ST. JUDE HOME AND SCHOOL ASOCIATION 19704 JOHNSON ROAD SOUTH BEND, IN 46614 Ratified By-Laws (10-14-2014) ARTICLE I. NAME The name of this parent group shall be St. Jude Home and School Association. The initials HASA may also be used in this document to refer to the same organization. ARTICLE II. ORGANIZATIONAL AUTHORITY This Association is an independent association, but accepts the leadership role of the National Organization for Catholic School Parents which operates in conjunction with the National Catholic Educational Association of the United States Catholic Conference. ARTICLE III. OBJECTIVES (See Diocesan Policy P2110 ) Section 1. To promote communication among parents, teachers and administration. Section 2. To provide parents and teachers with the information to aid in all aspects of education and the students growth and development. Section 3. To promote good will and cooperation between and among parents, faculty, administration, school board and the parish. Section 4. To direct and coordinate parental support to the school through special assistance activities, social functions and fundraisers. Section 5. To organize political action of the parents as advocates regarding local, state and federal legislation that affects Catholic Schools as well as the lives of students and parents. ARTICLE IV. POLICIES and FINANCES Section l. All funds raised by HASA must be used for purposes related to the following: the fulfillment of the objectives declared in Article III; initiatives, events, or programs that promote the mission of St. Jude Catholic School, inclusive of its students, parents, faculty, and staff (and additionally, prospective school families or St. Jude parishioners); educational or general supplies and furnishings; or toward the physical building and operation of the school and church facilities.
Section 2. No donations to outside sources are permitted unless funds were raised specifically for that cause and can be proved to directly benefit the exceptional material need of a school or parish family or not-for-profit organizations whose mission and activities are consistent with Catholic teachings. Any such fundraising activity and subsequent donation must specifically receive the Pastor s approval. Section 3. The disbursement of total related funds over $100 that are directed to a specific outcome must be approved at a regular monthly meeting by the majority of voting members present. Incidental expenditures under $100, especially those relating to educational supplies or regular operating costs associated with fundraisers, may be authorized prior to (but reported at) the next monthly meeting by the Home and School President. Section 4. All expenditure amounts and types described in the sections above are subject to the approval of the Pastor or Principal, who may reject any expenditure with or without explanation. Therefore, advanced approval for purchases is strongly advised. Section 5. In addition to the terms of Sections 3 & 4, SCRIP funds to be spent on behalf of HASA accounts may be released to any person ONLY with the advanced, signed authorization of the President and the Principal. Persons using SCRIP for the purposes of purchasing will be required to return unused cards or certificates to the school/business office along with a receipt of purchases within one business day of the approved transaction or they may be held liable for repayment of the full amount. Section 6. Financial accounting and access to HASA funds shall follow the norms and polices established by the Diocese of Ft. Wayne-South Bend, in particular that all HASA funds shall be held in custodianship within Diocesan accounts. The Business Manager may establish procedures for access to HASA funds and shall provide, upon request, and official accounting of funds; but is understood not to have authority over the use of such funds. Section 7. Any received cash, checks, or credit access devices shall be stored securely in the school or parish office, accessible only to school or parish administrative staff prior to processing. The processing and counting of all funds shall occur on the school premises within 10 business days of receipt. Persons processing funds (i.e.-recording and listing checks for deposit, etc.) must include at least one officer and one other officer, event chair, or employee approved by the President or Principal. Persons making a final review and certification of funds prior to deposit must include the Treasurer and at least one other person approved by the President or Principal. Section 8. In the event this unit should close, all monies shall be turned over to the Pastor for use in the school. If the school should close, funds shall be used for the church. If the church should close, all monies shall be turned over to the Diocese of Ft. Wayne.
ARTICLE V. MEMBERSHIP AND DUES Section 1. All parents and/or guardians of children attending St. Jude School are members of HASA. Section 2. Any parent and/or guardian of a child enrolled in St. Jude School is a voting member of the organization. Voting is usually during, but not limited to, general meetings. Section 3. There will be no monetary dues. Section 4. Any member of St. Jude Parish may join HASA as a non-voting member and participate in HASA activities and services. Non- voting members may not serve on the Executive Board or as an officer. ARTICLE VI. OFFICERS Section l. Officers shall consist of: President Vice President Treasurer Secretary Section 2. Executive Board consists of the elected officers, Principal and Pastor or someone named by the Pastor. Section 3. If deemed appropriate by the Executive Board, a Co-President may serve instead of a Vice President, but only one of those officers shall retain the duties of financial approval (see Article IV). Section 4. St. Jude Faculty (i.e.-teachers), administrative staff (school or church), and their spouses are not eligible to hold office. They may however retain their right to vote if they meet the membership requirements of Article V. ARTICLE VII. ELECTION AND TENURE OF OFFICERS Section 1. A nominating/election committee, approved by, but exempt of Executive Board members, shall seek no less than two candidates for each office. After gaining consent from the Pastor, Principal and potential candidates, the nominating committee shall present the candidates for election at the April meeting, conduct the election prior to the May meeting and count the votes. Section 2. All officers of the association shall be elected by the members. May elections will be held by ballots distributed to each school family (household). The candidate with the most votes will be selected for the office. In the event of a tie of two or more candidates for a single office, these candidates shall be selected in a runoff election. If only one candidate is nominated for a position, a majority vote (marked as yes or
affirmative out of all ballots submitted) shall be required to ratify the election to the position. Election results will be certified by the Pastor or Principal by May and announced at the next regular business meeting. Section 3. The term for each office shall be a one year. New officers shall assume their office at the next meeting following certification of election results, no earlier than the May meeting and no later than the June meeting. Should a vacancy occur in the office of Presidency, the Vice President shall serve in the place of the President until the completion of the term. If an officer other than the President is unable to complete the term of office, the general membership shall choose a replacement at the next meeting. Should an officer have three consecutive absences from general meetings, it will be considered a resignation and the process to select a replacement officer shall take place. Section 4. A person shall not be eligible for election for the same office for more than two consecutive full terms. An outgoing President of two consecutive terms may not hold ANY office for at least one full year prior to serving any additional term of office. If an officer was placed into position mid-term, that term shall not be considered part of the two terms of eligibility. ARTICLE VIII. DUTIES OF OFFICERS Section l. The President serves as an ex-officio member of all other committees and will appoint special committees as needed. The president shall coordinate the work of the officers and the committees in order that the objectives and the Work of the association is promoted. Other duties of the president include but are not limited to; coordinating an agenda for meetings, maintaining order and decorum at meetings, ensuring that records (minutes, by-laws, financial accounts, etc.) are properly filed and protected. Section 2. The Vice-president serves as an aide to the President and shall perform the duties, including approval of expenditures and presiding at meetings, when the president is officially unavailable. The Vice-President shall assist in the formation of and serve an ex-officio member of all committees. Other duties of the Vice-President include but are not limited to; assuring that committees meet their goals and reporting their results including ideas for improvement at the general meetings (see Article X, Sec. 4). Section 3. The Secretary shall manage the correspondence of HASA and record activities of the group, particularly taking minutes at the monthly and executive meetings. The fundamental purpose of taking minutes is to accurately record the essence of the meeting s accomplishments, especially proposals for future action and official votes. The Secretary is responsible for distributing approved copies of the monthly minutes to the officers of HASA, the School Board President, the Parish Council President and the Athletics President and posting minutes to the HASA web page. The Secretary serves as an ex-officio member of all committees of HASA and is also responsible for recording and correcting as amended the By- laws of the Association.
Section 4. The Treasurer is responsible for verifying and maintaining records of the monies taken in and paid out by all committees and individuals representing this association.. The Treasurer is appointed to all fundraising committees as an ex-officio member to coordinate and help prepare fund raising reports. A Treasurer s report at the monthly meetings should include the balance at the time of the last report, a summary of subsequent deposits and withdrawals and the current account balance. This report should be submitted to the Principal and Pastor each month and attached to the minutes for distribution to the Principal, and the Presidents of School Board, Parish Council and Athletics. ARTICLE IX. MEETINGS Section 1. General membership meetings of HASA shall be held monthly, September through May (but may also extend to June and August as agreed by the Executive Board), at a regular monthly day and time determined by the President of the Association, and shall avoid conflict with School Board and Parish Council meetings. Meeting schedules will be posted at the beginning of the school year. Should a change need to be made, no less than 48 hour advance notice will be made to the membership, except in the case of emergency. Section 2. Executive meetings shall consist of the elected officers of this association, to include the Pastor and/or Principal, and shall be held monthly during the school year. In order to conduct an Executive Board meeting or vote (at a monthly meeting), a minimum of three officers is necessary and each member attending a meeting shall be allowed one vote. Additional meetings may be called by the President or any other Executive Board member with no less than 48 hours notice to other board members. A. It is the duty of the Executive Board to conduct HASA business. Any business conducted between general meetings shall not be in conflict with any policy or decisions of the association. B. It is the duty of the Executive Board to review and act upon any plans of work by the standing committees. Section 3. Special meetings of the Association may be called at any time by the President with a majority vote from the Executive Board. No less than 48 hours notice to the membership is to be given. Section 4. All meetings will be conducted by following an agenda. Should a member wish to have an issue placed on the agenda, notification to the President is needed with no less than 48 hours notice. Unless exempted by the presiding officer, any new business not on the agenda will need to wait until the next scheduled meeting or until a special meeting can be called for. Section 5. Unless exempted by the presiding officer, member s speeches or presentations shall be limited to three minutes.
Section 6. Unless otherwise specified in these by-laws, tallies of votes taken in general, special and executive meetings shall be based on the total votes cast. A majority is considered 51% of the total votes. Section 7. Regular, special or executive committee meetings that adjourn and are recalled to order within a 72 hour period are considered to be a single session. ARTICLE X. STANDING COMMITTEES Section 1. Such standing committees as are deemed necessary to promote the objectives and carry on the work of this association shall be created by the Executive Board for the term of one year. Section 2. Time will be given on each meeting agenda for standing committee to inform of their progress. Section 3. Each standing committee with financial responsibilities shall present all documentation regarding finances to the Treasurer for verification. Section 4. Upon completion of event, each standing committee shall prepare a report detailing the work involved, results, required materials, prices, volunteers, suggestions for future, etc to be turned in to the Vice President for filing and future reference. ARTICLE XI. AMENDMENTS Section 1. These By-laws may be amended at any regular or special meeting of this organization by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting, provided not less than 7 days notice of the proposed amendments shall have been given to the membership and the proposed amendments have already been approved by the Pastor and the Principal. Section 2. A substitute set of By-Laws may be submitted to the membership for adoption only by a committee authorized by the Executive Board, Pastor and Principal. Section 3. Approved amendments and revisions to these By-Laws shall become effective immediately upon approval. Section 4. These By-Laws shall be reviewed at least every two years. Section 5. Updated copies of the By-Laws shall be distributed to all parents and/or guardians of students of St. Jude School at Parent Night every year. Copies must also be submitted to the Pastor, Principal, School Board, Athletics and Parish Council.
HASA Bylaws as approved in session October 14, 2014 Approved by the general membership of St. Jude Home and School Association: Pastor Date (sign/date): Principal Date (sign/date): President Date (sign/date): Vice President Date (sign/date): Treasurer Date (sign/date): Secretary Date (sign/date):