Lower Merion School District -- Merion Elementary School
Amended and Adopted November 27, 2007
Amended January 2015
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 home in order to advance the education of our children and to explore issues of concern to the parents 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
All parents or guardians of children attending Merion Elementary School and all staff members of Merion Elementary School shall be members of the HSA.
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, Payables Treasurer, Receivables Treasurer, ISC Representative, CARE Representative, and Member-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 and approved by the Merion Elementary School principal.
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 by January 15th of each year. No more than two people (collectively referred herein as the “President”) may share this office.
b) Vice President (2)
There shall be Vice Presidents 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. This office shall be shared by two people.*
c) 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 directory, the electronic e-newsletter, the website, 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.
d) 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.
e) Treasurers
There shall be two Co-Treasurers 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 Treasurers’ 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 Treasurers may also
have oversight of other committees as needed. The Treasurers’ records shall be available for audit at the end of the school year or at any other time as requested by the Executive Board. The treasurers shall be known as the Payables Treasurer and Receivables Treasurer.
f) ISC Representative
There shall be one ISC (Inter School Council) Representative who shall be responsible for acting as a liaison between the ISC and the Merion HSA. The ISC Representative shall attend all ISC meetings and functions and report to the Executive Board on any matter pertaining to Merion. The ISC Representative will have oversight of the ISC Art Show and may also have oversight of other committees as needed.
g) CARE Representative
There shall be one CARE (Committee to Address Race in Education) Representative who shall be responsible for acting as a liaison between the CARE Committee and the Merion HSA. The CARE Representative shall attend all CARE meetings and functions and report to the Executive Board on any matter pertaining to Merion. The CARE Representative may also have oversight of other committees as needed.
h.) Member-at-Large
There shall be one Member-at-Large, with preference given to members of the Human Relations Committee or past HSA Presidents who are current HSA members. The Member-at-Large may also have oversight of other committees as needed.
The Executive Board shall consist of all elected officers, which shall number no more than eleven (11). It shall:
- meet at least four (4) times in a school year and additionally at the direction of
the president or by request of any member of the Executive Board; - 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 not included in the annual budget and present it to
an HSA Executive Board meeting for discussion and vote; - approve by a majorityvotethepresident’sappointmentofthechairpersonof
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.
Committees
The President shall institute committees as deemed necessary for the activities of the HSA.
The chairperson(s) of all committees shall be appointed by the President and approved by the Executive Board.
All chairpersons shall appoint the members of their respective committees.
A report of each committee shall be presented to the general membership at least once in a school year.
The standing committees and chairperson shall be as listed in the Merion Elementary School directory and on the Merion Elementary School Website.
Meetings
There shall be at least five (5) General meetings of the HSA during each school year at which the elected officers will report to the membership and at which matters of
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Article V.
Section 1. Section 2.
Section 3. Section 4.
Section 5.
Article VI.
Section 1.
Section 2. Section 3. Section 4.
Article VII.
Section 1.
Section 2.
Article VIII.
Section 1. Section 2. Section 3.
Section 4
Article IX.
concern to the members and within the purposes of the HSA may be raised by the membership.
The annual budget shall be made available to the general membership at a fall meeting.
The president(s) may call a special meeting of the membership if business of an urgent nature arises.
Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with traditional concepts of parliamentary procedure.
Voting
All parents and guardians of Merion Elementary School students are voting members of the HSA.
A quorum shall consist of ten (10) voting members.
Elections
The annual election of officers shall be held at the April or May 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.
The President shall, with the approval of the Executive Board, appoint a chairman of the search team (“Search Team”). The Search Team shall be formed by the chairman, President and the Executive Board in accordance with Exhibit A.
The Search Team shall consist of five (5) to nine (9) members. The chairman, President and Executive Board shall select, to the extent that is practical, Search Team members representing students from all grade levels and various neighborhoods attending Merion Elementary School. Search Team members will be eligible for elective offices for that year. Once a Search Team member is considered for an office, that person shall be excused from participating in the search for the position for which that person is being considered. The President can also determine that that person should step down from the Search Team.
The Executive Board will vote on the candidates by the Search Team as well as other candidates who come forth. Voting shall take place at a May Executive Board or General HSA meeting occurring before the 15th of the Month. A plurality is required for election. The Search Team will be called upon to vote in the instance of a tie. The votes shall be tallied, and the new officers announced at this meeting.
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
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Merion Home and School Association Bylaws
Article X.
Article XI.
Section 1.
Section 2.
prior to said meeting, such changes must be posted for comment on the HSA website and announced in the weekly HSA newsletter.
Suspension of Bylaws
Any portion of these bylaws may be temporarily suspended if:
a) Noticeisgiventothemembershipofsuchintentiononemonthbeforeavoteon
the proposed suspension; and
- b) Two-thirds of the members present at the meeting vote to suspend the said
portion. - c) Membership present at this meeting must be a quorum.
Tax Status – Dissolution Clause
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.
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.
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.
Section 3.
Merion Home and School Association Bylaws
* Article IV, Section 2, The Vice President requirement was temporarily suspended in 1998-99 to allow for more than two Vice Presidents.
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