Standing Rules & Policies
The standing rules and policies are reviewed at least annually by the Board.
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These standing rules are supplemental to the Uniform Bylaws of the Washington State PTA, or Bylaws.
The name of this unit shall be Wedgwood PTA local unit number 6.15.355 of the WSPTA.
This unit is a non-profit corporation recognized by the State of Washington. It is the responsibility of this unity to renew the Articles of Incorporation annually, prior to March 1. The incorporation number of 2-283740-5
This unit’s Employer Identification Number is 91-1260518
This unit is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit, tax exempt organization under Section 501(c)3 of the Washington State tax code.
This unit shall keep at least two (2) copies of each of its legal documents. These include items such as; evidence of corporate status, charitable solicitations act compliance, tax exempt status, governance, insurance and other finance or federal tax related documents.
The membership fee of this organization shall be at least $5.00 above the combined national, state and Seattle Council PTA fees. (see Bylaws Article 4, Section 4).
The students of Wedgwood Elementary shall be considered honorary members of this unit without voice, vote or privilege of holding office.
The elected officers of this unit shall be: President/Co-Presidents; Vice Presidents; Secretaries and Treasurer/ Co-Treasurer; Past-President (see Bylaws, Article 5, Section 6). These elected officers shall constitute the Executive Committee. The elected officers shall be elected during the second half of the school year, prior to April 30. An officer may hold a position no more than two consecutive school years (see Bylaws, Article 5, Section 6). Employees of the school are welcome PTA members and able to serve in many PTA positions, however an officer cannot be an employee of the school.
The Board of Directors shall consist of the elected officers and standing director positions as designated below. The director positions are appointed by the Executive Officers and are entitled to one vote at the Board Meetings regardless if there is more than one person fulfilling the duties of that director position. A director may hold a position no more than three consecutive school years. All PTA Board members must be members in good standing.
Board of Director meetings of this unit shall be held monthly by the President or Co-Presidents hereafter referred to as Board meetings. A majority of those on the board shall constitute a quorum (see Bylaws, Article 5, Section 9). Other PTA members, non-PTA members or staff members may be invited to attend the board meeting but are not entitled to vote.
Business of the Board which occurs between Board meetings may be conducted by email following regular approval procedure. This business shall be captured as an addendum to the previous months minutes for approval at the next board meeting
General membership meetings of this unit shall be held a minimum of two times during the school year. General membership meetings shall be open to PTA members and parents and staff who are not members of the PTA. However, only dues-paying PTA members may vote at the meetings. The first general meeting shall be held for purposes of but not limited to adoption of the standing rules, and perhaps election of the nominating committee (this may be done through an electronic vote) and the last general meeting for election of officers and adoption of the next year’s budget. Additional meetings shall be held at the direction of the Board of Directors. A quorum shall consist of 10 or more PTA members (see Bylaws, Article 5, Section 10)
The nominating committee shall be elected according to the Bylaws (Article 5 Section 5)
An office shall be declared vacant if that person misses three (3) consecutive meetings, unless excused by the President or Co-Presidents.
Voting delegates to the State PTA/PTSA Council shall be the President or Co-Presidents, and two (2) or three (3) authorized delegates as necessary (see Bylaws, Article 5, Section 3).
The standing Board of Directors positions requiring directors may include but are not limited to: Communication; Fundraising; Membership, Events, Legislative Liaison, Special Education Liaison, Diversity & Inclusion, Garden and Facilities. Directors may also be represented by more than one individual in a co-position.
Golden Acorn Award, Outstanding Educator Award and Honorary Lifetime Memberships may be given annually. Multiple awards may be given. Executive members are not eligible to receive the award.
The standing rules shall be adopted annually by a majority vote at the first general membership meeting.
The standing rules may be amended at any regular membership meeting by two-thirds (2/3) vote, or if previous notice has been given, by majority vote.
Parliamentary authority shall be Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised.
The Board may reallocate funds as needed up to a limit of $5,000 annually by majority vote of the Board.
An annual audit of financial records shall be performed as outlined in the Uniform Bylaws annually (see Bylaws, Article 5, Section 9.F.2).
The Treasurer(s) shall have the authority to disburse funds, from the PTA reserves, prior to the first General Membership meeting in September. These funds shall be used to meet PTA financial obligations which occur during the summer and at start of school events. The total amount of the funds shall not exceed $10,000.
The Board may transfer funds from PTA reserves up to a limit of $10,000 annually by majority vote of the Board.
The PTA will utilize a Checking account as the operating cash account and a Savings account as the reserves. The Savings account should be kept at a level to fund all liabilities in a year. These liabilities are defined as Fees, Licenses, School Operations and Staff.
The Expenses/Budget Treasurer will maintain control of all Web passwords including Bank of America, QuickBooks, WA Sec of State Corp & Charities Filing System, Dept Revenue WA State.
PTA Scholarship funds will be used to create equity and accessibility for students and families in need of assistance.
School classroom supplies funds will be used for books, binders, give-a-ways or consumables such as pencils or snacks or materials that benefit student learning.
The annual PTA budget will include Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Anti-racist training and programming. This amount should be relevant as to show this as a priority.
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The purpose of this policy is to protect the Wedgwood PTA’s interest when decisions are made that might benefit the private interests of an officer, member of the board or other person authorized to make purchases on behalf of the PTA. This policy is in addition to any applicable state and federal laws governing conflict of interest.
This policy applies to all officers or members of the Wedgwood PTA’s board of directors and to other persons who have been authorized to make purchases on behalf of the PTA.
Any person covered by paragraph two who has a direct or indirect interest in a business with which the PTA is doing or may do business has a duty to disclose such interest to the board of directors.
After disclosure of the financial interest and making any statement that he or she desires, such person should leave the meeting while the remaining board members discuss the circumstances and determine whether in fact a conflict of interest exists.
The remaining board members will decide if a conflict of interest exists by a majority vote that will be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.
If the board determines that a conflict of interest exists, the board will then determine whether the PTA may obtain a more advantageous transaction or arrangement from a person or entity that would not give rise to a conflict of interest.
If a more advantageous transaction is not reasonably possible, the board shall determine by a majority vote of its disinterested members whether the proposed transaction is in the PTA’s best interest and whether the terms are reasonable and fair. If so, the PTA may proceed with the transaction.
Any member of the board who believes that a person covered by paragraph two has failed to disclose an actual or possible conflict of interest shall inform that person of the basis for such belief and give her or him an opportunity to respond. If that response does not eliminate the potential conflict of interest, the board member may bring a motion to have the board determine how to proceed, following the process outlined in paragraphs four through seven above.
The minutes of meetings of the board of directors shall include a summary of all discussions of potential or actual conflicts of interest, including the names of persons making a disclosure as required by paragraph three, or making a motion under paragraph eight, the nature of the potential, alleged or actual conflicts, and records of the actions taken by the board, including vote totals on any motions.
A voting member of the board who receives compensation from funds provided by PTA is prohibited from voting on matters pertaining to such funding. This does not apply to reimbursement of allowable expenses.
If the board of directors has reason to believe that a person covered in paragraph two has violated this conflict of interest policy, he or she shall be notified and given an opportunity to respond to the allegation. After reviewing the response, the board shall determine whether a violation occurred and shall take appropriate corrective action.
At the beginning of each fiscal year, all members of the board shall confirm in writing (wet ink or electronic via email or online form i.e. google form) or verbally as noted in the meeting minutes that they: Have received a copy of the conflict of interest policy; Have read and understood the policy; Agree to comply with the policy; Understand that Wedgwood PTA is a tax-exempt association and therefore must engage primarily in activities which accomplish one or more of its tax-exempt purposes.
To ensure that Wedgwood PTA does not engage in activities that could jeopardize its tax-exempt status, the PTA’s annual financial review will include a review of business arrangements to determine whether the terms, including the price paid for goods and services, were reasonable.
This policy was adopted by the board of directors of the Wedgwood PTA on Mar 13, 2023.
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Purpose
Wedgwood PTA recognizes social media as a communication tool to encourage participation and membership; promote events organized or sponsored by the PTA; provide accurate, relevant up-to-date information regarding the PTA; and share district, community, and school information that impacts Wedgwood families.
Policy
Members of this PTA shall not use their own personal social media platforms to cyberbully, insult, embarrass, target, or post threats of physical or verbal abuse towards any individuals, including school board officials, school administrators, teachers, PTA members, volunteers, or other individuals that are associated with Wedgwood Elementary.
The COMMUNICATIONS CHAIR shall maintain the login and password information for all Wedgwood PTA social media accounts. They may share login information or add administrators with the delegation of duties. The COMMUNICATIONS CHAIR may delegate management of Wedgwood PTA social media accounts to the SOCIAL MEDIA LEAD, as needed, while maintaining administrative access.
Social media account passwords shall be changed annually.
The COMMUNICATIONS CHAIR shall review who has administrative access to all social media accounts at least annually.
All social media posts represent the person posting, unless otherwise specified.
Wedgwood PTA social media accounts may only be used for PTA and school-related business.
Photos on public Wedgwood PTA social media posts shall not be personally identifiable, unless permission has been given by the parent/family.