BYLAWS OF THE CROMWELL HIGH SCHOOL PERFORMING ARTS BOOSTERS
ARTICLE 1
NAME
The name of the organization shall be the Cromwell High School (CHS) Performing Arts Boosters.
ARTICLE 2
PURPOSE
The purpose of this organization is to support and promote the performing arts at Cromwell High School, provide educational opportunities for students in the performing arts, and provide financial support for post-graduate education by way of awarding scholarships.
ARTICLE 3
MEMBERSHIP
Membership in the association shall consist of the parents or guardians of students who are members of any music and/or drama group at CHS or are in courses offered by the music department at CHS. All members shall have rights to vote on any matters under these bylaws, except for matters to be acted on solely by the members of the Executive Board as set forth in these bylaws.
ARTICLE 4
OFFICERS
Section 1: The officers, who also are the members of the Executive Board of this organization are: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Section 2: The term of each office shall be for one year, which terms shall begin on July 1, but there are no term limits so an individual may serve multiple one year terms.
Section 3: The membership shall hold elections for officers for the upcoming school year (whose terms will begin on July 1) at the May meeting of the organization. Nominations and seconds for candidates for officers shall be made from the floor at the same meeting. For purposes of the annual election, eligible members do not include members whose only children are graduating seniors, but such eligible members do include parents of then current eighth graders who intend to participate in music or drama activities at CHS. The Executive Board shall publicize the meeting in an appropriate manner to allow the parents of then current eighth graders to have reasonable notice of the meeting. The election of officers shall be by majority vote of those present at the same meeting.
Section 4: No two members of a single family can hold an office at the same time.
Section 5: A person may hold only one office at a time.
Section 6: The duties of the President shall be to preside over all meetings of the Organization, set the agendas for meetings and to appoint committees and other non-Board member positions, with such appointments subject to the approval of the Executive Board.
When presiding over meetings of the general membership, the President shall have no vote unless the group is equally divided, then the President shall cast the deciding vote. The President shall serve as the primary liaison between the general membership and the
music/drama directors and the school administration. The President shall preside over the Executive Board.
Section 7: The Vice President shall preside in the absence of the President. In the absence of both the President and Vice President, the other officers shall preside in the following order: Secretary, then Treasurer.
Section 8: The Secretary shall distribute agendas, record and distribute the minutes of all regular and Executive Board meetings, and shall be responsible for maintaining the official and current copy of these bylaws and for providing a copy of such bylaws to any party requesting them. In the absence of the Secretary at a meeting, the Executive Board member(s) present at such meet shall appoint an acting Secretary (which may be any member of the organization).
Section 9: The Treasurer shall be responsible for the accounting of all the funds of the organization. The Treasurer shall keep an accurate record of receipts and expenditures, expend
monies as discussed with the organization and approved by the Executive Board. The Treasurer shall (a) share the financial conditions of the organization regularly with the organization’s
members, including sharing at each regular meeting and (b) make a complete annual report at the last meeting of each school year.
Section 10: In the event of a resignation or permanent absence of any officer (which is deemed to occur after 3 consecutive unexcused absences), the President or next ranking officer shall declare the vacancy, schedule an election to fill the vacancy at an upcoming meeting, at which meeting, the nominations and elections shall take place in the same manner as provided for annual officer elections, with any such terms ending on June 30.
ARTICLE 5
MEETINGS
Section 1: Regular monthly meetings of the organization shall be held during the school year on the second Thursday of each month, subject to change as may be determined by the Executive Board.
Section 2: All committee meetings, including times and locations shall be held as determined by the committee chairperson.
Section 3: The President shall have the power to call a special meeting of the organization as deemed necessary.
Section 4: All votes occurring at meetings shall be adopted or approved based on a majority vote of the members present at such meeting. For Executive Board meetings, at least three (3)
members must be present for the meeting to occur and all votes occurring at such meetings shall be adopted or approved based on a majority vote of the officers present at such meetings.
Section 5: For (a) any regular meetings occurring on any day other than the second Thursday of the month, or (b) any special meetings called under Section 3 of this Article 5, the Board shall provide the membership with prior written notice of the meeting and agenda at least seven (7) calendar days prior to the meeting.
ARTICLE 6
COMMITTEES
The Scholarship Committee shall be appointed no later than the February meeting. It shall consist of 3 or more active members who are not parents or relatives of prospective scholarship applicants. Members of the Executive Board are not eligible to serve on the Scholarship Committee. The scholarship applicants will use the standard application provided by the CHS Performing Arts Boosters. The eligibility requirements and application will be available in the guidance office and online through Naviance. The Scholarship Committee shall use a predefined rubric to evaluate the applications and determine the scholarship winners. The Scholarship Committee shall forward the names of the selected recipient(s) to the Board President for acceptance and communication of the names of the selected recipient(s) to the CHS Office. If the Board President is a parent or relative of a prospective scholarship applicant, another member of the Executive Board shall be designated for this task. The Executive Board shall
determine the number and value of potential scholarships for the school year and notify the Scholarship Committee. In any given school year, a minimum of two $500 scholarships must be
awarded in accordance with the organization’s stated purpose in the by-laws. Scholarships are to be awarded to a minimum of 2 graduating students who are actively involved in the
Cromwell High School Performing Arts or have taken courses in the Music Department during their high school career. The qualifications of transfer students will be reviewed and considered
by the committee based upon documentation of relevant experiences.
ARTICLE 7
PROTOCOL
Section 1: The CHS Performing Arts Boosters shall coordinate activities with the Music/Drama
Directors and faculty as appropriate. Although there may be requests or suggestions that occur
during the year, by May 10th of each year for the following school year, the Music/Drama Directors shall submit any suggestions to the Executive Board in writing (which may be provided by e-mail) as to how they believe the Boosters can best support Cromwell High School performing arts students in the coming year. The Executive Board may require that the Music/Drama Directors provide certain information to support their suggestions.
Section 2: The organization shall establish and maintain an open avenue of communication with the Cromwell High School administration with regard to the activities of the organization.
Section 3: Cromwell High School administration establishes the rules and regulations for music/chorus/drama department activities. This organization may recommend additional rules and regulations as deemed necessary for the operation of such activities.
ARTICLE 8
MONIES
Section 1: All monies collected by the organization shall be used for such purposes as designated by the Executive Board. The Band, Chorus and Drama directors will be consulted regarding the needs of the Cromwell High School Performing Arts Department. Any proposed expenditure (including, without limitation, any and all costs, expenses or other amounts incurred) of $1,000 or more must be approved in advance by a majority of members present at the meeting at which such expenditures are being considered. Any (a) proposed expenditure of less than $1,000, or (b) increase of 10% or less of an expenditure previously approved by a majority of members, must be approved in advance by a majority of the members of the Executive Board. Regardless of the amount of the expenditure, any funds proposed to be paid to a member of the organization (or any entity controlled or owned, in whole or in part, by a member) for services beyond a reimbursement for costs
actually incurred for goods provided to the organization must be (x) accompanied by at least two proposals from other vendors for substantially the same services, and (y) approved in
advance by a majority of members present at a regular meeting.
Section 2: The Treasurer and one other member of the Executive Board shall be authorized signatories on the bank account of the
organization. The Treasurer shall maintain a checking account in the name of the organization at a local bank for the transactions of all financial affairs of the organization.
Section 3: All reimbursements shall be made by check. No checks shall be made payable to a
signatory of such check. In no event shall reimbursement checks be made payable to “Cash.”
Section 4: In the event of dissolution of the organization, the net assets will be distributed as determined by the Executive Board, provided no assets may be distributed or paid to the members of the Executive Board.
ARTICLE 9
AMENDMENTS
Section 1: The Executive Board, or a committee appointed by the President with the approval of the Executive Board, will conduct an annual review of the bylaws and may recommend changes by written notice to the membership at least thirty days in advance of the May meeting. Any such changes will be approved or denied at the May meeting of this organization.
Section 2: If special circumstances dictate, the bylaws of this organization may be amended at any regular meeting by majority vote of those in attendance provided the proposed amendment(s) have been submitted in writing 2 months prior to the Executive Board. For purposes of this section, July and August are excluded as parts of the notice period. The proposed amendment(s) shall then be placed on the meeting agenda and presented to the membership no later than the next regularly scheduled meeting after such 2 month period.