UNITED PARENTS GROUP

CHELTENHAM TOWNSHIP, PENNSYLVANIA

BYLAWS

(Revised May 24­­­­, 2006)

ARTICLE I: NAME

The name of this organization shall be United Parents Group of Cheltenham Township (UPG).

ARTICLE II: PURPOSE

Section 1. To unify and strengthen the individual school associations which are members of this group.

Section 2. To provide a forum for communication among the member school associations.

Section 3. To act as a liaison between the schools of the School District of Cheltenham Township and the school community.

Section 4. To study and comment, independently or in collaboration with other school-related groups, on policies and long-range planning.

Section 5. To identify, develop and to draw upon the human resources of the community for the betterment of the schools.

Section 6. To provide information and to research and analyze national and state educational issues that have local implications for school and community.

Section 7. To provide leadership for coordination and planning of educational programs for the public.

Section 8. To coordinate and support student welfare and scholarship programs.

Section 9. To solicit recommendations for potential school board candidates from each member association.

ARTICLE III: POLICIES

Section 1.  UPG shall be nonprofit, non-commercial, nonsectarian, and non-partisan.

Section 2.  UPG shall not act as a governing or policy-making body for its member associations. Representatives of UPG shall regularly report UPG’s activities to their school associations.

Section 3.  UPG shall prepare an annual budget and shall review its financial commitments annually.

Section 4.  UPG shall periodically survey current educational issues and recommend to its representatives those areas for intensive study and action.

Section 5.  UPG shall review its Bylaws every two years.

Section 6.  UPG may act in emergency situations in accordance with the vote of two thirds of the voting representatives who are present provided a reasonable attempt has been made to contact all representatives and provided a minimum of five schools are represented and at least ten representatives are present.

Section 7.  Voting representatives should be clear as to whether they are speaking in a personal capacity or as a representative of UPG when making public statements in any form in a setting in which confusion could arise about whether the statements are official UPG positions.

ARTICLE IV: REPRESENTATION AND DUES

Section 1. UPG shall have two categories of representatives, voting representatives and non-voting representatives.

Section 2. The following shall be voting representatives of UPG:


Section 3. The following shall be non-voting representatives of UPG:

a. the Superintendent of Schools and representatives of his or her administrative staff;

b. a representative of the Cheltenham Education Association;

c. a representative of the School Board;

d. chairpersons of UPG committees; and

e. parents and guardians of children who attend a Cheltenham School District school.

Section 4. Each school association shall pay dues annually. The amount of dues for the year shall be determined by UPG at the September meeting. In the event of special projects, an additional assessment per school association shall be determined.

ARTICLE V: OFFICERS, MEMBERS-AT-LARGE AND THEIR ELECTION

Section 1. The officers of UPG shall be President, Vice President, Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, immediate Past President(s), and Webmaster. In the event that the immediate Past President is an individual who will no longer have a child enrolled in the Cheltenham schools, that individual shall inform the Executive Committee, no later than the end of his/her term as President, whether s/he intends to serve as an officer for a term of one year. Two people may hold the office of President, the office of Vice President, and/or the office of Webmaster.

Section 2.  Members-at-large shall represent each of the seven schools within the School District of Cheltenham Township (“member schools”). Each member-at-large shall be designated as the MAL from one of the seven member schools within the district, and must have a child currently enrolled in the designated member school during the school year of their term. No MAL may be designated as the MAL from more than one school in a single school year. 

Section 3. The officers and the members-at-large shall comprise the Executive Committee.

Section 4. The Nominating Committee shall nominate one eligible person for each office (or up to two each for President, Vice President, Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, and Webmaster) and shall nominate a maximum of six and a minimum of four members-at-large, and shall report the slate to the Executive Committee in time for that slate to be mailed by post or electronically mailed to the representatives along with the minutes of the April meeting. Additional nominations may be made from the floor prior to the vote provided the consent of each candidate is obtained before his or her name is placed in nomination.

Section 5. The slate shall be voted upon at the May meeting. Eligibility for nomination shall be defined as having a child enrolled in the School District of Cheltenham Township during the term of office.

Section 6. The officers shall be elected by ballot by those voting representatives in attendance at the May meeting. However, if there is but one nominee for an office, it shall be in order for the Recording Secretary to cast the unanimous ballot of the UPG for that nominee.

Section 7. Officers shall be elected for a one-year term and may serve three consecutive terms. Members-at-large shall be elected for a one year term and may serve two consecutive terms. Terms of office run from July 1 to June 30.

Section 8. A vacancy occurring in any office or among the members-at-large after the term of office has begun shall be filled by the Executive Committee within thirty days. However, any vacancy occurring before the term of office has begun shall require the Nominating Committee to reconvene.

Section 9. Reserved.

Section 10.  If one or two of the maximum of seven member-at-large positions remain unfilled at any time after the slate is elected, the Executive Committee may nominate one eligible person for any open position and report that nomination at a regular meeting. The nomination or nominations shall be voted upon at the next regular meeting. Additional nominations of eligible persons may be made from the floor prior to that vote, provided the consent of each candidate is obtained before his or her name is placed in nomination. Eligibility is set forth in Section 5. The procedure in this Section 10 also applies to unfilled positions in Corresponding Secretary or Recording Secretary.

ARTICLE VI: DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1. The President shall preside at all meetings of UPG and its Executive Committee; shall act as an ex-officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee; and shall appoint, no later than the November meeting, the chairperson of standing and special committees with the approval of the elected officers. The President shall appoint an individual to audit the financial records of UPG, the audit to occur no later than August 31.

Section 2. The Vice President shall preside in the absence of the President and shall serve as aide to the President. The Vice President shall serve as a liaison to UPG committees, communicating with the committee chairpersons and securing updates on committee business. The Vice President shall provide assistance in securing and preparing facilities, equipment, and documents for meetings. The Vice President shall coordinate one major project per year, such as a workshop, Meet the Candidates Night, or serving as archivist/historian. Section 3. The Recording Secretary shall keep the minutes of all meetings; shall, along with President, draft and obtain approval for flyers and notices; shall forward UPG reports to the UPG Webmaster; and shall update the School District calendar with dates for UPG meetings and events.

Section 4. The Corresponding Secretary shall keep an accurate roster of the names and email addresses of UPG representatives. The Corresponding Secretary shall maintain, update and, subject to the President’s review and approval, send and respond to emails on the UPG email distribution system. The Corresponding Secretary shall also, along with President, draft and obtain approval for flyers and notices. The Corresponding Secretary shall carry on correspondence delegated to him or her. The Corresponding Secretary shall copy materials needed for UPG meetings and coordinate, as needed, along with the President, Vice President, UPG representatives, and committee chairpersons, the copying and delivery of flyers or other materials to schools for distribution.

Section 5. The Treasurer shall prepare the proposed budget in cooperation with the Executive Committee and present it to UPG at the September meeting. The Treasurer shall prepare monthly statements to be presented at scheduled meetings. The Treasurer is responsible for paying outstanding bills and keeping record of incoming and outgoing funds. The Treasurer shall prepare a summary of the year's transactions and present it at the final UPG meeting of that academic year. The Treasurer shall make available for inspection by any UPG representative and any appointed auditor all financial records of UPG.

Section 6. The Webmaster shall maintain and update the UPG website.

Section 7. The members-at-large will be responsible for attending all UPG meetings and the PTO meetings of their designated member school. Members-at-large will attend all Executive Board sessions of the UPG. It will remain at the discretion of the member PTOs whether the Member-at-large also serves as on the member school PTO Executive Board. Members-at-large shall serve as a point of contact for parents at their designated school regarding issues that may come before the UPG. Members-at-large may be called upon to perform other specific tasks assigned by the President (e.g., attending committee events and programs and submitting reports of said activities to UPG; assisting in organizing g a workshop; or working on assigned UPG committee).

Section 8. The officers and committee chairpersons shall deliver to their successors all official material within thirty days following the expiration of their term of office. The President shall prepare an annual report highlighting the work of each committee.

ARTICLE VII: MEETINGS

Section 1.  UPG shall hold at least five meetings a year.

Section 2.  Special meetings of UPG may be called by the President, by a majority vote of the members of the Executive Committee, or by a majority of the local school associations in membership. At least twenty-four hours notice of such a special meeting shall be given.

Section 3.  The meetings of UPG shall be open to the members of all the constituent school associations and to the public, but the privilege of making motions and voting shall be limited to the voting body as defined in these Bylaws.

Section 4.  A quorum is necessary to conduct the official business of UPG. A quorum shall consist of elected or substitute representatives from at least five of the seven local school associations in membership.

Section 5.  The Executive Committee shall meet at least twice a year, as convened by the President, in order to plan and evaluate the progress of UPG and for other business. The Executive Committee may act without a meeting in emergency situations in accordance with the vote of a majority of the officers and members-at-large provided a reasonable attempt has been made to contact all officers and members-at-large. Such a vote may be taken by email or by telephone confirmed by email to the Recording Secretary and President.

ARTICLE VIII: THE VOTING BODY

Section 1. The privilege of making motions and voting shall be limited to the members of the Executive Committee and the two representatives from each local school association as set forth within these bylaws.

Section 2.  Co-Presidents of a school association share one vote.

Section 3.  Co-UPG representatives of a school association share one vote.

Section 4.  Should no President of a school association be present, co-UPG representatives of the school association may cast both available votes on behalf of their school association.

Section 5.  Should no UPG representative of a school association be present, co-Presidents of the school association may cast both available votes on behalf of their school association.

Section 6.  If neither the President nor the UPG representative of the school association can attend a meeting, the President of the school association may appoint substitutes for that meeting and so inform the President of UPG before the meeting. The substitutes may vote as proxies at the meeting.

Section 7.  With the exception of motions to adjourn; motions to accept minutes, officer and committee reports; motions to take business out of order; election votes subject to Article V, Section 6 hereof; or such other motions as the presiding officer shall deem appropriate for general consent or voice vote, all votes at UPG meetings shall be taken by roll call of the voting representatives and individually recorded by the Recording Secretary in the minutes.

ARTICLE IX: COMMITTEES

Section 1. A Nominating Committee shall be announced at the February meeting of the UPG. The Chairperson shall be the immediate Past President of UPG or, if there is no immediate Past President, shall be appointed by the President. The Executive Committee shall appoint four additional members to the committee.

Section 2. Committees other than the Nominating Committee shall be created by the Executive Committee as may be required to promote the objectives and interests of UPG.

Section 3. The Chairperson of the standing and special committees shall be appointed by the President with the approval of the Executive Committee.

Section 4. The term of office of the standing and special committee Chairpersons shall be one academic year. A vacancy during the academic year shall be filled by majority vote of the Executive Committee.

Section 5. Chairpersons of all committees shall present oral or written plans of work to UPG for approval at the start of the academic year. In the event of appointment after the start of the year, Chairpersons shall present plans of work to the UPG for approval within thirty (30) days of appointment. No committee work shall be undertaken without such approval.

Section 6. Chairpersons of all committees shall regularly report on the committee’s work and progress.

Section 7. Chairpersons shall coordinate, as needed, along with the President, Vice President, Corresponding Secretary and UPG representatives, the copying and delivery of flyers or other committee materials to schools for distribution.

ARTICLE X: AMENDMENTS

These Bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of UPG by a two-thirds vote of the representatives present and voting, provided the proposed amendment shall have been submitted to the Executive Committee and discussed by UPG at a prior meeting within the same academic year.

ARTICLE XI: PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

Robert's Rules of Order Revised shall govern UPG in all cases in which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws.