Revised HSA Bylaws & Assessment Guidelines

Below please find our revised Home & School Association Bylaws and Assessment Guidelines. These revisions and any questions you may have are on the agenda for the February 5th, 7PM, HSA Meeting. Thanks to our Bylaw Committee for all their hard work! 

St. Mary – St. Michael School

HOME AND SCHOOL ASSOCIATION

CONSTITUTION

Article I:                    Name

                  The name of this organization shall be “St. Mary – St. Michael Home and School Association” (HSA) of Derby, in the Archdiocese of Hartford, State of Connecticut.

Article II:                   Mission Statement

To create a partnership between the school and the parents to enable the growth and development of the children and their education.  As well as foster enrollment, helping to maintain the schools’ financial stability.

Article III:                   Objectives  

                  The objectives of this Association shall be:

A.     To promote communication and cooperation between school and home

B.     To mission the philosophy of St. Mary – St. Michael School

C.     To create a better understanding of the goals and spirit of Catholic education in the school and parishes

D.    To meet fund raising objectives

E.     To secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children

Article IV:                   Respect for Diocesan and School Policies

                  The St. Mary – St. Michael HSA shall respect the established diocesan and school policies as well as the practices set forth by the Pastors and by the school. 

Article V:                   Membership

                  All parents, guardians and faculty are encouraged to participate as a member of the HSA.

Article VI:                   Officers

                  Section 1.  The elected officers shall be president, senior vice president, vice president, co-treasurers, recording secretary, and corresponding secretary.

                  Section 2. The officers shall be installed at the last meeting of the school year.   

                  Section 3.  The term of the office shall be two years.  No officer shall hold the same office for more than one term, with the exception of any unforeseen circumstances.

                  Section 4. Officers shall assume their official office duties following the close of the fiscal year and shall serve for a term of 2 years or until their successors are elected.

                  Section 5.  A vacancy occurring in the office of president shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by a vice president, starting with the senior vice president. If none of the vice presidents are able to fill the position then a nominating committee is formed.  A vacancy in any other office other than president shall be filled by the Executive Board.

Article VII:                   Spiritual Advisor

                  The Pastors or a priest appointed by them shall be the spiritual advisor.

Article VIII:                   Affiliation

                  The St. Mary – St. Michael HSA shall be affiliated with the office of Catholic schools.

Article IX:                   Annual Meeting

                  The annual meeting of the St. Mary – St. Michael HSA shall be held annually, on a date to be determined by the Principal and Executive Board. 

Article X:                   Amendments

                  The constitution may be amended by a two thirds vote of the members present and entitled to vote, and should be presented in writing, proceeding the vote.

St. Mary – St. Michael School

HOME AND SCHOOL ASSOCIATION

BY-LAWS

Article 1 – Officers

Section 1.                                     The President shall…

a.     Preside at all meetings of the HSA

b.     Sign all contracts

c.     Serve as an ex officio member of all committees except the nominating committee

d.     Coordinate the work of the officers and committees of the HSA in order that the purposes may be promoted;

e.     Perform such other duties as may be provided for by these bylaws, prescribed by the parliamentary authority, or executive board of directors.

                                                     

                                                      The Senior Vice President shall…

a.     Act as aide to the president

b.     In their designated order, perform the duties of the president in the president’s absence or inability to serve

c.     Perform such other duties as may be provided for by these bylaws, prescribed by the parliamentary authority, or directed by the president, the executive board of directors.

                                                      The Vice President shall…

a.     Be responsible for the assessment program.   For example, providing the families with assessment status in alignment with the report card distribution. 

                                                                       

                                                      The Co-Treasurers shall…

a.     Receive all dues and other monies of the Association

b.     Keep an accurate account of the above, and shall pay bills upon receipt.   

c.     Keep a full and accurate account of the receipts and disbursements in the books belonging to St Mary - St. Michael HSA  

d.     Provide a full written financial statement to the board of directors at each meeting

e.     Present account balances at every meeting of the HSA

f.      Provide full financial statements to members

g.     Submit the books annually for a review by the Archdiocese for audit purposes.

h.     Perform such other duties as may be provided for these bylaws, prescribed by the parliamentary authority, or directed by the president, the executive board of directors.

                                                     

                                                      The Recording Secretary shall…

a.     Record the minutes and attendance of all meetings

b.     Be prepared to read the records of any previous meetings

c.     File all records

d.     Have a current copy of the bylaws

e.     Maintain a membership list

f.      Perform such other duties as may be provided for by these bylaws, prescribed by the parliamentary authority, or directed by the president, the executive board of directors.

                                                      The Corresponding Secretary shall…

a.     Be responsible for conducting all correspondence (i.e. social media i.e. Facebook, Twitter and blogs) and preparation of all notices following approval by the Principal

b.     Promote all fund raising events are put out the media

c.     Create brochures and Handbooks for all the HSA 

                                                      Grant Writer…

a.     Two to three members who will provide support and seek grants that may be available for the school.

Article II – Finances

Membership dues in the St. Mary – St. Michael HSA shall be $5.00 per year per family.  Upon receiptof the annual dues, membership cards shall be provided by the treasurer and credited to the family’s assessment.

The raising and disposition of funds shall be subject to the approval of the Pastors.

Article III – Executive Committee

The Executive Board of Directors shall consist of the President, Vice Presidents, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Co-Treasures, the Pastors ex officio and the school Principal, ex officio.  These persons shall have full responsibility for the HSA, including the approval of committee appointments, review of their reports. 

Article IV – Meetings   

The regular meetings of the HSA shall be held in accordance with the schedule determined by the Executive Board of Directors and the Principal. 

Article V – Committees

Section 1.  The President with the approval of the Executive Committee may appoint special Committees in keeping with the HSA objectives

Section 2.  The Chairmen of the special committees shall report their findings and recommendations to the Executive Committee and, if approved, report them to the general membership.  

Article VI – Nominations and Elections

Establish a Nominating Committee.  HSA solicits nominees during the December meeting of the previous year.  The nominations are made January-February timeframe of the new year.  The voting occurs in April-May by a simple majority of members present.  The new officers are installed by the last meeting of the academic school year.   If there are no volunteers by February, the Nominating Committee will recruit potential nominees. 

                                                                        Article VII – Rulers of Order    

All meetings of this Association shall be conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised, when not inconsistent with the Constitution and Bylaws.

                                                                        Article VIII – Quorum and Voting

                  The quorum of an Association meeting shall consist of one-fourth of the membership who are present at the meeting and/or by absentee ballet.  The method of absentee ballet is to be determined by the Executive Committee to prevent any duplication of ballets.    

                                                                        Article IX – Amendments

                  These By-Laws may be amended at any given regular meeting by a two-thirds of the members present and voting, provided notice has been given in writing 15 days prior to the meeting in which the voting will take place.

HSA Assessment Guidelines

Mission:

To supplement the schools operating framework, inclusive of an equal contribution from every family.

The HSA board will provide an Assessment Status update to each family on a quarterly basis in sequence of the student report card schedule .  The assessment summary will provide awareness on the amounts that are accumulated vs. the required amount still owed.

Assessment Scheme:  

Total Value of the assessment is $375; Hours = 35 hours

Bingo Hours – 25 hours (Value $100) 

Volunteer Hours – 10 hours (Value $75)

Fundraising - $200 - *this may not always be a dollar for dollar match.

Fundraiser options include…

-        Golf Tournament, Yankee Candle, Galaxy, Walk-a-thon, Butterbraid, Duck Race, and Spell-a-thon, and others that are referenced in the HSA handbook.  

Each family is required to meet the assessment requirements above by the end of each assessment school year which will fall on June 30^th.   If the family does not meet the requirements of the assessment responsibility by August 1^st of the next academic school year, the family will be subject to a submission to an independent collection agency.  The penalty fee will be based on the discretion of the HSA Executive Committee and/or the School Board. 

The following events are included and are subject to being facilitated during the school year…

a)     The list of eligible fundraising events and hours of eligible volunteers work will be provided to their membership annually by the Executive Committee at the back to school meeting.

b)     The guidelines are required to be reviewed on an annual basis by the Executive Committee to ensure that the allocation is aligned to the school’s financial status. 

c)     Any relief on the above requirements must be proposed by the school Principal and approved by the majority of the Executive Committee.    

HSA Board Member Recruitment:

As an incentive to recruit volunteers to participate as an HSA Board Member – A total of 10 hours will be added to the accumulation of Volunteer hours.

Student Referral Incentive Program:

 Fundraiser Assessment waived for one full calendar school year (Value $200)

Note: By Laws are in effect as of January 2014 per the agreement of HSA members.