Lexington Home & School Club
Operating Guidelines

 ARTICLE I: NAME

The name of this organization is The Lexington Home and School Club. It is the Home and School Club of the Lexington Elementary School in Los Gatos Union School District, Santa Clara County.
 
ARTICLE II: PURPOSES   

The purposes of this organization are:

Section 1.     To build a relationship between the home, school and community.

Section 2.     To assist in the general welfare of the students and the school.

Section 3.     To provide additional facilities and equipment which will aid in the educational community, and aesthetic life of the school not covered by state, county, or district allowances.

Section 4.    To provide volunteers for various school programs and events.

Section 5.    To raise funds through various fundraising activities.

ARTICLE III: POLICIES

The policies of this organization are:

Section 1.  This organization is educational, non-sectarian, and non-partisan.

Section 2.  This organization will neither direct the administrative activities of the school nor control its policies.

Section 3.  The name of the organization and the names of any members is their official capacities will not be used in partisan political interests, or for any purpose not related to the purpose of the organization.

Section 4.  All money collected, except that needed for operating expenses, will be used for projects to directly benefit the school and students. All such projects will be approved by the Board.

Section 5:  No money will be spent beyond the approved budget without the approval of the Board.

Section 6:  Any member of the Board may request and audit of the financial records of the organization.

Section 7:  Any money left in the Home and School Club treasury at the end of the school year will carry forward to the next consecutive school year.

Section 8.  Upon termination of the charter of this organization, any money in the treasury would revert to either the school, or to the organization which would be set up to take the place of the Lexington Home and School Club. Disposition of this money would be determined by the Board.

ARTICLE IV: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1.  The place and time of meetings will be designated by the Board. Announcements of meetings will be posted two days prior to specific meetings. Meetings will also be announced by (1)flyers in the weekly envelopes which specify the meeting agenda, the location, day, and time of the meeting, and (2) a sign which specifies the location, day, and time of the meeting.

Section 2.  All meetings will be conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order.

Section 3.  Motions cannot be passed at a meeting without the presence of a quorum. In order for a meeting to take place, the following requirements must be met to satisfy a quorum: (1) Either the President or the Vice President must be present; (2) Either the School Principal or a teacher representing the Principal must be present; (3) At least half of the board must be present.

Section 4.  A teacher should be present at each meeting.

Section 5.  The President will have the ability to call a Board meeting. A Board meeting must have a quorum of at least two-thirds of the Board present.



ARTICLE VI:  BOARD

Section 1.  The Board consists of:

A.    President
B.    Vice President
C.    Second Vice President (Principal)
D.    Volunteer/Event Coordinator
E.    Secretary
F.    Treasurer
G.    SCRIP Manager
H.    Parliamentarian
I.    Facilities Coordinator

Section 1. A)  In addition to their specific duties, members of the Board are: (1) to attend all meetings; (2) to prepare reports before each meeting; (3) to notify the President if they cannot attend a meeting; (4) to assist the President in preparation of a brief annual report of the organization.

Section 2.  The Duties of the Board are as follows:

A.    President:  The President will schedule, attend and lead all Home and School Club meetings. The President will be responsible for setting the Home and School Club goals, budget, and calendar for the year. She/he will be responsible for membership development and the membership drive. She/he will attend and report on the monthly Los Gatos Union School District Meetings and the District Home and School Club Presidents’ Council Meetings. The President will act as liaison between the Home and School Club and the Pricip0al. She/he will write articles for the bi-monthly newsletter Paw Prints, write the Home and School Club newsletters, and submit the annual report of the organization at the end of the year. The President can appoint alternate Board members and committee chairs subject to approval of the Board. She/he will exercise voting rights only in the event of a tie. This position can be shared by one other person. The President will coordinate production of school calendar with volunteer/event coordinator and Principal.

B.    Vice-President:  The Vice-President will assume the duties of the President in her/his absence. She/he will assist the President when requested. The Vice-President will be responsible for communication to the school community, which includes coordinating the production of the School Calendar and the Buzz Book. She/he will be the lead for the weekly envelopes. She/he will coordinate all articles in local publications. She/he will serve as the representative to the Parent Education Council. She/he will be responsible for membership development and the membership drive. The Vice-President will coordinate assemblies with the President and the Principal.

C.    Second Vice-President:  The Second Vice-President is the school Principal and will serve in an advisory capacity to the Board.

D.    Volunteer Coordinator:  The Volunteer Coordinator will be responsible for obtaining and maintaining a list of volunteers from the school community to assist with school functions. She/he will be responsible for identifying the persons to chair each event and the volunteers. The Vol./Event Coordinator will serve as the Room Parent coordinator; maintain the Volunteer Database; and identify special event volunteers. She/he will be a liaison between the committee chairs and the Board, and will be responsible for the collection and maintenance of all committee reports. The Vol./Events Coordinator will be responsible for overseeing all events. She/he will be responsible for working with the President to develop the fundraising goals for the year and for keeping the budgets for all such events on track. When applicable, she/he will be responsible for giving information to the V.P. for marketing of our events to local print and news media.

E.    Secretary: The Secretary will take attendance at each Home and School Club meeting. She/he will record the minutes of each Home and School Club meeting. Before each meeting, she/he will e-mail the minutes from the previous meeting to all Home and School Club members. After approval of the minutes, the Secretary will make sure that the minutes are posted on the school website. She/he will be responsible for arranging the refreshments at each Meeting.

F.    Treasurer: The Treasurer is responsible for the payment of approved Home and School Club bills and teacher grants. She/he will keep an accurate record of itemized financial records, receipts, and expenditures. The Treasurer will be responsible for the maintenance of the Home and School Club checking account and the reconciliation of statements. She/he will submit a monthly treasurer’s report.  The Treasurer will be responsible for turning over financial records of the organization for an audit to be performed by a person appointed by the Board.

G.    SCRIP Manager: The SCRIP Manager has overall responsibility for the SCRIP program. She/he is personally responsible for SCRIP accounting records, which are balanced once a month. She/he also provides monthly status reports to the Board and performs all data entry for SCRIP transactions and record keeping. The SCRIP Manager also coordinates the activites of (1) the SCRIP Facilitator, who collects and distributes the SCRIP, gets SCRIP volunteers, coordinates and maintains the schedule for SCRIp sales, and handles the SCRIP checkbook; and (2) the SCRIP Marketing Coordinator who is responsible for the promotion of the SCRIP program. This includes creating monthly promotions, writing Paw Prints articles, developing the SCRIP flyers for the Home and School Club newsletter, acquiring the monthly raffle gifts, and providing any banners that help to encourage SCRIP purchases.

H.    Parliamentarian: She/he will act as Parliamentarian at all meetings, give advice on parliamentary procedures (using Robert’s Rules of Order as a guide) and the Lexington Home and School Club Bylaws. She/he will serve as chair of the Nominating Committee and will collect and record all votes after the General Election meeting.

I.    Facilities Coordinator: She/He will represent the facilities interest of Lexington School. She/He will lead a facilities committee to work with school staff and parents to identify Lexington’s facilities needs both short term and long range. The coordinator will work with the Principal and will act as a liaison to the school board to communicate and present our campus needs for the board’s consideration and implementation.

J. Communications: He or she will be responsible for the posting of all signs.
 
ARTICLE VII: COMMUNICATIONS

Section 1.  The Home and School Club produces the following communications:

A.    School Calendar
B.    Buzz Book
C.    Home and School Club Newsletters
D.    Monthly Meeting Minutes
E.    Monthly Paw Prints
 
Section 2.  The Home and School club Logo, determined by the Board annually, is used on all Home and School Club communications.

Section 3.  All Home and School Club communications denote the author.

Section 4.  Home and School Club newsletters are the responsibility of the President. All submissions are forwarded to the President at least one day prior to the weekly envelopes. The President will coalesce these into one Home and School Club newsletter, to be included in the weekly envelopes.

Section 5.  The President must approve all communications.

ARTICLE VIII: NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

Section 1.  The Nominating Committee will consist of two members nominated from the floor of a meeting and the parliamentarian who will be the chairperson.

Section 2.  The Nominating Committee will present a slate of nominees for the elective positions at the March Home and School Club meeting. At that time, nominations may also be made from the floor providing the nominees are present.

A.    A vote will be taken of all members present at the meeting.
B.    Those not presnt may vote by absentee ballot to be turned in to the Nominations Chair prior to the meeting.
C.    No person will be eligible for more than one elective office at a time or serve more than two consecutive years in the same office.
D.    Incoming officers will be installed at the May meeting.
E.    Each Board serves office from June through to the following May.
F.    In the event of a resignation of a Board member, which must be in writing and presented to the Board, the position may be filled by a majority vote of the remaining members of the Board.

ARTICLE IX:  COMMITTEES

Section 1.  All committee Chairs or co-chairs will be submitted to the Board for approval.

Section 2.  Committee Chairs work closely with the Volunteer Coordinator to secure their committee volunteers.

Section 3.  All committee Chairs will submit reports in writing to the Board when the committee is active. When the committee has completed it’s work, or at the last meeting of the year. The committee will submit it’s final report to include final accounting, suggestions for the next year, and the final committee list.
 
ARTICLE X:  AMENDMENTS TO BYLAWS (Operating Guidelines)

Section 1.  These Bylaws (Operating Guidelines) will be reviewed every year and updated as necessary.

Section 2.  These Bylaws (Operating Guidelines) may be amended by a majority vote of those attending a meeting or at a Board meeting, provided notice has been given at the previous meeting.

Section 3.  Copies of the proposed amendments will be made available to all members prior to the scheduled vote.

LEXINGTON HOME AND SCHOOL CLUB OPERATING GUIDELINES