PCHEA - Pottawatomie County Home Educators' Association

Isaiah 54:13 "And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children."

Jul. 5, 2006

PCHEA's Constitution & By-laws

Pott. County Home Educators' Association
Constitution & By-laws

Art. I – Name
    Pott. County Home Educators' Association or PCHEA

Art. II - Our Mission/Purpose
    We are an OCHEC affiliated support group. Oklahoma Central Home Educators' Consortium has affiliated support groups statewide. Our elected officers must agree to OCHEC's criteria for leading a support group, and at least one of the elected officers must sign OCHEC’s Christian Statement of Faith.
    We are Christian in orientation and leadership, as are most of our members, but we do not exclude anyone on the basis of their beliefs, nor do we ask members to sign a statement of faith. We do however, expect our members to sign and abide by our code of conduct section. We are diverse with families from all walks of life. Fami-lies in our group espouse various educational philosophies, use a wide spectrum of curricula, and teach children at many levels, from pre-school through high-school.
    We are committed to home educators; to help each other accomplish our educational goals, to support one another in love, and to strengthen and promote quality home education in our area. We accomplish these goals by offering the following:

1. PCHEA will provide members with a monthly newsletter

2. Provide educational events and services to help parents become better teachers

3. Provide up to date political information and state rules affecting home education.

4. Provide various opportunities for home schooling families to socialize with one another.

    Members are free to organize their own creative activities or socials for home school families, and advertise them in the PCHEA newsletter. See section on newsletter guidelines.

Art. III - Membership
    Membership is open to anyone home educating one or more children ages K through l2th grades. To join, one must sign and agree to abide by the Code of Con-duct, complete a Member Information Form, and return it with the dues to the Treasurer/Secretary. Members will receive a monthly newsletter. Privileges of mem-bership include all sponsored activities, parties, and field trips; some of which will cost money for members to participate in.

    Dues - Dues are $10 per year, which covers membership from August through July. Dues may be renewed from May through August (summer) for the upcoming year.

    Directory - Each member will receive a member directory. The directory is strictly confidential and for the use of members of the support group only. The direc-tory must not be used for any type of solicitation. Also, calls will not be made to the members as a whole unless there is need of notification of changes in schedules of PCHEA events. Misuse of the directory could result in termination of one's member-ship.

    Newsletter - The newsletter will be mailed out by the 25th of each month. Deadlines for submissions are the 15th of each month. PCHEA information will be given top priority, then other items of interest pertaining to homeschoolers. Any other submissions will be viewed individually for publication.

Art. IV - Meetings
    PCHEA will conduct at least two meetings per year: one spring planning meeting to plan for the upcoming year, and one business meeting in the fall, (usually at the back to school fair ) to finalize plans made in the spring. Members may vote to have more meetings during the year.

Art. V – Officers, Election of Officers and Voting Procedures
    The elected officers of PCHEA shall be the Leader, Secretary, and Treasurer. They must be members in good standing with a minimum of two (2) years home schooling experience. They must also agree to and uphold OCHEC's criteria for leaders, and at least one officer must agree to and sign OCHEC's Christian Statement of Faith and leader agreement form.

    Terms of office shall be for two (2) years, but if no one else steps up for election, and the officer is willing, they may be re-elected for a second term. If for some reason one of the officers cannot serve the length of their term, the other two remaining officers will appoint someone to fill the position for the remainder of the current school year.

    To be considered for a leadership position in PCHEA, a member must submit in writing their vision and desire for leading. This will be published in the March Newsletter, along with a written ballot, and sent to all PCHEA members. Members can question candidates at their own convenience if they so desire. In the event that only one person volunteers to fill a position, no vote will be taken and that person will automatically be selected to fill the position for which he/she volunteers. If two or more persons volunteer for the same position, members will receive a ballot in the March newsletter and can vote for the candidate of their choice. Ballots must be received by the PCHEA secretary by March 15. All voting ballots may either be mailed through the U.S. Post Office, or copied and e-mailed to the secretary by the due date. No phone-in votes will be allowed.

    Official installation of new officer(s) will be either during the Awards Night, or at an installation meeting.

Art. VI - Duties of Officers and Event Coordinators

    The Leader shall preside at all meetings for PCHEA. The leader shall also be the contact person for sending information to prospects on home education and/or PCHEA. The Treasurer will be responsible for all money paid to PCHEA, and the dis-bursement of money for the operation of PCHEA. He/she shall maintain a bank account and records as well as any other balance sheets and financial information. The Secretary will be responsible for keeping minutes at all business meetings or called meetings. He/she shall maintain the membership names and directory and keep the newsletter editor updated of new member information.

The officers are to lead PCHEA together, making all decisions concerning
PCHEA together. The officers shall be the official representatives of PCHEA. The officers shall be ex-officio members of all committees established. The officers will be responsible for the general planning of the PCHEA Calendar each year

    Event Coordinators—Each PCHEA sponsored event for the year will have an Event Coordinator. Members may volunteer to fill Event Coordinator positions. Event Coordinators do not have the power of authority to conduct any business on behalf of PCHEA without officers’ consent. Event Coordinators have the responsibility of planning any aspects that relate to or are required by the specific event for which they are the coordinator. Exact dates and times for PCHEA sponsired events should first be approved by the PCHEA leader, before being announced to the whole group.

Art. VII- Conflict resolution
    Any conflicts, concerns, or problems pertaining to PCHEA and it's activities must be submitted in writing to the leader, secretary, or treasurer - the elected officers only. If concerns are not submitted in writing, it cannot be documented, and it will be assumed that it is not a valid point needing action. If necessary, any member may meet with the officers to discuss the situation.

Art. VIII - Amendment of By-laws
1. The constitution and by-laws may be amended at any PCHEA meeting by a
two thirds majority vote of all the members (not just 2/3 of the members who may be present at the meeting) provided that notice of the proposed amendment has been given to the membership fifteen days prior to the meeting.

or

2. A written change was presented to all members, with members having a chance to read the proposed changes and then cast their paper/written ballot for or against the changes.   The ballots not returned to the secretary by the date indicated on the ballot will become null and void, thus resulting in the member losing his/her opportunity to vote.