Proposed Change to Bylaws and Standing Rules

Presented by Bylaws and Standed Rules Committee at the PTSA General Membership meeting on October 20th

By the request of the Texas PTA to review and update the Lively Middle School PTSA Bylaws, the Bylaw Committee would like to provide the membership with 30 days to review the following recommendations, in order to vote on them at our next general PTSA meeting on November 17th:

1-  To add a third VP of Programs & Resources to the executive officer slate to help redistribute some of the responsibilities of the first VP of Fundraising and 2nd VP of Membership to the bylaws, and

2- add the following Credit/Debit Card usage guidelines for the Lively PTSA Standing Rules:  

1. Debit card is issued only to the treasurer who is authorized to use the debit card and the use of the debit card is to be limited to scenarios where payment by check is impossible or exceedingly inconvenient (specialty online purchases or online payment only option)
2. The credit limit should not exceed half of the income on the budget approved at the annual meeting.
3. No cash transactions (ATM, cash back, etc.) are allowed.
4. The debit card is in the possession of the Treasurer and used via a checkout log. The log should include an agreement that sales tax will not be reimbursed unless pre-approved by the executive board. The log is then reconciled to the statement prior to payment.
5. A reimbursement form is completed and approved prior to debit card use. The form must indicate the debit card will be used. The reimbursement form should have a ‘not to exceed amount’ that is approved by two approvers
6. Following the purchase, the receipt is given to the Treasurer and attached to the funds request form within 24 – 48 hours of debit card use and the reimbursement form should be updated with the exact amount charged (if different from the original request) and shared with the approver
7. If sales tax is paid for the credit card purchase, the card user reimburses the PTA unless prior approval has been granted by the executive board
8. A change in signer on the checking account requires a change in signer on the credit card, and a financial reconciliation shall be performed. This applies when fraud or misuse of the card has been discovered.
9.  If the card is lost or stolen, the account must be reconciled to identify any unauthorized transactions.

We will vote on these changes at our November PTSA General Membership Meeting on November 17th.

Voting

Individuals may participate in the business of the Local PTSA upon remitting dues and membership information to the Local PTSA. Members’ names and dues must be sent to Texas PTA by the Local PTSA by the end of each month.