Catholic Mission School Parent-Teacher Association
Constitution
1. Name
The name of the Association shall be the Catholic Mission School Parent-Teacher Association (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Association’)
2. Address
The address of the Association shall be situated at the address of the Catholic Mission School which is at Rutter Street, Hong Kong.
3. Aim
3.1 To promote close liaison between school and home as well as to foster friendly relations between parents, school administration and teachers, and among parents themselves so that the family education and school education can complement each other.
3.2 To promote education experience exchange among parents.
3.3 To afford the study and discussion of all matters relating to the welfare of the children
3.4 To support the development of the school.
4. Membership
4.1 Ordinary Member
All parents or guardians of current pupils shall become Ordinary Members automatically. Regardless of the number of children studying at the School, each family shall only have one membership.
4.2 Ex-officio Member
The Principal, the Vice- Principal and all the teaching staffs of the School are Ex-officio Members. No membership fee shall be payable by an Ex-officio Member. If any teaching staff is at the same time also a parent or guardian of a current pupil, he or she shall be an Ex-officio Member only and shall not be an Ordinary Member according to Clause 4.1. Moreover, no other parent of the same family with a member of the family being an Ex-officio Member can be admitted as an Ordinary Member according to Clause 4.1.
4.3 Honorary Member
Unless otherwise specified, former Principals, former Vice-Principals of the School, former Presidents of the then Catholic Mission School Parent-Teacher Association, who have served his/her complete term and are not a parent or guardian of a current pupil, and any person who has contributed to the well-being of the School or the Association may be invited by the Executive Committee of the Association to be an Honorary Member. No membership fee shall be payable by an Honorary Member. Honorary members shall not have the right to vote and shall not be eligible for election to the Executive Committee of the Association.
5. Rights and Obligations of Members
5.1 All Ordinary Members and Ex-officio Members shall have the right to elect Executive Committee and to be elected as Executive Committee, as well as the right to vote at meetings which they are entitled to attend. Honorary members shall not have the right to vote, elect and to be elected as Executive Committee according to Clause 5.1.
5.2 Members are obliged to attend General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings. Members need to abide the Constitution of the Association and the resolutions of General Meetings.
5.3 All Ordinary Members must pay annual membership fee on time. No membership fee shall be refunded once it is paid to the Association.
6. Membership Fee and Finance
6.1 The annual membership fee payable by an Ordinary Member under Clause 5.3 shall be initially set at HK$50. The Executive Committee has the right to determine the membership fee and pass a resolution through the Meetings.
6.2 The Honorary Treasurer is responsible to collect all subscriptions and deposit into the designated bank account. The transactions shall only be valid with three signatures of Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Treasurer.
6.3 All expenditure must be pre-approved by the Executive Committee. Treasurer has to report the financial condition in the General Meeting. From the cumulative surplus, the Association will keep a balance not more than Hong Kong Dollars Two Thousands as reserve fund for contingency uses.
6.4 Treasurer shall document all the expenditure for three years.
6.5 The Financial Year of the Association shall be from 1st September to 31st August. The Honorary Treasurer shall prepare the budget forecast at the beginning of every Financial Year and approved by the Standing Committees of General Meeting.
7. The General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings
7.1 The Association shall in each School Year hold a General Meeting as its Annual General Meeting in addition to any other meetings in that year, and the notices calling for meetings shall specify the meeting as such in the notice calling it and deliver not less than two weeks before meetings.
7.2 The Chairman of the Association shall, on the requisition of not less than eight Executive Committee, or 10% of the Members / 30 Members (whichever the lesser number) at the time when the Members’ requisition is received by the Association, proceed duly to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Association within one month. Only matters pertaining to such objects as set out in the requisition shall be discussed at the Extraordinary General Meeting called and convened for this purpose.
7.3 General Meeting and Extraordinary General Meeting can be reconsidered, confirm or reject the matter resolved by the Standing Committee.
7.4 No business shall be transacted at any General Meeting unless a quorum is present when the meeting proceeds to business. The quorum, in person or by proxy, for all General Meetings shall be not less than 10% or30 members (whichever the lesser number) on the date the Meeting is held. If a quorum cannot be formed, the meeting shall be dissolved. In any other case it shall stand adjourned with the President direction. If at the adjourned meeting, a quorum cannot be formed, the Members present in person shall be a quorum. All business transacted at any adjourned meeting are valid.
8. The Executive Committee
8.1 The number of members of the Executive Committee shall not be less than 15. The Executive Committee shall consist of not less than 50% Ordinary Members and not less than 5 Ex-officio Members.
Qualifications and Specific duties of office bearers:-
a. President (1 person)
- Should be elected from Ordinary Member according to Clause 4.1;
- Convene and presiding at meetings of the Executive Committee and the General Meetings;
- Leading the Association to ensure that the aim and objectives of the Association are realized.
b. Vice-President (2 persons)
- Should be elected from 1 Ordinary Member according to Clause 4.1 and 1 Ex-officio Member according to Clause 4.2;
- Associate the President to ensure that the aim and objectives of the Association are realized;
- Carrying out the role of the President in his/her absence.
c. Secretary (2 persons)
- Should be elected from 1 Ordinary Member according to Clause 4.1 and 1 Ex-officio Member according to Clause 4.2;
- To be responsible for the documentation and filing of the minutes of meetings as well as all secretarial support for the Executive Committee.
d. Treasurer (2 persons)
- Should be elected from 1 Ordinary Member according to Clause 4.1 and 1 Ex-officio Member according to Clause 4.2;
- To be responsible for the collection and disbursement of funds and has to report in the Executive Committee Meetings and to prepare an audited financial statement to report in the Annual General Meeting.
e. Academic (minimum 2 persons)
- Should be elected from at least 1 Ordinary Member and 1 Ex-officio Member;
- Responsible for all matters related to academic.
f. Recreation (Minimum 2 persons)
- Should be elected from at least 1 Ordinary Member and 1 Ex-officio Member;
- Responsible for planning and implementing all recreational activities.
g. Welfare (Minimum 2 persons)
- Responsible for all matters about welfare and the privileges of members.
h. Communication Officer (minimum 2 persons)
- Responsible for all internal and external communication.
8.2 The term of office of the office-bearers shall be 2 years and can be renewed f re-elected provided always that if the child or the children of any office-bearer shall leave the School during the term of office of such office-bearer, such officer-bearer shall remain in his/her office until the end of his/her current term. The term of President can only re-elected once. The number of vacancies of the Executive Committee to be filled up in each Annual General Meeting shall be determined by the Executive Committee.
8.3 The Executive Committee shall hold at least 3 meetings every year.
8.4 The Executive Committee meeting shall be hold unless a quorum is present. The quorum shall consist of at least 50% of the total number of office-bearers. If a quorum cannot be formed, the meeting shall be cancelled and an adjourned meeting shall be convened within 2 weeks. When the vote on the motion, the President has the power of decision vote if votes of for and against are the same.
8.5 The Supervisor and the Principal of School are the advisors of the Executive Committee, will provide advice but no voting rights.
9. Incorporated Management Committee (hereinafter referred to as ‘IMC’ Parent Manager Election Details
9.1 Catholic Mission School Parent-Teacher Association is the one and only one PTA recognized by Catholic Mission School.
9.2 Number of IMC Parent Manager:
IMC has the Parent Manager and the Alternate Parent Manager. The candidate who obtains the greatest number of votes shall be nominated for registration as the Parent Manager whereas the one who obtains the next greatest number of votes shall be nominated for registration as the Alternate Parent Manager.
9.3 The Candidature
9.3.1 All parents of current pupils of the school are eligibleto become candidates. A parent in relation to a pupil includes a guardian of the pupil and a person who is not the parent or guardian of the pupil but have the actual custody of the pupil;
9.3.2 A parent should not be nominated in the event of the following situations:
(a) He/she is a serving teacher of the school (because teachers can join the IMC in the capacity of teacher managers); or
(b) He /she does not meet the registration requirements of managers set out in Section 30 of the Education Ordinance.
9.3.3 As stipulated in the Education Ordinance, no manager shall serve in an IMC in more than one capacity.
9.4 Number & Tenure
9.4.1 The IMC should specify the number and tenure of office of parent manager(s) and an alternate parent manager (if applicable) in its constitution. Generally, the term of office of a parent manager is recommended to come into effect on 1 September and terminate on 31 August. Since the PTA may not be able to conduct the election of parent managers before 1 September, it is recommended that the election should be conducted within the period from September to November. The PTA should then nominate to the IMC the parent elected for registration as a parent manager. Otherwise, in accordance with section 40AU of the Ordinance, if the post of parent manager is vacant for more than three months, the IMC should apply to the Permanent Secretary for further extension of the period for filling the vacancy.
9.4.2 A person shall not serve as a Manager for more than 2 consecutive terms.
Nomination Procedures
9.5 Election Supervisor
9.5.1 The IMC shall appoint an Ex-officio Member as an Election Supervisor;
9.5.2 The appointed Election Supervisor has to monitor the nominations and supervise the issue of ballot and counting of votes.
9.6 Nomination
9.6.1 A parent may nominate oneself or another eligible candidate to stand for the election. School may also nominate any eligible candidate to stand for the election.
9.6.2 If the number of candidates less than the number of vacancies, the Association may consider extending the deadline of nomination. The nomination procedures must be reasonable in order to ensure that the mechanism is fair, open and simple.
9.7 Nomination Period
The nomination period shall be at least one calendar week
9.8 Duties of Parent Manager
Parent Manager is one of the Managers of the IMC which manages the School and promotes education in the School. Parent Manager shall act in his/her personal capacity for the interests and benefits of the pupils of the School. The Parent Manager will represent parents of the School to participate as key stakeholders in school management and decision-making.
9.9 Candidates’ Information
9.9.1 Each nominated candidate should provide a brief statement (around 100 words) of his/her personal information to Election Supervisor;
9.9.2 Not less than 7 days before the election day, the Election Supervisor should issue a voting circular to all parents listing the names of the candidates being nominated. The brief introductory statements of the candidates including their declarations should be attached. The nominated candidates should agree to publish their personal information.
9.10 Appeal
Unsuccessful candidate(s) may within one week of the announcement, appeal to the Association in writing together with reasons. The Executive Committee should stipulate in its constitution an appeal mechanism for the election of Parent Managers and ensure that the mechanism is fair.
9.11 Electors’ Eligibility
All parents of current pupils of the school are eligible to vote. A teacher of the school who is the parent of a current pupil of the school also has the right to vote. Every eligible elector has equal voting right. Every parent should vote individually and should have only one vote irrespective of the number of children at the school. For simplicity sake, the PTA may give pupils two votes each for their parents to vote. On request, a ballot paper may be given to the guardian of the pupil or the person who has the actual custody of the pupil.
9.12 Voting
9.12.1 The period between the date of voting for Parent Manager election and the deadline of nomination should at least be two weeks;
9.12.2 To ensure a fair election, the voting should be conducted by secret ballot, i.e. electors are not allowed to put down their names or any other marks of identification on the ballot paper and should not let the other electors see whom they have voted for;
9.12.3 A ballot box shall be make available for the election. It should be locked and the key should be kept by the Election Supervisor. The Election Supervisor can specify in the election procedures which voting methods the parents may adopt. If parents are requested to vote in person in the school, the Election Supervisor should inform all parents in advance of such arrangements and specify clearly the date, time and venue of the voting. If parents are allowed to ask their children to return their ballot papers to the class teachers, the ballot papers should be sealed in envelopes specifically designed for that purpose before placing them into the ballot box.
9.13 Counting of votes
The duty should process by the Election Supervisor and parent Executive Committee.
9.14 Witness the counting of vote
Should arrange a counting session and invite all parents, all candidates, and/or the Principal to attend and witness the counting of votes.
9.15 A ballot paper will be deemed to be invalid if:-
9.15.1 the number of candidates marked on the ballot paper exceeds the number that is allowed; or
9.15.2 the ballot paper has not been marked properly; or
9.15.3 the ballot paper is marked in such a way that the identity of the elector can be traced; or
9.15.4 the ballot paper does not has school stamp; or
9.15.5 a photocopy ballot paper.
9.16 The candidate who obtains the greatest number of votes shall be nominated for registration as the Parent manager whereas the one who obtains the next greatest number of votes shall be nominated for registration as the Alternate Parent Manager.
9.17 In the event of two or more candidates receiving the same number of greatest votes, the result shall be decided by drawing lots by the Election Supervisor.
9.18 After the election, the Election Supervisor should put all the cast ballot papers in an envelop, which will then be signed and sealed by him/her and the chairperson of PTA. The envelope and the cast ballot papers should be kept by the PTA for at least six months. This is to facilitate investigations in case of allegations against voting irregularity.
9.19 The Election Supervisor should announce the result right after counting the votes and update the voting result through School website within 1 day. The Election Supervisor may issue a letter informing all parents of the results of the election.
9.20 Follow-up Action after Election
9.20.1 The Association shall nominate to the IMC the parent(s) elected as the Parent Manager(s) of the school. The IMC shall then apply to the Permanent Secretary for Education the registration of the elected parent(s) as school manager(s).
9.20.2 The PTA should nominate to the IMC the parent(s) elected as the parent manager(s) of the school. The IMC shall then apply to the Permanent Secretary the registration of the elected parent(s) as school manager(s).
9.21 Filling of Casual Vacancies
9.21.1 If a parent manager whose child is no longer a current pupil of the school during his/her term of office, he/she shall continue to be the manager until the term of office expires or the end of the school year, whichever is the earlier.
9.21.2 If the parent manager or an alternate parent manager vacancy arises within six months after the election, the third most voted will be promote to be the alternate parent manager and the alternate parent manger will promote to be the parent manager.
9.21.3 If the parent manager or an alternate parent manager vacancy arises after six months the election completed, the PTA shall conduct a by-election I the same manner to elect another parent manager to fill the vacancy within three months. If the PTA cannot conduct the by-election accordingly, the IMC shall apply on good grounds to the Permanent Secretary for further extension of the period for filling the vacancy.
9.22 Appendix
The activities and the businesses of the Association shall not conflict with our laws, regulations of education and the School administration program.
10. Others
10.1 This Constitution is transacted at General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting. Any alternation, amendment or addition to this Constitution shall be subject majority of the Voting Members present in person or by proxy and eligible to vote.
10.2 The Association may be dissolved only by a resolution of not less than two third (2/3) of all Members at the time the vote is taken.
10.3 Upon the dissolution of the Association, the assets, after satisfying any outstanding debts and liabilities, shall be distributed to IMC in such manner as is consistent with the aim and objectives of the Association.
