BY-LAWS OF THE DEMAREST

HOME AND SCHOOL ASSOCIATION

Article I – DUES

The amount of the annual membership dues for the upcoming school year will be established at a separate year-end special budget meeting. Dues will be collected starting in September and throughout the year as needed. All officers, committee chairpersons and class parents must be members of the association. To be eligible for any association funds, the faculty of Demarest School must be members of the association.

Article II- BUDGET DEVELOPMENT AND APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS

Section 1 – It shall be the function of the executive board and committee chairpersons to appropriate all monies raised during the current academic year for expenditure during the upcoming school year prior to the June open board meeting. Furthermore, except in the case of a fiscal emergency, funds raised in the current school year cannot be budgeted and/or appropriated for expenditure during that school year.

Section 2 – The association budget shall be presented, as a courtesy, to the Demarest School Principal, and then distributed to the executive board for formal approval at the June meeting.

Section 3 – The treasurer will provide copies of the completed and approved budget for distribution to association members at the first general meeting of the association in September.

Section 4 –A minimum of nine (9) voting members of the executive board must be present when the budget is being approved in order for a quorum to be established.

Article III- QUORUM FOR MEETINGS

Twelve (12) members of the Association shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

Article IV – COMMITTEES

Section 1 – To carry out the responsibilities of the association, the following committees shall be established:

  1. Standing Committees – Programs, Membership, Newsletter, Hospitality, Fundraising, School Spirit, Library, Classparent Coordinator, Website, Mini Fundraisers, Special Services*, Drug and Alcohol Awareness* and any others as shall, from time to time, be created by the co-presidents with a majority consent of the executive board.

A Standing Committee chairperson’s term must be completed by the time his or her youngest child ends fifth grade to allow for training of new chairpersons, unless there is a co-chair on the committee.

*Denotes a committee of the Bloomfield Home and School Council.

  1. Special Committees – Boys & Girls Basketball, Basketball Clinic, Book Fair, Holiday Shop, Plant Sale, Fall Social, 6th Grade Class Day, 6th Grade Refreshments, Scholarship, Spring Social, Recycling, Tricky Tray and any others, as shall from time to time be created by the co-presidents with the majority consent of the executive board. These are temporary committees which cease to function when they submit their final report to the executive board upon completion of their duties. The functions/responsibilities of each Special committee are located in the Home and School File.

A Special Committee chairperson’s term must be completed by the time his or her youngest child ends fifth grade to allow for training of new chairpersons, unless there is a co-chair on the committee.

The chairperson shall appoint as many volunteers as needed to perform their task.

  1. Chairperson for the aforementioned committees shall be appointed by the executive committee prior to the June meeting of the Association from a roster of individuals solicited from the general membership. In the event an individual chairperson cannot be found, co-chairing a committee is acceptable. All newly appointed chairpersons must attend the June meeting of the Association.
  1. All actions by any committee must first be approved by the executive board. All chairpersons of Standing and Special committees must keep a record of volunteers and submit it to the Classparent Coordinators at the conclusion of the event or by May 1st. All fundraising events must be completed by May 15th unless prior approval of the executive committee.
  1. Chairpersons of any committee must turn over any funds collected by the committee within 72 hours of collection to the association’s treasurer. All funds collected shall be counted by the committee chairperson in the presence of the treasurer or his/her designee. If checks are received for an event or purchase, it shall be the chairperson’s (his/her designee’s) responsibility to add the child’s name, class and phone number on the check before acceptance of the funds and to copy said check for the records of the treasurer.

Section 2 – The Program Committee shall consist of a chairperson and as many assistants as the chairperson needs to appoint to adequately perform the function of said committee. Its duties shall be:

  1. To arrange, in conjunction with the principal and the teachers of Demarest School, suitable educational programs for the students of Demarest School.

Section 3 – The Membership Committee shall consist of a chairperson and as many assistants as the chairperson needs to appoint to adequately perform the function of said committee. Its duties shall be:

  1. To collect dues and maintain membership files.
  2. To promote interest and membership in the Association.
  3. To work collaboratively with the Hospitality Chairperson to welcome new parents/members into the Demarest community.
  4. To establish and update membership data base.
  5. To establish and disseminate class list to the chairpersons of said committees that require such information to perform their functions.

Section 4- The Hospitality Committee shall consist of a chairperson and as many assistants as the chairperson needs to appoint to adequately perform the function of said committee. Its duties shall be:

  1. To see that the place for the meeting is adequate to meet the needs of such and is in proper order.
  2. To prepare and serve refreshments when necessary.
  3. To work collaboratively with the Membership chairperson to welcome new parents/members into Demarest Community.
  4. To obtain a Santa Claus and keep him suited and walk him around to each classroom.
  5. Keep the kitchen stocked with necessary items and cleaned.
  6. Host a luncheon and provide Teacher Appreciation acknowledgments.
  7. To host kindergarten orientation and testing.

Section 5- The Website Committee shall consist of a chairperson and as many assistants as the chairperson needs to appoint to adequately perform the function of said committee. Its duties shall be:

  1. To maintain and update the Demarest Home and School Association Website, at

Section 6- The Library Committee shall consist of a chairperson and as many assistants as the chairperson needs to appoint to adequately perform the function of said committee. Its duties shall be:

A.To aid the faculty in staffing and operating the school library with volunteer parents.

Section 7- The Newsletter Committee shall consist of a chairperson and as many assistants as the chairperson needs to appoint to adequately perform the function of said committee. Its duties shall be:

  1. To gather and disseminate notices and articles of interest to the administration, faculty, pupils, parents, members of the association.
  2. To solicit members with the opportunity to nominate members to the executive offices by posting set dates, procedures and requirements in the newsletter.

Section 8- The Mini Fundraisers Committee shall consist of a chairperson and as many assistants as the chairperson needs to appoint to adequately perform the function of said committee. Its duties shall be:

  1. To facilitate, educate members and collect funds for the association through small effortless fundraising opportunities, such as Box Tops, Target, Family Night Outs, Shopping Nights, Sporting Events, Newspaper Sales and Internet Sales.

Section 9- The Fundraising Committee shall consist of a chairperson and as many assistants as the chairperson needs to appoint to adequately perform the function of said committee. Its duties shall be:

  1. To plan, coordinate staff and implement activities for the purpose of generating revenues for the association.
  2. To present to the executive board for approval such events.

Section 10- The Drug and Alcohol Awareness Committee shall consist of a chairperson and as many assistants as the chairperson needs to appoint to adequately perform the function of said committee. Its duties shall be:

  1. To attend all programs pertaining to the Drug and Alcohol Abuse and to communicate such information to the executive board for further development.
  2. To perform related duties specific to education programming.
  3. The chairperson or designee shall attend Home and School Council meetings (4x per year) and report findings to the association executive board and membership, unless changed by the Council.

Section 11 - The Classparent Coordinators Committee shall consist of a chairperson and as many assistants as the chairperson needs to appoint to adequately perform the function of said committee. Its duties shall be:

  1. To ensure that all classrooms have adequate classparent coverage.
  2. To ensure that the emergency phone chain is in proper running order in case of such emergencies as unexpected school closings.
  3. To aid other chairpersons in acquiring assistance as related to the functioning of their committee.
  4. To hold a classparent and volunteer meeting as needed to inform the selected class parents of their responsibilities and requirements of class parent duties.
  5. To maintain and record attendance at the class parent meetings and events.
  6. To keep track of the class parents not meeting their requirements and responsibilities and handle such issues as they deem necessary.

Section 12 - The Special Services Committee shall consist of a chairperson and as many assistants as the chairperson needs to appoint to adequately perform the function of said committee. Its duties shall be:

  1. To attend town wide meetings as required by the SEPAC in conjunction with the Bloomfield Board of Education.

Section 13 - The School Spirit Committee shall consist of a chairperson and as many assistants as the chairperson needs to appoint to adequately perform the function of said committee. Its duties shall be:

  1. To organize and oversee the purchase and/or selling of school apparel, pencils, assignment pads and folders.
  2. To discuss with athletic teacher the needs and purchase of track and field day t-shirts and chess team t-shirts.

Section 14 - The co-presidents may appoint other committees with the majority consent of the executive board. However, changes, additions or deletions of Standing Committees may be enacted only by amendment pursuant to Article X of the Constitution.

Section 15 - The association shall be represented at the Home and School Council of Bloomfield by the co-presidents.

Section 16 - The co-presidents shall be ex-officio members of all appointive committees, with the exception of the Nominating Committee.

Article V- VACANCIES

Section 1 – If a vacancy occurs in the chairpersonship of any committee, the co-presidents shall make a new appointment.

Section 2 – If a vacancy occurs in any office, the executive board shall make an appointment by majority vote for the balance of the term of that office.

Article VI – EXECUTIVE BOARD

Section 1 - The executive board shall consist of at least 19 members. These are the four elected officers, immediate past president, chairpersons of the twelve (12) Standing Committees, the school principal, and the teacher representative.

Section 2 - The executive board shall transact any emergency business arising between scheduled meetings of the association.

Section 3 – Six (6) members of the executive board shall constitute a quorum to hold a floor vote.

Section 4 – Per Article IV of the Constitution, a schedule of open board meetings shall be announced to the membership at Back to School Night. These meetings will be held on the first Monday of each month, starting in September and continuing through June. Changes in this schedule and/or special meetings may be called by the co-presidents provided that each member of the executive board is given a minimum of three (3) business days.

Section 5 – Executive board members shall be required to attend no less than seven (7) of the ten (10) regularly scheduled open meetings. Failure to attend the regular number of the meetings may be cause for dismissal from the executive board per Article X of the Constitution.

Article VII – NOMINATIONS

Section 1 – The Nominating Committee shall be appointed by the executive boardat its January meeting and chaired by the immediate past president. The Committee members shall be comprised of individuals who are not seeking nomination to the executive committee nor shall any member of the Nomination Committee be nominated. The Committee shall consist of three (3) members. It is the specific purpose of this committee to determine eligibility of proposed candidates.

Section 2 – All nominees/officers of the association, shall be parents of children currently enrolled/registered at Demarest School. Nominees must be current members of the Home and School Association with two (2) years experience (no necessarily consecutive) chairing a standing or special committee.

Section 4 – The Nominating Committee shall announce the eligible nominees by March 15th, unless an extension is approved by the executive committee.

Section 5 – Nominations and consent of nominees must be submitted in writing to the Nominating Committee prior to March 1st. No nominations will be accepted from the floor on the night of the election. Nomination ballots shall be printed and distributed in February by the Nominating Committee to the association members.

Article VIII – POLICY

The Demarest Home and School Association, routinely, will not contribute to any organization. However, should funds become available, and a need arises, said funds can be appropriated by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the executive board.

Article IX – VOTING

Section 1 - All Standing Committee Chairpersons (including co-chairpersons) shall have one vote on a motion.

Section 2 - Special Committee Chairpersons, are non-voting members and as such, shall have no vote excepting in such special circumstances as described in the election of officers.

Section 3 - The co-presidents do not vote on motions. In the event of a tie, the senior co-president only shall have a vote to break such tie. If the senior co-president is not in attendance at the general meeting where such vote is being taken, then the junior co-president shall have the tie breaking vote.

Section 4 -The principal and one teacher representative shall have one vote on a motion, regardless of how many teachers are in attendance at the general meeting.

Section 5 - To be eligible to vote on any motion or election, the Standing Committee Chairpersons must not have missed anymore than two of the last three general meetings.

Article X – GENERAL MEETING PROCEDURE

  1. The co-presidents shall jointly preside over the general meetings of the association.
  2. The meetings shall begin within 10 minutes of the scheduled start time.
  3. The meetings shall begin with a Flag Salute and include:
  • A report of the Treasurer
  • A report by the Secretary
  • A report from the Board of Education representative
  • A report from the principal
  • A report from the teacher representative(s).

4. Thereafter each committee shall give a report on their activity, if any.

5. After reports are given, old, new and other business can be brought by any

association member to the floor.

No discussion on any one subject shall be longer than 5 minutes. The junior co-president shall control the clock and inform the members at the end of 5 minutes. Any remaining discussions can then be resumed and continued at the end of the meeting.

The co-presidents shall keep order in the meeting and shall have the right to ask any member of the association to leave the meeting for inappropriate conduct.

ARTICLE XI – CLASSPARENTS

  1. Classparents are required for every classroom.
  2. The Classparent coordinator chairperson (or persons) shall select class parents each summer for the upcoming school year. Classparents shall be parents selected from a pool of volunteer members based upon availability, number of children in the school, fulfillment of the requirement of a classparent in previous years and request of the volunteers and any other factors in their discretion which are for the good of the association.
  3. The requirements of Classparents are:
  4. to attend four regular meetings of the Association;
  5. to attend the mandatory classparent meeting;
  6. to work with the classroom teacher on at least one party;
  7. to assist other Classparents in the End of Year party or event;
  8. to keep the class list for emergency school closings and make calls in the event of such an emergency;
  9. to assist the classroom teacher in special requests and help solicit volunteers when needed;
  10. to assist with a minimum of 2 Home & School Association events.