PTO
Our mission is to build a strong PTO that supports DePaolo parents, teachers, administrators and most importantly, our students!
Please join our Facebook group by searching for DePaolo PTO. This is our forum for DePaolo parents to communicate and for the PTO to keep everyone updated on school events and fundraisers. The PTO Board can also be reached by email.
Meeting Dates
Executive Board
PTO By-Laws
JOSEPH A. DEPAOLO MIDDLE SCHOOL
PARENT TEACHER ORGANIZATION BYLAWS
ARTICLE I: NAME
The name of this organization shall be the Joseph A. DePaolo Middle School Parent Teacher
Organization (JAD PTO).
ARTCILE II: OBJECTIVE
The objective of this group shall be to develop a closer relationship between the home and the school,
in that the parents and the teachers of Joseph A. DePaolo Middle School may cooperate in the
education of the child.
ARTICLE III: POLICIES
A. This organization shall be nonprofit, nonpartisan and nonsectarian.
B. The purpose of this organization shall be educational, informative, and objective, but shall not seek
to direct the technical function nor control the operative policies of the school.
C. No commercial enterprise and no political candidate shall be endorsed by this organization. Neither
the name of the organization nor the names of its Executive Board Members in their official capacities
on the JAD PTO shall be used in any connection with a commercial concern or with any partisan interest.
This organization may cooperate with other agencies active with children’s welfare.
ARTICLE IV: MEMBERSHIP + QUORUM
All teachers, school personnel, and parents or guardians of children attending Joseph A. DePaolo Middle
School may become members.
A. To become a member, one must register and pay the annual dues as established by the
organization. The dues of the PTO shall be determined annually in June by a majority vote of the Officers
and the Board Members. In cases of financial hardship, a member may submit a registration form
without payment of dues, inside an envelope marked as “Confidential.” The dues of such member shall
be sponsored from donations received from other members at the time of registration or, in the
absence of donations, from the JAD Cares fund.
B. A member shall be deemed in good standing when such member is a registered PTO member. Only
members in good standing of the organization shall be eligible to vote on JAD PTO business matters or
to serve in any of its elective or appointive positions, with the exception of the President or Vice
President position. In order to serve in the position of President or Vice President, a member in good
standing shall also attend the majority of JAD PTO meetings in a given school year, and/or volunteer for
a PTO activity or event, and/or be a current or previous Officer, Coordinator, or committee Chairperson,
including any previous Executive Board experience in the elementary school setting.
C. Quorum shall be the majority of the members present.
ARTICLE V: OFFICERS
A. The officers shall be President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
B. These offices may only be held by one person at a time.
C. DUTIES:
1. President
• Preside over all PTO Meetings.
• Monitor progress of committees and solicit reports from Chairs for PTO meetings.
• Be involved in all PTO functions and activities.
• Initiate a vote when needed.
• Be the liaison between the PTO and the Administrative staff at the school.
2. Vice President
• Act in an advisory and assistive capacity to the President.
• In the absence of the President shall conduct the presidential duties.
• Prepare and distribute the agenda for PTO meetings.
• Oversee the PTO’s Fundraising Program.
• Fill in for secretary when needed.
3. Treasurer
• Pay all bills and issue all checks for reimbursement in accordance with the budget
adopted by the PTO, as well as when authorized, as specified by the bylaws.
• Make all bank deposits.
• Reconcile monthly bank statements.
• Maintain general ledger for all accounting transactions.
• Provide financial reports for monthly meetings.
• Oversee the PTO Membership Drive.
• Prepare yearly budget with input from Board members.
• Ensure the formation of the Budget and Auditing Committees as stated in the
bylaws.
• Prepare all required tax forms or seek out professional assistance as necessary to
complete them.
• Ensure all procedures necessary to maintain non‐profit and tax‐exempt status are
followed.
• Act as a resource to the Board and membership regarding any financial issues of the
PTO.
• Execute any responsibilities required in these bylaws under Financial Policies.
• Be signature authority on bank account.
4. Secretary
• Record the minutes of all meetings including regular PTO meetings, any Executive
Board meetings, or any special sessions.
• Present previous meeting minutes at the monthly PTO meetings.
• Create and maintain a master email list of PTO contacts (PTO members &
Committee volunteers)
• Responsible for any mass (e)mailings done by the PTO.
• Keep calendar of events for the PTO.
• Ensure that passwords are changed annually on PTO related accounts (i.e. websites,
online accounts) at the beginning of the fiscal year in July. The Secretary may
change said passwords or delegate such task to the appropriate Board
member. The Secretary is responsible for keeping a current log of such accounts
and passwords.
ARTICLE VI: EXECUTIVE BOARD
A. This Executive Board shall consist of elected and appointed Officers.
B. The term shall consist of two years beginning and ending with that of the fiscal year as defined
in these bylaws. No officer shall hold the same position for more than three consecutive
terms. Each person elected shall hold only one executive board position at a time.
C. Resignation of an Executive Board position should be done in writing to the PTO Executive Board
with the date that the resignation is effective.
D. A vacancy, either due to a resignation or a leave of absence, occurring in an Executive Board
Position shall be filled by a majority vote of the Executive Board with the exception when there
is a vacancy in the office of President. In this circumstance, the Vice President shall become the
President and a new Vice President will be appointed as indicated above. Any vacancy
replacement shall serve for the remainder of the school year.
E. Executive Board Members can be removed from office, with cause, by a majority vote of those
present at a regular meeting where 14 days written notification has been given.
F. The President and/or any 2 members of the Executive Board shall have the authority to call
special meetings of the Executive Board as needed. Minutes shall be recorded at all Executive
Board meetings and subsequently emailed to the Executive Board.
G. The nomination process shall occur in the months of February through March. Written notice of
intent by nominees will be submitted to the current PTO president.
H. Executive Board elections will be held at the general PTO meeting each May.
I. A nominee must be present in order to be considered for election or have another PTO member
present to represent him/her at the election.
J. The PTO members present will vote via silent ballet. In the event of a tie, those members of the
Executive Board who are present will vote, via silent ballet, to break the tie. If there is an even
number of Executive Board members present, then the President shall abstain from voting in
order to avoid a tie of the Executive Board.
ARTICLE VII: FINANCIAL POLICIES
A. The Treasurer shall keep accurate records of any income, disbursements, and bank account
information. A Treasurer’s report shall be presented to the PTO at monthly meetings with line
items for income and expenditures.
B. Any funds in excess of $250 spent outside of the approved budget, which are not an emergency,
shall be voted on by the Executive Board. The allocation of these funds is dependent on a
majority vote.
C. In order to obtain any reimbursement from the Treasurer, a receipt shall be provided. The
expense must be planned for in the budget as well.
D. A minimum checking account balance of $1,500 must be maintained at all times. This amount is
not to be used for startup costs for the following year.
E. All funds raised by PTO events and/or donations shall revert to the general fund. However, any
member may make a formal request at a PTO meeting to allocate funds raised from an existing
or new event for a particular project. The request must be approved by a majority vote of the
members present.
F. Allocation of any excess funds raised throughout the year once all bills are paid, minimum
checking is maintained, and startup costs for the upcoming year are considered, will be
considered and discussed by the Executive Board members at a special Executive Board meeting
in June, and approved by a majority vote of Executive Board Members present.
G. The fiscal year will run from July 1st to June 30th.
H. An audit of the financials will be done whenever there is a change in the Treasurer position. This
audit can be handled by parent volunteers, outside of the Executive Board, or the PTO Executive
Board shall have the authority, by majority vote, to hire an outside accountant to review the
financials of the PTO as needed.
I. IRS Section 501 c 3 ‐ Notwithstanding any other provisions of these articles, the organization is
organized exclusively for one or more of the purposes as specified in section 501 c 3 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and shall not carry on any activities not permitted to be carried
on by an organization exempt from Federal Income Tax under IRC 501 c 3 or corresponding
provisions of any subsequent law.
J. The organization may be dissolved with 30 days notification and a 2/3 vote of those present and
voting at the meeting. In the event of dissolution, all of the remaining assets and the property
of the organization shall, after payment of all necessary expenses thereof, be distributed to the
organizations that qualify under section 501 c 3 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or to the
Federal Government or State or Local governments for a public purpose subject to the approval
of a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Connecticut. Thus, any remaining funds shall
be used with the approval of the same majority vote of the membership present, for the benefit
of the school.
ARTICLE III: MEETINGS
A. The meetings shall be held at Joseph A. DePaolo Middle School.
B. At least five meetings will be held each year. The meetings will be held the third Tuesday of the
month at 7 pm, unless otherwise provided by the Executive Board.
C. Each elected Board Member shall attend at least three meetings per year in order to complete a
one year term. If a member is unable to attend three meetings and/or fulfill the obligations of
the position as set forth, the member will resign and a replacement will be voted upon by the
Executive Board.
D. New Executive Board Members shall be elected at the May meeting and shall take office at the
end of the fiscal year.
ARTICLE IX: AMENDMENTS
A. These bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the organization by a majority of members
present and voting and providing that written notification of the proposed amendment shall have been
given 14 days prior to the date of the meeting at which action is taken. Once amended by majority vote,
the changes will go into effect immediately.
B. Bylaws shall be reviewed/revised at a minimum of every 2 years, or as needed.
Created June 2016