DORSET
ARTICLE 1. NAME
The name of this
association shall be
“DORSET
HOME AND SCHOOL ASSOCIATION”
(Hereinafter called
the “Association”).
ARTICLE 2. PURPOSES
To act as an
independent, volunteer, not for profit organization dedicated to supporting and
enhancing the education and general well being of children by bringing closer
the relationship between the home, the school and the community, including:
2.1. To promote the
involvement of parents, students and educators in securing the highest level of
learning and advancement for every child.
2.2. To act as a
voice for all members of the Association.
2.3. To make parents
aware of current educational practices and major issues which affect education.
2.4. To nominate,
appoint or recommend the appointment of representatives to appropriate
councils, boards, committees and other educational bodies.
2.5. To act as a
fundraising body to support and enhance the educational experience.
The Association
shall be non-sectarian and non-commercial in all its relationships. The name of
any officer or member of the Association in his or her official capacity shall
not be used in connection with any commercial interest.
The Association may
affiliate itself with the Quebec Federation of Home and School Associations
(hereinafter called the “QFHSA”).
ARTICLE 3. MEMBERSHIP AND ANNUAL FEES
3.1. Any parent or
guardian of a child attending Dorset School, the principal, staff members and any adult in
the community served by Dorset
School interested in the
purposes of the Association may become a member.
3.2. A member is in good standing when he/she has paid the
current annual membership fee for the applicable school year. Memberships are valid until September 30th of
the subsequent school year.
3.3. The QFHSA
requires an accurate count of all members prior to their Annual General
Meeting. Therefore, all memberships
should be received and paid by the second Friday in January. However, any memberships
received after this date will not be refused and shall be submitted to the QFHSA
as soon as possible.
3.4. The annual
membership fee and its manner of payment shall be established by a resolution
at a general meeting of the members of the Association and shall remain in
effect until changed at a subsequent general meeting of such members. The fee
may include any annual affiliation fees required to maintain affiliation with
the QFHSA.
3.5. No member may
act on behalf of the Association without authorization or delegation from the
President of the Association.
ARTICLE 4. OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
4.1. The officers of
the Association shall be President and Vice-President, or two Co-Presidents, as
well as a Secretary and a Treasurer, as determined at the Annual General Meeting. Any reference to President hereafter shall therefore
also refer to Co-Presidents.
No member of the
Association shall hold more than one office at any time.
4.2. The officers
take office on July 1st, following the Annual General Meeting.
4.3. The Executive
Committee shall consist of:
a. The
four officers.
b. The
Principal of Dorset
School.
c. A maximum of two staff representatives of Dorset School.
d. The
coordinators of all sub-committees, as defined each school year.
4.4. The Principal
and staff members are non-voting members of the Executive Committee unless they
are members in good standing of the Association in which case they have a vote.
4.5. A member of the
Executive Committee may be suspended for cause by a resolution passed by 2/3
votes of the Executive Committee members present at an meeting. This suspension
shall remain in effect until it is either revoked at a subsequent Executive
meeting or until the next general meeting when the members shall either
reinstate or dismiss the member.
4.6. Any member
of the Executive Committee may be removed from his/her position for negligence
and/or
dereliction of duty and/or for any other just cause as
determined by a majority vote at a general meeting of the Association called
for this purpose.
4.7. A person for whom suspension or dismissal is envisaged
must be given notice at least seven days prior to the meeting at which the
suspension or dismissal is to be discussed.
He/She also has the right to participate in or address the meeting.
ARTICLE 5. ELECTION AND TERM OF OFFICE
5.1. The officers
and the elected members of the Executive Committee shall be elected at the Annual
General Meeting (usually held in May) of the members of the Association, and
shall hold office for one year or until their successors are elected. A
vacancy, during the year, in any office, shall be filled by the members of the
Association from among the members in good standing.
5.2. The Executive
Committee shall elect a nominating committee of three members at least thirty
days prior to the Annual General Meeting. The duties of the nominating
committee are as follows:
(i) To publish a
call for nominations at least twenty days prior to the Annual General Meeting.
(ii) To receive
nominations and solicit names of members who have volunteered or consented
either to stand for election as an officer of the Association or to be
appointed as a coordinator of a subcommittee.
(iii) To circulate
to all members, at least ten days before the Annual General Meeting, the names,
both nominated and volunteered, of members willing to stand for each position
as officer. Also, to circulate at the same time a list of proposed
subcommittees together with the names of those members willing to be appointed
as their respective coordinators.
(iv) To receive any
additional nominations prior to the Annual General Meeting and to present them,
together with the nominations previously circulated, to the meeting.
5.3. Any member in
good standing may nominate a person for election, provided that the person
nominated has consented thereto. Nominations may be submitted to any nominating
committee member before the meeting or may be presented on the floor.
5.4. It is
recommended but not required, that a member should not hold the same office of
the Association for more than two consecutive years.
ARTICLE 6. OTHER INTERNAL COMMITTEES AND EXTERNAL
REPRESENTATIVES
6.1. The Executive
Committee may establish standing and temporary committees of the Association
for its purposes and dissolve the same. When possible the coordinators of these
committees will be appointed at the Annual General Meeting.
6.2. The Annual General
Meeting of the Association may elect from among its members persons to
represent the Association on external councils, boards, committees or any other
educational bodies. If there is a vacancy for any of these representatives, the
vacancy shall be filled by the Executive Committee from among the members of
the Association in good standing.
ARTICLE 7. MEETINGS
7.1. Regular
meetings of the Association shall be held during the year in order to carry out
the day to day business, in particular, to carry out decisions made at the
Annual General Meeting; to oversee fundraising; to authorize expenditures; and
to undertake actions consistent with the purpose of the Association.
7.2. The agenda of
the Annual General Meeting of the members of the Association shall include: the
election of officers; the appointment of coordinators and a presentation on the
financial state of the Association.
7.3. Special
meetings of the Association may be called by the President or any two officers
or ten percent of members in good standing.
7.4. A ten day
written notice shall be given to all members of any special meeting of the
members. The subject matter, date, time and place shall be included.
7.5. At any meeting
of the members of the Association or at any meeting of the Executive Committee,
all motions shall be determined by a majority of the votes of those members
present, provided that a quorum is present.
7.6. Meetings of the
Executive Committee may be called and held at such times and places as decided
upon by the President. At least five days prior notice, whether verbal or
written (including e-mail), shall be given to each member of the Executive
Committee of any meeting thereof. The Executive Committee may meet “in camera”
to attend to matters of a personal nature.
7.7. The accidental
omission to give notice of a meeting or the non-receipt of a notice by any of
the members entitled to receive notice, does not invalidate proceedings at this
meeting.
7.8. If at any
meeting of the Association neither the President nor the Vice-President are
present fifteen minutes after the time appointed for the meeting, the meeting
is cancelled.
7.9. A tie vote
shall be considered a defeat of the motion.
7.10. All meetings
shall be conducted according to generally accepted meeting protocol. Attendees shall be expected to conduct
themselves in a respectful and cooperative manner.
ARTICLE 8 QUORUM
8.1. Quorum for
regular and general meetings shall consist of two officers, one of which shall be the President or the
Vice-President, and ten percent of all members.
8.2. Quorum for the
Executive Committee Meeting shall seven Executive members and shall include the
President or Vice-President.
ARTICLE 9. DUTIES OF OFFICERS
9.1. The President
shall preside at all meetings of the members and of the Executive Committee,
shall be an ex officio member of all committees and shall perform all other
duties usually pertaining to the office. After consultation with other
committee members, the President sets up the agenda for future meetings and
sends out notices. The President must keep an up-to-date list of names and
addresses of all members of the Association. In the case of Co-Presidents a
decision made by either is considered a decision made by both.
9.2. The
Vice-President shall preside in the absence of the President and shall act as
an aide to the President.
9.3. The Secretary
shall keep a record and distribute minutes of all meetings of the Association,
recording all motions presented and resolutions adopted. The secretary shall
also keep an up-to-date list of the names and addresses of all officers and members
of the Executive Committee.
9.4. The Treasurer
shall receive and hold all monies of the Association, keep an accurate record
of all receipts and expenditures, and shall pay out money as authorized by the members
of the Association. The Treasurer shall present a current profit and loss
statement and a budget report at a regular meeting at least three times during
the year and also on demand. On behalf of the Association, the Treasurer shall prepare
the annual financial report for the QFHSA at the end of the fiscal year, a copy
of which shall be sent to each member of the Association. The Treasurer is
responsible, in collaboration with the members of the Executive Committee for
the drawing up of an annual budget. The President and/or Vice-President shall
review the financial records at the end of the fiscal year.
ARTICLE 10. BANKING AND CHEQUES
10.1. The
Association shall maintain a bank account with a branch of any chartered bank,
which the Executive Committee shall designate. The signing
officers shall be the officers of the Association. All cheques must signed by two signing
officers of the Association, one of which, wherever possible, shall be the
Treasurer.
10.2. It is at the
discretion of the President of the Association to authorize unbudgeted, unexpected
expenditures under $50.00.
10.3. All events that anticipate the collection of more than $500 in cash
requires that one member of the Executive Committee together with another
member of the Association count the proceeds. All monies
shall be collected by an Executive Committee member.
10.4. All reimbursements shall
be made by cheque.
ARTICLE 11. FISCAL YEAR
The fiscal year of
the Association shall be from July 1st to June 30th.
ARTICLE 12. AMENDMENTS
This constitution
and these by-laws may only be amended at a general meeting of the members of
the Association by a majority vote of the members present, provided the members
have been duly advised in a prior written notice of such meeting with the
details of such proposed amendments at least thirty days before such meeting.
This constitution
should be reviewed at least every four years.
Updated November
____, 2006
CC: Q.F.H.S.A.