volunteer services wherever possible in areas designated by the School.
H. To keep its
members informed about developments at SAS and to disseminate to the membership
all information from the School Board concerning current and future school programs
and activities as it makes so available.
I. To provide a forum
for expression of views of general interest to parents, teachers and students.
4.
Membership:
A. Membership of the PTSA shall consist of all parents and
legal guardians of the students presently attending the School and all members
of the teaching and other professional staff of SAS whilst they remain in the
employ of the School.
B. Unless otherwise specifically noted herein, teachers and
other professional staff of SAS, and Students of the School shall be non-voting
members of the PTSA.
5. Management
A.
The Management
of the general affairs of the PTSA shall be vested in the PTSA Board which
shall, in turn, delegate specific duties to the Executive Committee and to
sub-committees.
6.
PTSA Board:
A.
Membership -
The PTSA Board shall consist of the members of the Executive Committee, the
PTSA school representatives for the lower elementary, upper elementary, middle
and high schools, the Chinese Language representative and the Korean Language representative. The Teacher Representatives from the
elementary, middle and high schools shall be ex-officio members of the Board
and shall not be required to be voted onto the Board.
B.
Mid-term
Vacancies – the PTSA Board shall have the power to appoint a member of the PTSA
to fill a vacancy on the Board during the year, and said appointee shall serve
for the remainder of the Board’s term.
C.
Functions
The
PTSA Board shall:
(i)
manage the affairs of the PTSA in accordance with the By Laws and
subject to any resolutions passed at a general meeting of the PTSA.
(ii)
Convene
monthly meetings of the PTSA;
(iii)
Furnish an
Annual Report and a Financial Statement to the members of the PTSA at each
Annual General Meeting.
The PTSA Board may
(iv)
solicit
opinions from members and formulate policy on behalf of the PTSA;
(v)
invest part or the whole of its funds in any manner deemed fit by
the Board in accordance with the annual budget approved by the PTSA. In addition, the PTSA Board shall have the
discretion to authorize expenditures throughout the year up to RMB 5,000 per
expenditure, up to a total of RMB 30,000 per year. Expenditures above these thresholds which are
not part of the Annual Budget must be approved by the PTSA at a general
meeting.
D.
Nomination,
Election and Term of Office
(i)
Nominations -
The Executive Committee in late spring will appoint a nominating committee
including the Vice President, and at least two other members. This committee will seek candidates for
positions on the Board including the Executive Committee. PTSA members may also nominate themselves by
submitting their names to the committee.
The list of candidates will be published prior to the general PTSA
meeting at which annual elections for the Board will occur.
(ii)
Elections –
Elections shall occur annually at the last general meeting of the PTSA prior to
the end of the school year or as soon thereafter as reasonably possible. Candidates shall be elected by a majority of
the voting PTSA members present, provided a valid quorum is obtained.
(iii)
Board Members
will serve for one calendar year, from June 1 to May 31, or until a successor
is elected.
(iv)
Board Members
may serve for more than one term.
E.
Meetings
(i)
The Board of
the PTSA, the Executive Committee and subcommittees shall each meet as and when
necessary for the conduct of their respective business.
(ii)
The Executive
Committee and subcommittees shall report any active business to the Board for
ratification.
F.
Voting
(i)
A quorum for a
meeting of the Board shall be five members in addition to any ex-officio member
attending.
(ii)
Any motion
before the Board shall be approved by a majority of the votes present, provided a proper quorum is obtained.
(iii)
In the event
of a tie, the President shall cast the deciding vote.
(iv)
The members of
the Board shall have voting rights as follows:
President
– 1 vote
Vice
President(s) – 1 vote collectively
Recording
Secretary – 1 vote
Treasurer(s)
– 1 vote collectively
High
School Representatives – 1 vote collectively
Middle
School Representatives – 1 vote collectively
Teacher
Representatives – 1 vote collectively
Chinese
Language Liaison – 1 vote
Korean
Language Liaison – 1 vote
7. PTSA
Executive Committee
A.
Membership -
The Executive Committee of the PTSA Board shall consist of the President, Vice
President, Recording Secretary and Treasurer.
The PTSA Board may appoint an additional Vice President(s) and/or an
Assistant Treasurer in its discretion.
B.
Functions
The
Executive Committee shall
(i)
be responsible
for the daily business of the PTSA
(ii)
prepare an
annual program budget which shall be presented to the PTSA for approval at a
general meeting
The Executive Committee may
(iii)
form and
appoint individuals to chair subcommittees to attend to various matters
including but not limited to the Book Fair, International Fair, Art Ambassador
program, Passport Program, Music programs, PTSA Store, Hospitality Committee
and Activities Office Liaison. The Chair
of any subcommittee must be a current member of the PTSA and shall report to
the Executive Committee and may attend Executive Committee or Board Meetings on
an invitation basis.
8.
Roles and Responsibilities of the Board
The
Board shall in its absolute discretion allocate roles and responsibilities
among its members in carrying out its obligations hereunder. The
roles and responsibilities of members of the Board may include but shall not be
limited to:
A. President (1):
- Prepares the agenda
for conducts the monthly general PTSA meetings.
- Leads the Executive
Committee meetings and the Board meetings and prepares the agenda.
- Prepares the annual
budget with the Executive Committee.
- Reviews and
coordinates all Committee activity.
- Acts as liaison
between groups within the school community to address issues of broad concern.
- Attends Principal
Coffee’s for ES, MS and HS.
- Alternates with VP
in attending monthly First Friends meeting.
- Acts as
spokesperson and representative for the organization.
- Reviews newsletter
articles prior to print.
- Serves as liaison
to other International Schools in the region.
B.
Vice-President(s) (min 1):
- Provides support to
the President.
- In absence of the
President, the Vice President serves as Acting President including preparing
agenda for and conducting monthly general PTSA meetings - Attends the Executive
Committee and Board meetings and helps prepare the agenda for the monthly
general meeting.
- Attends Principal’s
Coffee for Elementary, Middle and High Schools.
- Alternates with the
President in attending monthly First Friends meeting
- Writes and submits
articles to Parent Talk and other school publications, monitors outside
publications and organizations to coordinate event dates.
C. Recording
Secretary (1):
- Attends all
Executive Committee, Board and General Meetings.
-
Sends notices
for Board and general PTSA meetings
-
Makes the
necessary arrangements to secure meeting venue
-
Keeps
accurate records of all
meetings, including people attending.
-
Submits
minutes of all meetings to the President for review within one week after the
meeting. Provides copy of minutes from
monthly meetings of general PTSA to the Public Relations Manager of the School
to be posted on the School web site.
-
Prepares the
articles for Parent Talk and reviews them with the President before publishing.
-
Maintains a
file of minutes and agendas.
D. Treasurer:
- Attends all
Executive Committee, Board and General PTSA meetings.
- Participates in
developing annual budget
- Keeps monetary
records of receipt and disbursement of PTSA funds.
- Submits monthly an
income and expense report to the general meeting.
- Collects all
fundraising money and deposits it with the business office.
- Submits
reimbursement requests to School’s Business Office and oversees appropriate
distribution of PTSA funds.
E.
Upper and
Lower Elementary, Middle and High School Representatives (min 1 per school):
-
Serves as a
liaison between Parents and SAS teachers and administrators on issues of
general relevance and concern. School
representatives will meet with school administrators and teachers regularly to
understand their general concerns, issues and requests, and will communicate
this information at PTSA meetings.
School representatives will also communicate to SAS teachers and
administrators issues of general relevance raised by parents.
-
Recruits
volunteers for functions and projects
-
Coordinates
requests for PTSA funds.
-
Upon request,
supports Principal in planning and organizing Principal coffees and other
events
-
Gives support
and assistance to new parents.
-
Attends PTSA
meetings
F. Liaison for cultural groups (Korean, Chinese, Japanese, etc)
(min 1):
-
Serves as translator, coordinator and spokesman for the represented group in
PTSA meetings.
-
Acts as liaison between the School Administration, PTSA, and Parents.
G. Teacher
Representative (minimum 1)
-
Appointed by
the school to represent the opinion of the faculty.
9. General PTSA Meetings:
A.
Regular
meetings of the PTSA shall be convened once a month from September through
May. All members of the PTSA shall be
invited to attend.
B.
Extraordinary
meetings of the PTSA with a specific agenda may be convened by the Executive
Committee whenever it deems necessary.
C.
Notice of
monthly and extraordinary PTSA meetings shall be given at least 5 days prior to
the meeting. Publication in the school
newsletter shall be an acceptable form of notice.
D. The quorum for a general PTSA meeting shall be 20 voting
members present in person.
E.
The
recommended order of Business for a general meetings Is :
-
Call to order.
-
-
President’s/Vice
President’s Remarks.
-
Treasurer’s
Report.
-
Committee
Reports.
-
Reports from
the Teacher Rep and Student Rep
-
Requests from
the Community or the School.
-
New Business/
Ideas.
-
Recommendations for the Following Month.
-
Adjournment.
10. Safeguarding of Funds:
A.
Deposits -
PTSA funds will be deposited with the SAS Business Office. All income must be
counted and verified by two members of the Executive Committee prior to
deposit. The SAS Business Office will
verify the money count. All deposits
must be approved by the Treasurer and the President.
B. Withdrawals – The signatures of both the Treasurer and the
President, as well as the signature of the recipient of the funds is required
on all withdrawals. In the absence of
the President, the Vice President or the Recording Secretary may authorize
withdrawal of funds in the place of the President.
C. A person authorized by the Executive Committee may perform an
audit each year.
D. Policies for safeguarding of funds will be yearly reviewed
by the Executive Committee and updated as necessary.
11. Amendments
Amendment to these By Laws must be approved by a 2/3
majority of those present and voting at a monthly or extraordinary PTSA
meeting, provided a quorum is obtained.
Approved by the General Meeting