Lower Merion School District -- Merion Elementary School
Amended and Adopted November 27, 2007
Amended January 2015
AMENDED MAY 2024
Article I. Name
The name of the organization shall be the Merion Home & School Association (“HSA”).
Article II. Purpose
The purpose of the HSA shall be to further cooperation between the school and student families in order to advance the education of our children and to explore issues of concern to families and the school.
The HSA will strive to achieve this purpose in these ways:
- Providing information about school and district initiatives;
- Providing enrichment opportunities for our school children;
- Providing community building events for our school community; and
- Raising funds to provide the above experiences
Article III. Membership
Section 1. All parents or guardians of children attending Merion Elementary School and all staff members of Merion Elementary School shall be members of the HSA.
Section 2. Annual dues in a reasonable amount shall be prescribed by the Executive Board. Staff members shall not pay dues.
Article IV. Officers and Terms of Office
Section 1. The elected officers shall be no more than: Two (2) Presidents, Two (2) Vice Presidents, Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, Two (2) Treasurers, Webmaster and up to Four (4) Members-at-Large. They shall be considered the “Executive Board.”
Section 2. A term shall be one year. No one shall serve more than two consecutive terms in an office, unless further terms are approved by a majority vote by current elective officers.
- a) President (1-2)
There shall be a President who shall preside at all meetings; shall act as a chairperson of the Executive Board; shall call meetings of the Executive Board; shall prepare the agenda for each general HSA meeting; shall appoint the chairperson of each standing and ad hoc committee; shall exercise general supervision over the affairs and activities of the HSA; shall be a member ex officio of all committees, with the exception of the nominating committee; shall be empowered to speak or write in the name of the organization when authorized by a majority vote of the Executive Board; shall notify the general membership in a timely manner; and shall ensure the HSA files the required IRS Form 990 each year. No more than two people (collectively referred herein as the “President”) may share this office. Preference for the President role will go to a prior school year’s Vice President.
- b) Vice President (1-2)
There shall be a Vice President who shall maintain contact with chairpersons of all HSA committees throughout the year concerning their duties and needs; shall be responsible for the collection and storage of adequate and accurate records from committees; shall ensure accessibility of said records for new committee chairpersons; and shall facilitate the smooth transition of leadership within the standing committees. No more than two people (collectively referred herein as the “Vice President”) may share this office.
- Corresponding Secretary
There shall be a Corresponding Secretary who shall, by direction of the President, conduct or direct the conducting of all correspondence of the HSA. This shall include the electronic e-newsletter, and any other methods of communication. The Corresponding Secretary may also have oversight of other committees as needed. These duties may be shared with the Recording Secretary.
- Recording Secretary
There shall be a Recording Secretary who shall prepare for distribution accurate and official records of each HSA meeting and shall keep accurate and official records of business transacted at all meetings of the Executive Board. The Recording Secretary is in charge of maintaining archive records for the HSA. The recording Secretary may also have oversight of other committees as needed. These duties may be shared with the Corresponding Secretary.
- Treasurers (1-2)
There shall be a Treasurer who shall be responsible for all HSA funds; shall be responsible for the deposit of all receipts into the bank account approved by the Executive Board; shall pay out funds only under an approved budget or as authorized by a vote of the Executive Board or general membership; shall keep accurate and complete records of all receipts and expenditures; shall have these records available to the Executive Board; shall prepare periodic Treasurer’s reports to be presented at HSA meetings as requested; and shall be responsible for the filing of the annual federal tax return by January 15th of each year. The Treasurer may also have oversight of other committees as needed. The Treasurer’s records shall be available for audit at the end of the school year or at any other time as requested by the Executive Board. No more than two people (collectively referred herein as the “Treasurer”) may share this office.
- f) Webmaster
There shall be a Webmaster who shall be responsible for updating and maintaining the HSA website, working with committee chairs to ensure that events are accurately posted on the website and that sales may occur through the website, and updating the school directory.
g.) Member-at-Large
There shall be between one and four Members-at-Large, with preference given, if available and willing to serve, to past HSA Presidents who are current HSA members, and at least one staff member. The Member-at-Large may also have oversight of other committees as needed.
Section 3. The Executive Board shall consist of all elected officers, which shall number no more than thirteen (13). It shall:
- meet at least five (5) times in a school year and additionally at the direction of the president or by request of any member of the Executive Board; meetings shall be deemed to have a quorum if a majority of Executive Board members are present, either electronically or in person;
- formulate an annual budget to be presented at the fall HSA meeting and made available to any member of the HSA as requested;.
- review any major expenditure (a dollar amount equal to or greater than 10% of the approved annual budget) not included in the annual budget and present it to an HSA Executive Board meeting for discussion and vote;
- approve by a majority vote the president’s appointment of the chairperson of each committee;
- facilitate the smooth transition of each office at the end of the term to the next officer, including the transfer of an adequate and accurate record of all duties and activities; and
- in the event of a vacancy occurring in any elected office, be empowered to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term of the office by majority vote.
Any action authorized to be taken by the Board at a meeting may be taken without a meeting by unanimous consent of the Board.
Article V. Committees
Section 1. The President shall institute committees as deemed necessary for the activities of the HSA.
Section 2. The chairperson(s) of all committees shall be appointed by the President and approved by the Executive Board.
Section 3. All chairpersons shall appoint the members of their respective committees.
Section 4. A report of each committee shall be presented to the general membership at least once in a school year.
Article VI. Meetings
Section 1. There shall be at least three (3) General meetings of the HSA during each school year at which the elected officers will report to the membership and at which matters of concern to the members and within the purposes of the HSA may be raised by the membership.
Section 2. The annual budget shall be made available to the general membership at a fall meeting.
Section 3. The president(s) may call a special meeting of the membership if business of an urgent nature arises.
Article VII. Voting
Section 1. All parents and guardians of Merion Elementary School students, as well as staff are voting members of the HSA.
Section 2. A quorum shall consist of ten (10) voting members, present either electronically or in person.
Article VIII. Elections & Resignation
Section 1. The annual election of officers shall be held at the spring General meeting. These officers shall serve for one term, which shall be from the last day of school in June of the year they are elected to the following last day of school.
Section 2. The President shall, with the approval of the Executive Board, recruit members for the HSA Executive Board. All proposed members must be approved by the Executive Board and then presented to the General membership.
Section 3. After election, the President shall submit to the Principal and Vice Principal of the School the list of Executive Board officers for informational purposes only.
Section 4. Any member may, upon notice to the President, resign their position on the Executive Board. Such notice shall take effect immediately. The President may, with approval from the Executive Board, appoint a successor to the position that is vacant or may choose to leave the position vacant and assign such duties to other Board members, as appropriate.
Article IX. Amendment
These bylaws or any portion thereof may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present at any HSA meeting at which a quorum is present. For two weeks prior to said meeting, such changes must be posted for comment on the HSA website and announced in the weekly HSA newsletter.
Article X. Suspension of Bylaws
Any portion of these bylaws may be temporarily suspended if:
- Notice is given to the membership of such intention one month before a vote on the proposed suspension; and
- Two-thirds of the members present at the meeting vote to suspend the said portion.
- Membership present at this meeting must be a quorum.
Article XI. Tax Status – Dissolution Clause
Section 1. Said HSA is organized for charitable and educational purposes, including for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 or the corresponding provisions of any future Internal Revenue Law.
Section 2. No part of the net earnings of the HSA shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to, its members, except that the HSA shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distribution in furtherance of the purposes set forth in Section 1 of Article IX hereof. No substantial part of the activities of the HSA shall be the carrying on of propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the HSA 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 these articles, the HSA shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on a) by an association exempt from Federal Income Tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law or b) by an association, contributions to which are deductible under Section 170(c)2 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 or the corresponding provisions of any future United States Revenue Law.
Section 3. Upon the dissolution of the HSA, the Executive Board shall, after paying or making provision for the payment of all liabilities of the HSA, dispose of all the assets of the HSA exclusively for the purposes and in such a manner, or to such an organization or organizations organized and operated exclusively for charitable, educational, or scientific purposes as shall at the time qualify for exemption under section 501(c) 3 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 or the corresponding provision of any United States Internal Revenue Law, as the Executive Board shall determine.
* Article IV, Section 2, The Vice President requirement was temporarily suspended in 1998-99 to allow for more than two Vice Presidents.
