A. To promote the welfare of children.

B. To promote laws for the protection of children.

C. To promote closer relations between home and school so that parents and teachers may cooperate intelligently in the education of children.

D. To stimulate exchange of ideas between educators and the general public to secure for every child the best educational opportunities.

E. To promote closer ties between the Administration of Lipscomb, the Board of Education and the parents for the continual improvement of programs and support for the school.

F. The purposes for which Lipscomb Parents’-Teachers’ Organization is organized are exclusively educational within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended. Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles, this organization shall not carry on any activities not permitted to be carried on by an organization exempt from Federal Income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended or the laws of the State of Tennessee.

A. This organization shall be educational.

B. This organization shall be nonprofit, non-commercial, non-sectarian and non-partisan. Neither the name of the organization nor the names of its officers in their official capacities shall be used in any connection with a commercial concern or with any partisan interest or for any purpose other than the regular work of the organization. The primary use of funds, dues, and proceeds derived by this organization shall be for the benefit of the children and improvement of the Lipscomb Elementary School. The Principal, Assistant Principal and teachers shall, subject to approval of the voting membership, have a significant voice in the decisions concerning the expenditure being disbursed.

C. This organization is interested in educational policy, but shall not seek to interfere with the freedom of teachers or to control administrative activities of school policies.

D. In the event of dissolution, the residual assets of the organization will be turned over to one or more organizations which themselves are exempt as organizations described in sections 501(c)(3) and 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, or the Federal, State, or local government for exclusive public purpose. Any such assets not so disposed of shall be disposed of by the Chancery Court for Williamson County, Tennessee, exclusively for such purposes.

E. This organization shall elect and support needed committees to represent the organization in making recommendations to proper authorities for any emergency needs of the school and to urge adequate measures for the improvement of the school. These committees shall consist of persons chosen in the manner set forth in these bylaws.

A. Any person who is interested in the purposes for which this organization is established and willing to uphold its policies and subscribe to its bylaws may become a member upon payment of dues as hereinafter provided.

B. The annual dues shall be determined by the Executive Board prior to or during the first meeting.

A. The Executive Board of this organization shall consist of a president, vice-president, recording secretary, corresponding secretary, treasurer, fundraising chairperson, current Principal of Lipscomb Elementary School, as appointed by the Director of Schools for Williamson County and volunteer Teacher Representative. These positions, with the exception of treasurer, are for one year, with a slate of candidates being presented in April to the Board and voted on at the last GENERAL meeting of the year, even if that meeting be called for the exclusive purpose of taking a vote. Additional nominations may be made from the floor and voting shall not be limited to the nominees. The consent of each candidate must be obtained before the name is placed in nomination. Officers shall be approved by a vote of a simple majority of those members/parents/guardians/custodians family units (with each family unit constituting a single vote) present and voting. If more than one name is placed in nomination for an office, voting for that office shall be by secret ballot.

B. The new officers for the year shall take office on June 1^st . Officers may serve on the Executive Committee for a maximum number of three consecutive years.

C. A nominating committee, consisting of six (6) members, shall be appointed by the Executive Board by January 1st of the academic calendar year. The six members on the nominating committee shall consist of one representative from each of the grades, K through 5, served by Lipscomb Elementary School for the year in which they serve on the committee. The current President shall serve as a seventh member and will vote only in the event of a tie.

The nominating committee shall make and/or issue a public announcement or statement of pending elections at least two months prior to the election meeting and accept nominations for a period of at least 14 days. All nominees must be members of the PTO. No current member of the nominating committee will be eligible to be nominated for an executive board position. Nominations shall be directed through the nominating committee chairperson. The committee will then prepare a ballot of Executive Board candidates from nominations received. There will be one nominee per position. The consent of all nominees to serve shall be obtained prior to the proposed ballot. The ballot of candidates will be presented at the last meeting prior to the election meeting. At the election meeting, nominations may also be taken from the floor. If more than one name is placed in nomination for an office, voting for that office shall be by secret ballot.

D. A vacancy occurring in any office shall be filled by a vote of the members of the organization at the next regular meeting, due notice of such meeting having been given and nomination having been made as prescribed above. If need be, a meeting may be called for the exclusive purpose of taking a vote. The vote may be taken at the monthly Board meeting as long as all members of the organization are given due notice of the meeting and its special purpose and invited to attend the meeting.

E. Standing committees (Article VIII) may be created at any time during the year by a majority vote of all Board Members.

F. Any officer of the organization who, by vote of two third majority of the Membership body present and voting, is found to neglect his/her duties or abuse his/her power shall be removed from office

A. The duties of the president shall be: a) to provide at all meetings of the organization and of the Executive Committee; b) to serve as an ex officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee; c) to perform all other duties usually pertaining to the office.

B. The duties of the vice-president shall be a) to discharge the duties of the office of president in the event of the absence or inability of the co-presidents to do so; b) to serve as president the succeeding school year; and c) to perform other duties as may be delegated by the Executive Board or president.

C. The duties of the recording secretary shall be a) to record minutes of all meetings of the organization and of the Executive Board and b) to perform other duties as may be delegated by the Executive Board.

D. The duties of the corresponding secretary shall be a) to inform the members of meeting dates, times, and agenda (if applicable) by using email, mail, newspaper, phone call, marquee or other suitable means approved by the Executive Board; b) to be responsible for receiving and writing correspondence pertaining to the organization’s activities; c) to perform other duties as may be delegated by the Executive Board.

E. The duties of the treasurer shall be a) to receive all money collected by the organization; b) to keep an accurate record of receipts and expenditures; c) to pay out funds only as authorized by the organization; d) to present a financial statement at all regular meetings of the organization and all regular meetings of the Executive Board and at other times when requested by the Executive Board or the co-presidents; and e) to perform other duties as may be delegated by the Executive Board. The treasurer’s accounts shall be examined annually within 90 days of year end closing (July 31) by an audit committee consisting of three (3) members/parents/guardians/custodians appointed by the Executive Board. The committee shall issue its report to the Executive Board within 30 days thereafter.

The treasurer shall be responsible for the preparation of the organizations tax return, which shall be prepared and submitted to the Executive board no later than 75 days following the close of the fiscal year. Each treasurer shall serve for a period of up to 27 months but not less than 15 months so that there will be an overlap of three months to allow for transition of duties as well as the coordination and preparation of the organization’s tax return

F. The duties of the fundraising chairperson shall be a) to organize and implement an annual fund drive; b) to perform any duties associated with the annual find drive; and c) to perform other duties as may be delegated by the Executive Board.

A. There shall be regular monthly meetings of this organization (excluding June and July) on a day and time to be decided by the majority of the Board.

B. There shall be regular monthly meetings of the Executive Board. A monthly Board meeting may be cancelled if ALL board members feel the meeting is not necessary, except in the case of filling a vacancy of an officer.

C. The privilege of holding office, making motions, debating and voting shall be limited to members of the organization whose DUES HAVE BEEN PAID.

D. No one at any time during regular meetings shall address the body without being recognized by the Chair unless the Chair announces otherwise.

A. The Executive Committee shall appoint a Fundraising Committee which shall consist of at least 7 members including the Chairperson who shall be elected in accordance with the provisions of Article V. The Fundraising Committee shall consist of at least one parent from each grade level served by Lipscomb Elementary School and at least one person designated by the Principal who is a representative of the Teachers.

B. The term of service of each of the Committee members shall be one year.

C. The Treasurer shall also serve as ex officio member of the Fundraising Committee.

A. The remainder of the Board shall consist of chairpersons of the various standing committees created by the Executive Board.

B. All standing committees shall serve to promote the objectives and interest of this organization. Appointments shall be for one year. The positions may be held by one person or co-chaired. The committee chairperson shall act as a Board member for that one year with full responsibilities and privileges.

C. All standing committee chairpersons shall be appointed by the president in consultation with the vice president and principal or his/her designate.

D. The remaining committee members will be appointed by the Executive Board.

A. Expenditures are limited to Executive Board members, committee chairpersons and committee members.

B. Expenditures of all committees must not exceed their approved budgets.

C. Individual expenditures of more than $500.00 require approval of the Executive Board.

D. Check signing privileges are limited to the president, vice president, corresponding secretary, recording secretary and treasurer. Two signatures are required on each check.

E. The organization may carryover such funds as are necessary for pre-fundraising operational expenses such as supplies and other typical start up expenses as have historically occurred. In addition it may carryover funds from year to year provided that it shall not carryover funds from one year to the next any amount in excess of 10 percent of the net revenue raised for any particular year for the purposes of future expenditures, except that the organization may carry over an amount not to exceed 25 percent of the net revenue raised for the purpose of funding technology improvements or library purchases. In no event shall the total carryover exceed 35 percent of net revenue and in no event shall such carryover be accumulated beyond two calendar years. It is the intent of this provision that the funds raised by the organization be used primarily to fund current needs and near term needs as opposed to long term goals. It is recognized that the organization has a significant carryover balance as of the beginning of the school year in which these by-laws are adopted. Nothing in this provision shall apply to require that the existing fund balance be spent in order to prevent excess accumulation. Furthermore, the organization shall maintain a minimum accumulated carryover fund balance of $20,000.00 inclusive of any amount presently existing.