School Board

Constitution and Bylaws OLMC Parish School Advisory Board

Revised 4/1/2008
Signed: Rev. John Bonavitacola
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Tempe, Arizona

Article I.  Name	Article VI.  Responsibility and Authority
Article II.  Purpose - Duties	Article VII.  Committees
Article III.  The School Board	Article VIII.  Amendement
Article IV.  Officers	Article IX.  Promulgation
Article V.  Meetings

ARTICLE I. NAME

The name of this body will be the Our Lady of Mount Carmel School Advisory Board; hereinafter referred to as the “Board.”

ARTICLE II. PURPOSE – DUTIES

A. Purpose: The purpose of the Board is:

• To function as an advisory board to the Pastor and Principal in matters relating to our Lady of Mount Carmel School.
• To proclaim the teachings of the Catholic Church through the actions and activities of Our Lady of Mount Carmel School. • To promote effective spiritual, intellectual, cultural, social and physical progress for the students of Our Lady of Mount Carmel School.

B. Duties. The Board shall include, but not be restricted to, the following duties:

• To promote a clear understanding and communication of the mutual educational responsibilities of parents, teachers and the school’s administration.
• To assist the Principal in developing school policies.
• To consult with the Pastor in connection with his hiring of a new Principal.
• To conduct regular Board meetings and such special meetings as may be appropriate.
• To establish standing committees and such special committees as may be necessary from time to time and to appoint non-board members to serve on such committees as may be appropriate.
• To assist the Principal and staff in maintaining a school handbook and in establishing, developing and interpreting the policies and procedures set forth therein.
• To collaborate with other groups and organizations which are concerned with the operation of the school
• To review and carry out diocesan policies where appropriate.

ARTICLE III. THE SCHOOL BOARD (top)

A. Members. The Board shall consist of fourteen members. These shall include the Pastor (ex-officio and non-voting), the Principal (ex-officio and non-voting), a faculty representative, annually elected by teachers (ex-officio and non-voting), the President of the Home and School Association (ex-officio and non-voting), a Preschool representative (ex-officio and non-voting), three voting members elected by the school parents, three voting members selected by the Parish Council and three voting members appointed by the Pastor in consultation with the Principal.

B. Nominations and Elections.

• Qualified candidates may be nominated by written petition signed by at least ten parents and submitted at least two weeks prior to the scheduled day of election. The Pastor, the Principal of the existing Board may recommend nomination of a qualified candidate. All candidates must complete the School Board Nomination form.
• School parent board member candidates shall have their qualifications listed in the OLMC Newsletter prior to the election. An election by secret ballot shall be held on a designated day in April or May beginning at 8:00 a.m. and closing 15 minutes after the end of the school day. Ballots shall be counted by the Home and School President, a Home and School Officer and the School Principal.
• Selection of the board member by the Parish Council shall take place at the April meeting of the Parish council.
• The Pastor shall select his appointed board member before the last day of May.

C. General Eligibility for board membership:

• For school parent board member: Any person who has a child currently enrolled in OLMC School and who has shown a deep interest in and commitment to Catholic education and to OLMC School and shall be willing to give time and energies for the betterment of Catholic education.
• For parish board member: Any person who is a registered and active member of OLMC parish, 18 years or older and who has shown a deep interest in and commitment to Catholic education and OLMC School and shall be willing to give time and energies for the betterment of Catholic education.
• All Board members must complete any required parish or diocesan training.
• Non-eligibility: No school staff member (or members of the staff members household), or salaried employees of the parish will be eligible for a voting membership unless the appointment to the Board was made prior to the employment. In addition, no more than one member of a household will be eligible to serve as a voting board member on the Board at any given time.

D. Term of Office.

• The term of office for voting board members shall be three years. No one may serve more than six consecutive years.
• Each year there shall be one elected, one selected and one appointed member.
• The Board year shall commence the day following the last day of school.

E. Removal of Board Members.

• Any member may resign by tendering written notice of such resignation to the President of the Board.
• In the event of a member of the Board being absent unexcused for three consecutive regular meetings, the remaining members of the Board, by way of a two-thirds vote may determine and declare that a vacancy exists.

F. Vacancies.

• Vacancies occurring on the Board for any reason whatsoever shall be filled within 60 days excluding vacancies during the month of June. Vacancies occurring during the month of June shall be filled by October first of that year. Each qualified consenting candidate shall submit a School Board Nomination Form, available in the school office and/or rectory, as a demonstration of intent to be considered. Within two weeks of a vacancy, the remaining members of the Board shall submit a list of qualified consenting candidates to the President for use by the appropriate deciding body.
• Vacancies with a term remaining of less than five months until the new session shall be filled for term balance remaining and the ensuing three year term. Vacancies with a term remaining of greater than five months shall be filled for the balance remaining in current term only.
• Vacancies shall be filled by appointment, with Board recommendation and Pastor approval.

ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS (top)

A. The officers of the Board shall consist of a President, Vice President and Secretary.

B. The duties of the officers are as follows:

1. President.

• The President shall preside at all regular and special meetings of the Board.
• The President shall schedule matters to be considered by the Board in such a manner as to provide ample opportunity for consideration by the Board for final action.
• The President shall have authority to assign, with Board approval, additional duties and responsibilities to individual Board members in furtherance of the purpose of the Board.

2. Vice President • The Vice President, in the absence of the President, shall perform the duties of the President.

• The Vice President shall be elected annually by the Board from its own members at the first regular meeting of the Board year. Members who have served at least one school year on an OLMC School Advisory Board are eligible to be elected as Vice President of the current Board. The requirement for one year of service can be satisfied during the member’s current 3-year term or as part of any previous OLMC School Advisory Board membership.
• The Vice President shall succeed to the office of President upon completion or interruption of the President’s term of office.
• The Vice President shall notify all Board members of regular and special meetings.

3. Secretary

• The secretary shall keep minutes of all regular and special Board meetings, including attendance records
• The secretary shall be responsible for communicating with parents on matters of interest and concern, as directed by the Board.
• Any voting Board member may volunteer or accept appointment for the position of secretary.

ARTICLE V. MEETINGS (top)

A. The Board shall meet regularly on a designated day and at a designated time at least once each month except July. Special meetings may be called by the President, the Pastor or the Principal. All meetings of the Board shall be open meetings, except for executive sessions.

B. All meetings shall follow an agenda. The president shall be responsible for preparing the agenda after consulting with the Pastor, Principal and committee chairpersons.

C. All regular meeting of the Board shall be conducted in accordance with the following order of business:

1. Prayer.
2. Call to order and roll call.
3. Approval of minutes.
4. Pastor’s report.
5. Principal’s report.
6. Home and School report.
7. Special Committee reports (as appropriate.)
8. Standing Committee reports.
9. Old business.
10. New business.
11. Prayer
12. Adjournment.
13. (Executive session*) may be held prior to regular session.

D. The minutes of the Board meetings shall be preserved in the school file for a period of three years and be available for review by any person.

E. Any person may bring business before the Board as a matter of right if a request is submitted to the President at least 72 hours before the meeting. If such a matter is submitted less than 72 hours before the meeting, it may come before the meeting at the direction of the President.

F. A majority of voting members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of transacting business.

G. Each member of the Board shall have the right to one vote, but must be present to exercise such right. A majority of those present is necessary to pass a motion.

H. The Board may fix its own rules of procedure, but in the absence of such rules, Robert’s Rules of Order Revised shall apply.

I. Any conflict with these Constitution and by-laws may be considered as Old Business.

ARTICLE VI. RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTHORITY (top)

• All policies developed and defined by the Board, and by the Constitution and by-laws, as established and amended, shall be consistent with policies and directives of the Phoenix Diocesan Board of Education. If not, then the Diocesan policies take precedence.
• If the Pastor feels that he cannot in good conscience accept or carry out any recommendation of the Board, he may veto them, but he shall fully and frankly communicate his position to the Board and the reasons therefore.
• The Pastor and parish shall be ultimately responsible for the financial decisions regarding the school and for reviewing and approving the budget.

ARTICLE VII. COMMITTEES (top)

• The President, with approval of the Board, shall appoint chairpersons of committees. The chairpersons then shall select members to serve on the committees.
• The Pastor, Principal and President may be ex-officio members of any committee.
• Committees consisting of one or more persons may be appointed top study and report to the Board on specific assignments.
• Special Committees shall cease to exist upon acceptance of their final report or by action of the Board.
• Board members should be on and active in a minimum of one committee for the purpose of active involvement in the Board.

ARTICLE VIII. AMENDMENT (top)

• This Constitution and Bylaws may be amended only by a vote of two-thirds of the total membership of the Board, with the approval of the Pastor.
• Amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws may be submitted in written form at one of the regular Board meetings and voted on at the subsequent regular meeting.
• This Constitution is subject to review by the existing Board every three years.

ARTICLE IX. PROMULGATION (top)

This Constitution will go into effect upon promulgation by the Pastor.

(This Constitution and Bylaws shall be next reviewed by the Board during the 2010-11 school year.)