BYLAWS AND CONSTITUTION
PREAMBLE
The purpose of this organization shall be to provide quality after-school and lunchtime sports and clubs programs for the students of Bret Harte Middle School, San Jose, California. Young people prosper by being able to participate in extracurricular activities. The Booster Club will promote a close bond of cooperation among the parents, faculty, administration, and students. It will initiate or sponsor programs having the goal of promoting and improving the general welfare of the students.
ARTICLE I : NAME
The name of this organization shall be the Bret Harte Booster Club located at Bret Harte Middle School, 7050 Bret Harte Drive, San Jose, California, 95120. The Bret Harte Booster Club is working as a sub committee of the Bret Harte Educational Association.
ARTICLE II : GENERAL MEMBERSHIP
Members shall include the legal guardians of all current Bret Harte Middle School students, the Bret Harte Principal, and the Bret Harte Assistant Principal of Activities. The privilege of holding office, making motions, and voting shall be restricted to the members of the organization.
ARTICLE III: BOARD MEMBERSHIP
A. The Board shall be the governing body of the Bret Harte Booster Club. There will be no restrictions of who can serve as a board member as long as they are members in good standing during their term of office in the Bret Harte Booster Club.
B. The Executive Board consists of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. These are elected positions. The Booster board consists of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Committee Chairs/Coordinators, and the Bret Harte Assistant Principal of Activities. These may include positions appointed by the President and ratified by the board if all offices are not represented on the ballot during the annual election. The voting body consists of the full board plus one designated representative from each sport/club.
C. The term of office is one year and coincides with the fiscal year of August 1 through July 31st. Board members can serve in the same Board position for a maximum of two years, but the office must be open to volunteers/nominations every year.
D. Elections will be held annually during the June Booster Club meeting. There will be a call for volunteers and nominations no later than the March Booster Club Board meeting. The positions will be filled from the nomination list and approved by a vote of the voting body at the June meeting. In the event that there is only one volunteer who has consented to serve for each position, the ballot may be approved with one vote as a slate. One or more persons can share a Board position. In the event of vacancies for any positions after the June meeting, the President shall fill the position by appointment, subject to ratification by the Board.
E. An office may be declared vacant if the Board member has failed to attend three consecutive meetings and the majority of Board members vote to approve the vacancy. An officer may be asked to resign for engaging in conduct that the Booster Board determines to be injurious to the organization or its purposes. If it is the Presidency, the Vice-President shall assume the duties of the President.
F. The Board will review the Committee Chair/Coordinator positions yearly and shall decide the number of coordinators needed and the duties of these officers.
ARTICLE IV: MEETINGS
A. There shall be monthly Board meetings from August through June. All meetings shall be held at the school unless otherwise designated by the Board. A proposed budget shall be presented at the June meeting for approval by vote of a simple majority of the Board members present at the meeting. Board elections will be held at the June meeting. Final budget adoption must be voted by the current year board no later than the September board meeting. Budget adoption may be completed at the June meeting if the new board is present.
B. A simple majority of those voting shall be sufficient to transact business at a Board meeting with a minimum of 5 members present, of which 3 must be members of the Executive Board. A maximum of one representative for each sport/club will be the designated sport/club board representative during their season and may place one (1) vote.
C. The President may call additional meetings. The President must call a special meeting upon the written request of three members of the Board or by five general members of the Bret Harte Booster Club. A notification of special meetings must be posted or sent at least seven days prior to the meeting. Only business mentioned in the notice of a special meeting can be transacted at the meeting.
D. The President may call special meetings of the Executive Board, consisting of the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer. The President must call an Executive Board meeting upon the written request of any Board member. All Executive Board members must be notified. Only business mentioned in the notice of an Executive Board meeting can be transacted at that meeting, which may be conducted by teleconference or by e-mail agreement.
E. The last Board Meeting of the school year shall be a combined meeting of the incoming and outgoing Boards. Job notebooks shall be passed on to the incoming Board Members at this time with the exception of the Treasurer, who will relinquish the books and records to their successor after the review noted in Article VIII B.
ARTICLE V: RULES OF ORDER
A. The executive Board shall endeavor to operate by the rules contained in Robert’s Rules of Order, revised edition.
B. The Vice-President shall settle disputes concerning rules of order.
ARTICLE VI: DISSOLUTION
In the event of the dissolution of this organization, the assets shall be distributed to Bret Harte Educational Association (BHEA) or, if the BHEA no longer exists, such organization promoting San Jose Unified School District students’ welfare, or as the Board deems appropriate.
ARTICLE VII: AMENDMENTS
The constitution may be amended by a simple majority of those voting at a board meeting where it has been announced at least two weeks in advance that the meeting will concern a constitutional amendment.
ARTICLE VIII: FUNDS
A. The Bret Harte Booster Club may raise funds and disburse them to achieve the goals of the organization. The Bret Harte Booster Club may raise funds in any means the current Board deems appropriate. Once raised, funds shall remain under the sole control of the Bret Harte Booster Club and shall be disbursed directly by the Bret Harte Booster Club Treasurer under the direction of the President and the Board. The signatures of two executive board members are required for any disbursement of Booster funds, the treasurer and one other. The signature card at the bank must reflect all signatures used to disburse funds. The budget must be adopted by the current year board prior to any checks being written. The Booster Board may give authority to the treasurer to write checks for budgeted items between meetings. Requests for payments that will exceed the budget for that line item and requests for payments of non-budgeted expenditures shall not be paid until approved by the Board at its next meeting. An Executive Board meeting may be called in satisfaction of this requirement. The term “non-budgeted expenditure” shall mean any single expenditure that cannot be identified with reasonable specificity as a line item on the budget.
B. An auditor, identified by the school administration and paid for with Booster Club funds will review the books and records by December of each year for the preceding fiscal year. If the Treasurer vacates the office before the completion of his/her duties for the year, the books shall be reviewed before they are transferred to an interim Treasurer.
C. The Board may set aside reasonable reserves designated for future replacements of uniforms and capital items. This must be approved by the Board each year in June as part of budget planning.
ARTICLE IX: POLICIES
A. The Booster Club is an organization that is non-sectarian, and non-partisan. No commercial enterprises or candidates for any political offices shall be developed or endorsed by it.
B. The Booster Club is organized for non-profit purposes and the individual members shall not derive profit there from except as reasonable compensation for services rendered. The Booster Club operates under the auspices of the Bret Harte Educational Association, which has been granted 501(c)(3) non-profit status from the Internal Revenue Service. Booster agrees to adhere to all statutory and regulatory procedures for 501(c)(3) organizations.
Adopted by vote of the Booster Club Board - March 14, 2007
Revision October 8, 2008