BYLAWS OF BERRYESSA CHINESE SCHOOL
May 13, 1995
The School is open to all interest persons regardless of race, creed, color, sex, age, or national origin. Children must be four (4) years old or older on Dec. 2 of the calendar year to be admitted to the School.
Any class with an enrollment of less than 14 students may be dissolved, but the Board may decide to keep the class.
Section 2.1 General Membership
General Membership consists of the followings:
Each member has one vote during the General Meeting.
Section 2.2 Honorary Membership
Honorary Membership may be nominated and elected by the Board of Directors. Honorary Member does not vote.
Section 2.3 Principal Emeritus Membership
Past Principals/Chairpersons of the Board shall be Members of the School. Each member has one vote during the General Meeting.
Section 2.4 Dues
Membership dues structure shall be determined by the Board of Directors.
Section 2.5 Obligation of Members
The School is a co-operative organization. Every member (parent) has to serve the School at least three(3) hours each semester.
Section 2.6 Liability of Members
No member of this School shall be personally or otherwise liable for any of the debts, liabilities and/or obligations of the School.
Section 3.1 The Board of Directors
3.1.1 The Board of Directors, alias the Board of Parents-teachers of the School, hereinafter referred to as the Board, shall administer the policies and shall be responsible for the week-to-week operation of the School.
3.1.2 The authorized number of Directors shall not exceed 47.
3.1.3 The Principal of the School shall be the Chairperson of the Board.
Section 3.2 Directors
3.2.1 Officers
| a. | Principal (1) |
| b. | Vice Principal, Curriculum (1) |
| c. | Dean of Instructions: Mandarin (1) Cantonese (1) Cultural (1) Associate Deans: Mandarin (4) Cantonese (3) Cultural (3) |
| d. | Vice Principal, Administrations (1) |
| e. | Campus Managers (3) |
| f. | Dean of Finance (1) Associate Deans (3) |
| g. | Dean of Human Resources (1) Associate Dean (1) |
| h. | Dean of Registration & Information Technology (1) Associate Deans (3) |
| i. | Dean of Activities (1) Associate Deans (3) |
| j. | Secretary (1) |
| k. | Liaison Officer, School District Affairs (1) |
3.2.2 Teachers Representatives (2)
3.2.3 Ex-Officio
The immediate past Board Chairperson and/or Principal shall be ex-officio members of the Board of Directors.
3.2.4 Advisors
The Board may appoint 1 or 2 Advisor(s) to the Board.
Section 3.3 Election and Terms
3.3.1 The Board shall appoint a nomination committee before April. The number in the Committee shall be at the discretion of the Board. The Secretary shall be the Chairperson of the Nomination Committee. The Nomination Committee shall complete a slate of candidate in April. The slate of candidate shall be presented to and elected by the General Membership at the General Meeting in or before June. Nominations from the floor shall be accepted. The Chairperson of the Nomination Committee shall announce the results of the election at the same General Meeting.
3.3.2 The term of the Board Members shall be one year commencing September 1st immediately following the election and shall cease August 31st immediately thereafter.
3.3.3 The Board Member may resign from the job by submitting a resignation letter to the Board. The Board may appoint a substitute before the next election.
3.3.4 A special election shall be called to fill the vacancy created by recall.
3.3.5 There may be 2 Teachers Representative to the Board. Teachers Representative are elected from and by the teachers within two (2) weeks after the beginning of each semester. They will not be elected at the General Meeting. Elected Representative(s) must register to the Board to serve as Director(s).
3.3.6 Parents Representatives are elected from each class within two(2) weeks after the beginning of each semester. They will not be elected at the General Meeting.
Section 3.4 Fees and Compensation
Directors shall not receive any compensation for their services, however, they may receive reimbursement for expenses as determined by the Board.
Section 3.5 Advisory Committee
3.5.1 The Principal of the School shall be the chairperson of the Advisor Committee.
3.5.2 Advisory Committee is made of Principal, Ex-Officio, Advisor(s), Vice Principal-Curriculum, Vice Principal-Administration, up to two (2) principal Emeritus and up to two (2) general members. Committee members that are Principal Emeritus or general members shall be appointed by the Principal/Chairperson of the Board.
3.5.3 Advisory Board shall not exceed 9 members.
Section 4.1 Regular Business Meeting(s)
Regular business meetings shall be held once a month while the School is in session. The date and place of the regular meetings shall be announced to the School members at the beginning of the school year.
Section 4.2 Special Business Meeting(s)
Special business meeting(s) may be called by either one of the followings:
4.2.1 The School Principal
4.2.2 The School Vice Principals
4.2.3 The Secretary
4.2.4 A petition submitted to the Secretary by at least three (3) Board Members.
4.2.5 A petition submitted to the Secretary by at least one fifth (1/5) of all General Members
Section 4.3 Participants
All regular and special meetings shall be open at all times to the School members.
Section 4.4 Business Meeting Chairperson
The School Principal, or the Vice Principals when Principal is absent, shall chair the Business Meetings.
Section 4.5 Vote
A two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Board of Directors present is sufficient to pass any motion.
Section 4.6 Board Hearing
Any School member may petition for a Board hearing to the Secretary if necessary.
Section 5.1 Regular General Meeting
There shall be at least one(l) regular general meeting prior to the end of June each year to elect new officers.
Section 5.2 Special General Meeting
Special general meetings may be called by the Board of Directors. A special general meeting may also be called through a petition to the Secretary by at least one-fifth(1/5)of the general membership. Special general meeting requires at least one week written notice.
Section 5.3 General Meeting Chairperson
General Meetings shall be chaired by the School Principal.
Section 5.4 Vote
A two-thirds(2/3) vote of the Board of Directors present and a simple majority vote of those School members present are sufficient to pass any motion.
Section 5.5 Quorum
A quorum of the School shall be those School members present in the general meeting.
Section 6.1 Principal shall be responsible for:
6.1.1 acting as representative and coordinator of all official functions
6.1.2 preparing the School program, submitting it to the Board, and executing it after the Board approved.
Section 6.2 Vice Principal, Curriculum shall be responsible for:
6.2.1 administering the Academic system, Teacher system, Parent system and Student system.
6.2.2 providing guidelines for the execution of Academic system, Teacher system, Parent system and student system.
6.2.3 coordinating each individual section (Mandarin, Cantonese and Cultural) of the school.
6.2.4 setting up of the annual academic plan
Section 6.3 Dean of Instructions shall be responsible for:
6.3.1 the instructions and curriculum of the responsible section (Mandarin, Cantonese or Cultural) of the School.
6.3.2 the execution of the Academic system, Teacher system, Parent system and Student system.
Section 6.4 Vice Principal, Administrations shall be responsible for:
6.4.1 administrating the week-to-week operation of the School
6.4.2 coordinating operational issues among Campus Managers, Finance, Registration and Activities.
Section 6.5 Campus Manager shall be responsible for:
6.5.1 administrating the school environment of the School campus
6.5.2 maintaining the safety of the campus attendees
6.5.3 coordinating operational issues on the School campus
6.5.4 managing and organizing Parent representatives on the campus
Section 6.6 Dean of Finance shall be responsible for:
6.6.1 administrating the finance and treasury operation of the school
Section 6.7 Dean of Human Resources shall be responsible for:
6.7.1 recruiting contractors
6.7.2 administering personnel affairs
6.7.3 assisting in staff development
Section 6.8 Dean of Registration & Information Technology shall be responsible for:
6.8.1 conducting registration for all classes(Mandarin, Cantonese, and Culture) and maintaining students records
6.8.2 training, implementing and utilizing information technologies for the School applications.
Section 6.9 Dean of School Activities shall be responsible for:
6.9.1 extra-curricular, social and fund raising activities
Section 6.10 Secretary shall be responsible for:
6.10.1 administering all documents, minutes, records of the school
6.10.2 calling all regular meetings
6.10.3 chairing the Nomination Committee
Section 6.11 Liaison Officer of School District Affairs shall be responsible for:
6.11.1 coordinating and handling School District affairs
6.11.2 coordinating Bay Area School
6.11.3 reviewing of Bylaws
Section 6.12 Teachers Representatives shall be responsible for:
6.12.1 providing teachers input to the Board
Section 6.13 Advisory Board shall be responsible for:
6.13.1 Developing Strategic plan for the School.
6.13.2 Providing advice and recommendations to the Board
6.13.3 Chairing subcommittees on selective tasks.
Section 7.1 Application
Teacher applicants shall be interviewed by the Dean of Instructions or Dean of Human Resources. Vice Principal, curriculum and/or the Principal. They shall be recommended to the Board for approval. The appointed teachers are General Members of the School.
Section 7.2 Term
The term of a new teacher shall be one(l) semester for each appointment, and thereafter, may be reinstated for each subsequent semester by the Dean of Instructions, Dean of Human Resources, Vice Principal, curriculum or Principal. Teacher who intends to resign should inform the Board as early as possible.
Section 7.3 Teacher Representatives
Teachers may elect among themselves two representatives to the Board.
Section 7.4 Teaching Assignments
Teacher shall report to the Dean of Instructions and the Vice Principal, curriculum and accept assignments accordingly.
Section 7.5 Duties
Duties of Teachers shall be defined by the Dean of Instructions and Vice Principal, curriculum.
When not in conflict with this Bylaws, the Robert Rules of Order shall be the Parliamentary Authority.
Any Board of Directors or Officers may be recalled by at least two-thirds(2/3) majority of all School Members.
Amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws must be presented in writing to the Board in a Business meeting. The Constitution and Bylaws may be amended by the passage of two-thirds(2/3) of the Board of Directors in a Business meeting followed by the ratification by a majority vote of the General Membership in a General Meeting.