Grafton High Band Parents Association

CONSTITUTION

(Revised: September 2007)

 

ARTICLE I

NAME:

This organization shall be known as the "Grafton High Band Parents Association” (GHBPA).

ARTICLE II

PURPOSE:

The GHBPA is a non-profit organization that encourages, assists, and promotes the growth of both the instrumental and visual ensemble activities at Grafton High School.

ARTICLE III

OBJECTIVES:

Section 1          To facilitate and maintain enthusiastic support of all phases of the instrumental music and visual ensemble programs of Grafton High School; but not to interfere with the instructional methods or official activities of these programs.

 

Section 2          To help purchase items not normally supplied by Grafton High School or the York County School District (for example, unique uniforms and accessories, trophy cases, band room enhancements, visual ensemble accessories, etc.).

 

Section 3          To assist the Band Director(s) by augmenting with personnel, beyond the level officially resourced by Grafton High School and the York County School District.

ARTICLE IV

MEMBERSHIP:

Section 1          Membership shall be open to anyone interested in promoting the Grafton High School Band.

 

Section 2          There shall be no membership dues or fees.

ARTICLE V

ORGANIZATION:

Section 1          The GHBPA shall be governed by this Constitution and By-Laws

 

Section 2          GHBPA Executive Board

 

Figure 1

A.     The GHBPA shall annually elect an Executive Board to oversee and manage its activities.  The elected officers shall be the President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, 3rd Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Student Accounts Treasurer. The Band Director serves as a permanent member (see Figure 1).

 

1.      The President shall lead the GHBPA in such a way as to meet its purpose and objectives.

 

2.      The 1st Vice President shall assist the President and chair the Support Committee.

 

3.      The 2nd Vice President shall assist the President and chair the Fund Raising Committee.

 

4.      The 3rd Vice President shall assist the President and chair the Bingo Committee.

 

5.      The Secretary shall assist the President and chair the Communications Committee.

 

6.      The Treasurer shall assist the President and execute the approved budget.

 

7.      The Student Accounts Treasurer shall assist the President and manage the monies in individual accounts for each active instrumental music and visual ensemble student, and keep an accurate record of Scholarship activity.

 

 

Section 3          Executive Committee

 

Figure 2

 

A.        The Executive Committee shall be comprised of the GHBPA Executive Board and Committee Chairs.  See Article V, Section 3, Figure 2. 

 

B.         With the exception of paragraph 1 below, the President shall establish committees and appoint committee chairs to support the objectives in Article III.

 

1.         At a minimum there shall be the following committees:  Support, Fund Raising, Bingo, and Communications. The 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, 3rd Vice President, and Secretary will chair these committees, respectively.

 

2.         The President may establish other committees to support the objectives in Article III.

 

3.         Each year the President will establish the following committees to meet the needs of the association:  Visual Ensemble, Budget, Audit, Scholarship, Nominating, and Bingo Oversight.

 

4.         The President may establish ad hoc committees to meet short duration, single purpose needs of the association such as the Constitution and By-Laws Committee.

 

C.        Members of the Executive Committee shall act only in an official capacity and shall not take any action or assume responsibility as individuals.

 

D.        The elected officers of the GHBPA Executive Board and the members of the Executive Committee (chairperson) are the voting members and shall conduct the routine business of the GHBPA.  All association members shall have a vote at the General Membership meetings. 

 

 

Section 4          Liaisons

 

A.        The Band Director(s) shall be a member of the GHBPA Executive Board and the Executive Committee, and liaise between the GHBPA and Grafton High School and York County School District Administrations as required.  They may be an advisory member of any or all committees.  The band director shall have veto power for any decision made that is not in the best interest of the band.

 

B.         The Student Band President or designated representative shall liaise between the GHBPA Executive Board, the Executive Committee, and the Student Band Council.

 

C.        The PTSA Liaison shall represent the GHBPA at PTSA meetings and liaise between the PTSA and the GHBPA, as the President deems necessary.  In addition, the PTSA liaison reports volunteer hours to the PTSA.

 

ARTICLE VI

AMENDMENTS:

Section 1          This Constitution may be amended by vote of a two-thirds (2/3) majority of GHBPA members present at any General Membership Meeting.

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE VII

ELECTIONS:

Section l           Officers shall be elected annually during the Winter General Membership Meeting.   Elected officers shall be the parent or legal guardian of a student enrolled in the Band/Visual Ensemble for the academic year of their term of office.

 

Section 2          The term of office shall be one year and begins following the Spring General Membership meeting or immediately if an election is required after June to fill a vacant position.

 

Section 3          In the event of a GHBPA Executive Board vacancy, the GHBPA Executive Board may appoint an individual to serve in the capacity as the "Acting" position until a Nominating Committee is formed and the position is filled by General Membership vote.

 

Section 4          Officers shall not be eligible for election to the same position for more than two consecutive terms.

 

Section 5          The GHBPA Executive Board, with a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote, shall have the power to remove any elected board member or committee member whose actions conflict with the GHBPA Constitution and By-Laws.

 

 

ARTICLE VIII

 

FINANCIAL POLICY:

Section 1          The GHBPA will be self-sustaining financially through fund raising activities, contributions, or income from investments.

 

Section 2          The individual members of the GHBPA shall not be obligated, financially or otherwise, by an action of the Association. When appropriate, the Association will obtain adequate insurance as protection against liability claims, property damage claims, or other legal actions arising from GHBPA activities. If deemed feasible by the GHBPA Executive Board, the President, Treasurer, 3rd Vice President, and Game Managers will be bonded. 

 

Section 3          Funds necessary to accomplish the purpose of the GHBPA shall be raised through fund raising projects that meet with the approval of the GHBPA Executive Board, to include consultation with the Band Director(s) and the Grafton High School Principal, if required, and shall be within the guidelines and policies of the York County School Board.

 

Section 4          There shall be no distribution of income to any officer, member or other person. The entire income of the Association, from all sources, shall be applied and used in the conduct of its activities in furtherance of its purpose as set forth in Article II.

 

Section 5          A proposed operating budget shall be formulated by the President and presented for approval by the General Membership at the Spring General Membership meeting. The proposed budget must be presented to the General Membership for consideration thirty (30) days prior to the vote.  Expenditures that exceed budget by $250 must be approved by 2/3 vote of the Executive Committee.

 

Section 6          Authority to expend funds from the General account, Student Accounts account, the Band Uniform Reserve account, and Scholarship accounts for authorized purposes is delegated to the Treasurer. The 3rd Vice President has the authority to expend funds from the Bingo account. 

 

Section 7          Accounting records of all funds shall be maintained in accordance with sound accounting principles as approved by the GHBPA Executive Board.  These records will be reviewed annually. The Treasurer will arrange for tax preparation annually.

 

Section 8          All monies collected by any member or committee chair shall be turned over to the Treasurer or Student Account Treasurer, as appropriate, for proper disposition and/or deposit into the appropriate Grafton High Band Parent Association registered bank account.

 

Section 9          Expenditure of funds from the GHBPA account that are not budgeted shall require prior GHBPA Executive Board approval (simple majority).  Expenditure of funds greater than $1000 requires signatures of two (2) Executive Committee members.  At no time, with the exception of the President, will the requisitioner of funds be an authorized signatory of the check fulfilling their own request

 

Section 10        The President (or Senior GHBPA Executive Board member if the President is not attending a function) or Band Director shall have emergency fund expenditure approval authorization for cases where convening an Executive Board meeting is not practical or when the nature of the emergency dictates the immediate expenditure of funds.  In these cases, GHBPA Executive Board consultation will not be required.  Notification of the Executive Board members of such action will be done at the earliest convenience following such emergencies, but no later than the next subsequent board meeting.  Lack of planning does not constitute an emergency.

 

 

ARTICLE IX

MEETINGS:

Section 1          All meetings will be open to the public, and visitors are encouraged to attend, except as outlined in the By-Laws.

 

Section 2          The GHBPA Executive Board shall hold at least two General Membership Meetings each year.  At least five days prior notice of such meetings shall be given to the membership.

 

Section 3          Discussions of the school teaching policies or instructional methods of the Band Director(s), individual student(s) or their problems, or misunderstandings concerning the band program are not appropriate for GHBPA General Membership, Executive Committee, or open door Executive Board meetings.  For such discussions, the concerned person(s) should arrange a private meeting with the Band Director(s) or if unavailable and appropriate, a member of the GHBPA Executive Board.

 

 

ARTICLE X

DISSOLUTION:

Section 1          The GHBPA shall be dissolved with a two-thirds majority vote of the General Membership

 

Section 2          Upon dissolution, all property and funds of the GHBPA shall go to Grafton High School.