TRINITY VALLEY SCHOOL PARENTS’ CLUB
Fort Worth, Texas
CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS
Revised February 11, 1991; March 7, 1995; March 10, 1997; May 2009; April 12, 2011, Sept. 2012, Feb. 2018, April 2019, May 2021, February 2024
ARTICLE I
NAME AND PURPOSE
Section 1. The name of this organization shall be “The Trinity Valley School Parents’ Club” (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the ‘Club’).
Section 2. The purpose of the Club is to engage current TVS parents and guardians in support of the School, and facilitate a positive relationship between the parent community and the school.
Section 3. The Club is nonpartisan, nonsectarian and apolitical; therefore, neither the Club, its officers, nor any person purporting to act therefore shall participate in any matters of a partisan, sectarian or political nature on behalf of the Club.
Section 4. The Club shall neither seek to direct the administrative activities of Trinity Valley School, nor shall it endeavor to control its policies. However, the Club shall endeavor to act in general matters as a liaison body among the parents, the community, the administration, and the Board of Trustees. The Club shall conduct its activities with collaboration and approval of school administration in order to work within school policies for the good of the School. All committee chairs must request President approval prior to linking the Club to any other event, media post or means of communication that uses the Club name outside of the responsibilities listed within the committee descriptions.
ARTICLE II
QUALIFICATION OF MEMBERS
Section 1. Any person who is a parent of or stands in the relation of a parent or guardian of a student at Trinity Valley School, is a member of this Club.
Section 2. Membership in the Club shall be automatically conferred to persons named in Section 1 upon a student’s enrollment in the School. There is no fee for joining. Persons may opt out of membership by stating such in writing to the attention of The Parents’ Club in care of Trinity Valley School.
ARTICLE III
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Section 1. The officers of this Club shall be President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and appropriate Standing Committee Chairs as called for by the Standing Rules. The term for elected officers shall be for a period of one year from July 1 - June 30, or until their successors have been duly elected and installed. No elected officer shall be eligible to hold the same office for more than two successive terms.
Section 2. Except for the office of President, which may be filled by succession, vacancies occurring in any other office shall be filled by appointment made by a committee consisting of the President, President-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer for the unexpired term.
Section 3. The President shall annually appoint a Nominating Committee consisting of up to five (5) members, of which not more than two (2) may be elected officeholders of the Club. The Committee shall reflect the diverse makeup of the parent body, with all Divisions represented, and members shall be approved by the Head of School and Division Heads.
Section 4. The Nominating Committee shall submit its recommendations for Officers and Directors to the Head of School for approval prior to the April meeting of the Parents’ Club Board. The consent of each potential candidate shall be obtained prior to submitting the Nominating Committee’s report to the Board. At the April meeting of the Parents’ Club Board, the nominated slate shall be submitted to the Board. An opportunity shall be given for additional nominations from the floor, and the election by the Board shall then follow.
Section 5. If there are no nominations from the floor, the election may be by voice vote. Otherwise, the election shall be by secret ballot.
Section 6. The newly elected officers shall be installed at the last regular Board of Directors meeting of the School year, with the President acting as the installing officer. The newly installed officers shall assume their duties of office on July 1 following their election or earlier if necessitated by the timing of the committee’s work.
ARTICLE IV
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section 1. The Board of Directors of this Club shall consist of all the elected officers, the immediate past president and Standing Committee Chairs as designated by the Standing Rules, including the presidents of auxiliary organizations of the Club (Trojan Booster Club and Arts Booster Club). The Head of School and the Director of Advancement are ad-hoc, non-voting members of the Board.
Section 2. The duties of this Board shall be (A) to transact all necessary business of the Club, (B) to formulate and establish plans of action for recommendation to the Club, (C) to present regular reports to the membership of the Club, (D) to appoint the chairs of all committees, (E) to submit proposals to the administration for major activities which it deems advisable and (F) to formulate all general policies of the Club.
Section 3. The Board of Directors may amend the Standing Rules by a majority vote at any regularly scheduled or specially called meeting.
Section 4. The Board of Directors shall meet no less than six times per year, and a simple majority of the members of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum. In addition, special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called by the President, in the President’s absence by the President-Elect or by any three members of the Board of Directors.
Section 5. A Director shall not be personally liable for civil damages based upon any act or omission if such Director exercise ordinary care in the discharge of the Director’s duty and/or, in good faith, relied upon the written opinion of an attorney; the books of account or reports made to the Club by any of its officials or accountants retained by the Board of Trustees. The Club shall indemnify each past, present or future Director as set forth herein. In the case of a threatened or pending suit, action, or proceeding against a Director, such person shall immediately notify the current President of the Club, in writing, of such claim or proceeding. Indemnification shall include reasonable attorney’s fees, court costs, investigation expense, and the reasonable cost of settlement or satisfaction of such liability. Such indemnification shall be provided only in those circumstances where the Club has received actual notice of the claim and been informed as to such proceedings and/or the terms of any settlement or disposition thereof. The termination of a proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction or its equivalent will not, of itself, create a presumption that such person failed to satisfy the standard of care contained in this section.
ARTICLE V
MEETINGS
Section 1. Special meetings may be called, as requested by the President, by the Board of Directors, or upon written or email request to the Board of Directors by a group consisting of at least ten (10) members of the Club. Notice of any special meetings, consisting of five (5) days or more, shall be mailed or emailed to the membership.
ARTICLE VI
RULES OF ORDER
Robert’s Rules of Order revised shall govern all meetings of this Club and all meetings of the Board of Directors, to the extent that they are not inconsistent with the Constitution and Bylaws or the Standing Rules.
ARTICLE VII
AMENDMENTS
This Constitution and Bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the Board by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the members present, provided that any proposition for adding to, deleting, or altering this Constitution and Bylaws shall have been presented to the membership at the previous regular meeting, or a copy of the amendment communicated to parents least ten (10) days prior to the meeting.
STANDING RULES
I. DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS
A. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Club and of the Board of Directors. He or she shall be a member, ex-officio, of all committees as established, except the Nominating Committee. He or she shall represent the Parents’ Club on the Board of Trustees of the School and shall perform all duties pertaining to the office. In case of absence or disability of the President, these duties shall be performed by the President-Elect and in his or her absence or disability by the Treasurer.
B. The President-Elect shall assume the duties of the President in his or her absence or disability and perform or delegate other duties delegated by the President.
C. The Secretary shall be responsible for giving notice of Parents’ Club and Board of Directors’ meetings, shall keep a correct record of the proceedings at all regular and special meetings of the Club and of the Board of Directors, shall conduct all necessary correspondence of the Club, and shall perform other duties as may be delegated.
D. The Treasurer shall work with the School’s Chief Financial Officer or his/her appointee, who receives Parents’ Club funds, to keep an accurate record of all receipts and expenditures, pay all bills and make disbursements when so directed by the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall present a current statement of accounts at each regular and at other meetings, if same is requested in advance by the President, shall make a final report for presentation at the last meeting of each year and shall perform such other duties as may be delegated to him or her.
1. Expenditures on behalf of the Parents’ Club not exceeding $500 may be made from time to time by the Treasurer in the ordinary and necessary course and scope of the business of the Parents’ Club. Expenditures on behalf of the Parents' Club that exceed the current year's approved budget, shall be made only after approval of a majority of the Board of Directors of the Parents' Club. . Expenditures requested in excess of $5,000 shall require advance notice to the Board of a vote to authorize such expenditure unless the expenditure is a part of the normal Grants for Greatness approval process.
2. All checks issued by the Parents’ Club shall be authorized by the responsible committee chair, signed by the School’s Chief Financial Officer if amount is under $1500, and counter-signed by one other designated school official if amount is over $1500.
3. All Parents’ Club and other auxiliary entities’ funds shall be managed by the School’s Business Office. The financial records of all of these entities, including the Parents’ Club, will be submitted for audit, at least annually, by the auditor for Trinity Valley School in accordance with the policy established by the Trinity Valley School Board of Trustees and in compliance with Trinity Valley School’s federal status as a 501c3 organization.
II. DUTIES OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE CHAIRS
A. All School Social (formerly Auction Chairs/Gallery Night) Chairs shall organize and supervise the Parents’ Club larger events, such as an Auction, and should alternate yearly with a more focused event, such as “Gallery Night.”
B. Each Auxiliary Organization Chair shall be President of the respective Auxiliary Organization (Trojan Booster Club and Arts Booster Club.) Additionally, all Auxiliary Organization Chairs shall make regular financial reports to the Board which include their current financial position and the activities of the Auxiliary Organization as reflected in their income and expenses. These reports will be made at each meeting of the Board and should be emailed in advance to the Treasurer in case of absence.
1. Trojan Booster Club shall be responsible for supporting all athletic programs and shall coordinate activities with the Athletic Director. The TBC operates under the PC and is subject to the same policies and procedures.
2. Arts Booster Club (ABC) shall be responsible for supporting all fine arts programs and shall coordinate activities with the faculty Fine Arts Chair. The ABC operates under the PC and is subject to the same policies and procedures.
C. Back-to-School Fair Chairs shall work with school administration in preparation of Back-to-School Fair prior to beginning of school year. They shall be responsible for coordination and supervising of all activities and volunteers surrounding the event.
D. Cafeteria Volunteer Coordinators shall collaborate with the Executive Chef to fulfill volunteer needs in the dining hall. They shall post volunteer needs on the volunteer website, send out weekly schedule reminders, keep records of volunteers that have taken the Food Handler’s class and oversee all aspects of cafeteria volunteering.
E. Data Archives Chairs shall work collaboratively with TVS Technology staff and Parents’ Club Secretary to provide and maintain access to accurate, updated content on the Parents’ Club Google Drive. The PC Drive is the repository of all essential information regarding the planning, execution, management and evaluation of PC programs and events.
F. Faculty/Staff Appreciation Chairs shall be responsible for the organization of volunteers and food for luncheons honoring all faculty and staff on the two agreed upon days per year and for assisting TVS’s Director of Human Resources and Business Office with distribution of holiday gifts for all employees.
G. Field Day Chairs shall coordinate with the Director of Physical Education and LS Division Head to organize Field Day and all required committee members and volunteers.
H. Grants for Greatness Chair(s) shall be responsible for 1) inviting grant requests from faculty, staff, and administration, 2) organizing committee meetings (The committee shall consist of the Parents’ Club President, Parents’ Club President-elect, Grants for Greatness chairs, prior year Auction/Gallery Night co-chairs, past Parents’ Club President, Parents’ Club Treasurer, Head of the School, Parents’ Club Administration liaison or his/her designee), 3) coordinating with the Administration, and 4) communicating proposed grants to the Board along with the results to those requesting grants.
I. Link Coordinators shall collaborate with the School’s Admissions office to communicate with Link Families their various responsibilities and to provide a calendar of helpful dates where Link Families may assist new families with their transition into the School. The Link Coordinators will follow-up with families that are assigned Links during the summer to ensure that each new student has been or will be contacted by their Link Family prior to the start of any back to school parties or meetings.
J. Lower School Social Event (formerly Fall Family Festival) Chairs shall organize and supervise the Parents’ Club Fall Family Festival.
K. Middle School Social Chairs should plan and execute a social event intended for Middle Schoolers and their families to promote family and student connectedness.
L. Room Parent Coordinator (Division Coordinators) shall be responsible for (a) selecting and working with all room parents in their division and (b) serving as the Division Heads’ contact to aid in distributing important information at grade levels. The Room Parent Coordinators will attend, and assist as needed, the Room Parent Orientation and break out session in August. Class-level room parents and treasurers serve, and as with all other board positions, no class-level officer shall be eligible to hold the same office for more than two consecutive terms.
M. School Supplies/Directory Chairs shall assist the LS Administrative team to distribute pre-ordered school supplies to classrooms in August before the start of school. They shall also assist the Director of Strategic Communications and Marketing with distribution of the school directory, if necessary.
N. Speaker Series Chairs shall serve as a member of a joint TVS-Parents Club steering committee focused on creating and promoting a series of parent engagement and education programs.
O. TVS Cares Chairs shall coordinate with School administration or any other member of the TVS family that knows a potential need whereby some form of assistance may be helpful during a short-term or extended crisis involving a student, family, staff, or faculty member. (e.g., illness of a parent, death in the family, illness of a sibling or student, etc.) On a case-by-case basis, the TVS Cares Chairs will determine (with Administration and/or Faculty assistance) the most logical person to contact the student’s family to offer assistance such as meals, carpooling, homework delivery, etc., and will coordinate the family’s assistance through a member of the TVS community that the family chooses. All such family situations shall be kept confidential out of respect for an individual family’s right to tell their particular story in their own manner and time. The Chairs shall also serve to help Head of School and Assistant Head of School with school-defined needs during any community crises.
P. Uniform Resale Chairs will operate the Resale Store, as well as publicize, and coordinate with Back-to-School Fair, Admissions and Division Heads for special sales as needed.
Q. Volunteer Website Chairs shall coordinate all web-based volunteer registrations and communicate volunteer information to various other committee Chairs.
R. Ex Officio members to sit on the board are Annual Giving Chairs, Admissions Council Representative, Past President, and assigned staff liaison.
