Article I    Mission Statement, or Purpose

To support and assist in the activities and needs of our school and to work cooperatively with our school's professional staff for the betterment of our children;   To promote parental awareness of our teachers needs, and to encourage parental participation in the educational development of our children, both in the classroom and at home; And to help promote individual pride and school spirit in the hearts of Fountain Hills Charter School students.

Article II     Basic Policies

Section 1
The Fountain Hills Charter School PTO shall be noncommercial, nonsectarian and nonpartisan.
Section 2
No part of the net earnings of the Fountain Hills Charter School PTO shall serve for the benefit, or be distributable to its members, directors, trustees, officers or any other private person.

Article III    General Membership

Section 1
The general membership of the Fountain Hills Charter School PTO shares full voting privileges and consists of:
      All parents or guardians of children attending Fountain Hills Charter School
      The faculty and staff members of Fountain Hills Charter School
      Any owners/operators, and the Principal may vote, but are excluded from holding office
Section 2
The Executive Officers shall consist of the elected offices of:
President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, 2 Faculty/Staff Representatives, and 2 Student Representatives
Section 3
All members of the Fountain Hills Charter School PTO shall be eligible to participate in the business meetings or to serve in any of its elected or appointed positions. In the event of a tie vote in the general meetings, the Principal will have the duty to vote to break the tie.

Article IV    Officers and Their Election

Section 1
Executive Officers are nominated for one-year terms at the end of each school year.
Section 2
The maximum term of any Executive Officer is three consecutive years.  Any retiring three-year-term Executive Officer may be nominated again after a one year hiatus.
Section 3
During the general business meeting in January, membership on the Nominating Committee is solicited. The Nominating Committee will consist of at least one Executive Officer and two general PTO members, not exceeding 5 members.   The Nominating Committee will have as its chairperson a member selected at the January general business meeting, who will solicit other committee members through the school newsletter.

Anyone who is a member of the Nominating Committee cannot run for elected office that year. However, if a member of the Nominating Committee decides to run for office, he/she must announce their resignation to the chairman of the Nominating Committee. The chairman may choose a replacement from the respective group from which the resignation occurred. The Nominating Committee will then place an article in the March newsletter for the to solicit nominations for the Executive Officer positions. Nominations may be made anonymously.

The School Secretary shall compile the submitted nominations and turn them over to the Nominating Committee before the April business meeting.   At this time, only Nominating Committee members and those nominated will have access to the names of individuals nominated for any Executive Officer position.

There is no limit to the number of candidates for each office that will be placed on the official ballot.  The Nominating Committee will use the following procedures to determine the proposed slate:

A list will be compiled of nominations for each office.
In the event of no nominations from the general membership, it will be the responsibility of the committee to actively recruit one nominee for each office.
Finally, nominees will be contacted to verify the willingness of the nominee to run for the specified office.
The nominees for each position will be published in the May newsletter before the May election.

All nominees who agree to run for the specified office will make up the Nominating Committee's slate for that office.

At the general business meeting in May, the candidates will be presented. Ballots containing the names of all nominees will be made available for all attending members. A space will be provided on the ballot for write-in candidates. Only one vote for each position is allowed on each ballot. Signatures must accompany each ballot. The votes will be tabulated in the presence of the membership. The results of the voting will be announced prior to the adjournment of the May meeting.  The names of the new Officers will be published in the next PTO newsletter.  New officers will assume their responsibilities at the next general business meeting.
Section 4
There is a transitional period for the office of Treasurer beginning with the general business meeting in May and extending until the general business meeting in August.
Section 5
Any vacancy occurring in an elected office will be filled as soon as possible, by ballot by the general membership at the next scheduled meeting. Nominations will come from the floor.

Article V Duties of Officers

Section 1
The President will preside at all meetings of the general membership and the Executive Officers and perform other duties as prescribe in these by-laws. The President will be responsible for providing:

a written agenda for each Executive Officers meeting and each general membership meeting.

an opportunity for each committee formed at Fountain Hills Charter School to present updates of their activities at general meetings.
Section 2
The Vice-President acts as an aid to the President and performs Presidential duties in their absence.
Additional duties of the Vice-President include:

organizing the publication and distribution of the monthly PTO newsletter;
organizing the writing of articles, taking pictures, and contacting the local media about PTO activities;
organizing the nomination and election of the Student PTO Representatives
Section 3
The Secretary keeps accurate minutes of all meetings and distributes them to the Executive Officers. The Secretary is responsible for:

presenting minutes from the preceding months meeting at Executive and general meetings;
providing a "mailbox" for general members to submit items they wish to address at general meetings of the PTO;
compiling a list from the items submitted and present those concerns to the Executive Officers;
keeping files and records of PTO activities, minutes, and agendas
performing other duties designated by the Executive Officers
Section 4
The Treasurer receives all monies of the Fountain Hills Charter School PTO. The Treasurer is responsible for

maintaining a bank account/checking account in good order;
keeping an accurate record of receipts and expenditures;
paying out funds as authorized by the PTO;
presenting a statement of account at every meeting of the PTO and at other times when requested.

The Treasurer's accounts are examined during the transitional period by an impartial auditor, who, when satisfied that the Treasurer's annual report is correct, signs a statement of that fact at the end of the report. After the audit is completed and the term of office is expired, the Treasurer turns over all money and records to the newly elected Treasurer.
Section 5
The Faculty/Staff Representatives will be responsible for attending all Executive Officers and general membership meetings as a representative of the Fountain Hills Charter School Faculty/Staff.
Section 6
The Student Representatives will include a 7th Grade student nominated and elected by his/her prior year classmates and an 8th Grade student nominated by his/her prior year classmates.
The Student Representatives must be willing to attend each Executive Officer and general meeting of the PTO and also provide a permission slip signed by their parent/guardian allowing them to represent their classmates.
The 7th grade student will be nominated at the end of their 6th grade year and then return to serve in their 7th grade year. In the event that the 7th grade student does not return to school after summer recess, nominations will be taken for another representative to fill the vacancy.
The Student Representatives will perform any duties as prescribed by the Executive Officers upon approval of the general PTO members.
Section 7
Retiring Past Presidents and Executive Officers are encouraged to assist new Executive Officers in the decision-making process.

Article VI Meetings

Section 1
General meetings of the PTO are held once each month during the school year. Meetings will be held in the evening to accommodate all members. The PTO budget is approved during the final general business meeting in the spring.
Section 2
If necessary, the Executive Officers will meet 1 hour prior to each general meeting to prepare for and organize the agenda for the general meeting. All PTO members are allowed to attend these Executive Officers meetings.
Section 3
Business may be transacted by the approval of the majority of those present at the general meeting.

Article VII Committees

Committees may be selected as approved by the PTO to assist in fulfilling the purposes for the PTO.   
Committees may be of any size as determined by the PTO.

Article VIII - Amendments

These bylaws may be amended at any general meeting of the PTO by a majority of the members present providing notice has been given of the proposed amendment at least one month in advance.