ByLaws

BYLAWS

T’CHERs (The Caribbean Center of Home Education Resources, Inc.)

ARTICLE I - DECLARATION OF PURPOSE

The Corporation is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to support and promote home education in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands by providing information regarding the entire spectrum of homeschooling, while recognizing and respecting the diverse motives, needs, and teaching styles of homeschooling families.
 

ARTICLE II - MEMBERSHIP

Section 1.  Eligibility for Membership

Membership will be open and granted to anyone who agrees with our mission statement and pays any required dues.  

Section 2.  Renewal of Membership

Membership shall be renewed annually by filling the membership application along with the payment of the dues. 

ARTICLE III - BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1. Composition

A.     The number of directors of the Corporation shall be no less than three (3) and no more than seven (7).

B.     The Board shall consist of elected officers of the Corporation (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer) and Members at Large

Section 2. Qualifications

A.  Candidates must be members of T'CHERs. 

B.  Candidates must have actively served on a T'CHERs committee for at least three months during the past year.  

Section 3.  Nomination, Election

A.     Board members shall be nominated and elected annually.

B.     The Board members at large shall act as a Nominating Committee for the purpose of elections.  In the absence of Board Members at Large, the Board shall elect or act as a Nominating Committee.

C.    The Board will notify the membership about the nominations period three months prior the Annual Meeting. Nominations from the membership must be received by the Nominating Committee at least 2 months before the date of the annual meeting.   A slate of candidates shall then be presented to the membership for consideration no more than one month after the closing of nominations.

D.     Members may vote by mail/email or in person at the annual meeting.  Votes sent in must be received, via mail or email, the Thursday before the annual meeting.

E.     Board Members are elected by plurality vote, plurality meaning that the candidate receives more "Accept" votes than "Do Not Accept" votes.

F.     At the AGM, one ballot shall be given to each family that has not already voted via mail or email.  Once filled out, all ballots (those received at the AGM, by mail, and by email) will then be counted by a two member, non-candidate, tallying committee, which shall be appointed at the time by the President.  The new Board of Officers shall then be announced.

G.     Should the candidate for Presidency receive more "Do Not Accept" votes than "Accept" votes, the position of President shall be filled by the Vice President as per Article III, Section 6, A of these Bylaws.

H.    Should any other candidate receive more "Do Not Accept" votes than "Accept" votes, their position may be filled as per Article III, Section 6, A of these Bylaws.

 

Section 4. Term of Office

A.    The term of office for Board members shall be one (1) year, unless otherwise stated in these bylaws.

B.    Board members may be reelected for unlimited terms.

Section 5.  Duties and Powers

The Board of Directors shall be obligated to uphold and represent the interests of the Corporation as a whole; are responsible for the control and management of the affairs, property, and interests of the Corporation;  and may exercise all powers of the Corporation.   The following duties are to serve as guidelines and should not be considered as a job description.

All Board members shall:

1.   Serve as Board appointed liaisons between the Board and Committees. 

2.   Perform such duties that may arise or be assigned by the Board.

3.   Not hold more than one office at a time. 

The President shall:

1.     Advise, represent, or designate a member of the Board to represent the Corporation in all transactions, public appearances, presentations, or any affair related to the realization of T'CHERs' objectives and general well-being.

2.     Call meetings of the Board whenever such meetings are necessary.

3.     Appoint committees and assign all matters requiring consideration to the proper committee, subject to the approval of the Board.

4.     Be a member ex-officio of all committees.

5.     Pass on all bills to be paid by the Treasurer.

6.     Sign checks, unless signed by the Vice President, drawn on the corporation funds.

7.     Transmit to the Board all communications and assure that they are kept abreast of pertinent information.

8.     Keep the membership informed as to pertinent official communications.

9.     Render and distribute to the membership a written annual report at the close of term of office.

10.    Have custody of official documents.

11.    Conduct the official correspondence of the corporation as agreed by the Board.

The Vice President shall:

1.     In the absence of the President, serve as the presiding officer at the meetings, presentations, public appearances and other related activities. 

2.     Sign checks, unless signed by the President, drawn on the corporation funds.

3.     Perform such duties as may be assigned by the Board.

The Secretary shall:

1.     Be responsible for taking and maintaining the minutes of all business meetings, and for the dissemination of all pertinent information.

2.     Have available at all meetings up-to-date copies of the bylaws.

3.     Maintain an updated web-based mailing list.

4.     Maintain an accurate roster of members, recently expired memberships, and prospects.

5.     Promote new memberships and renewals.

6.     Issue and distribute the membership cards for all new members and renewals.

7.     Submit membership news/announcements to the Newsletter Committee for publication.

The Treasurer shall:

1.     Be responsible for all funds of the corporation and for the records of its financial affairs.

2.     Receive and have all dues deposited within two weeks in the bank designated by the Board, except for needed petty cash.

3.     Be free to delegate the responsibilities of bookkeeping to other person/entity designated by the Board.

4.     Pay all approved bills within two weeks.

5.     Present a financial report at the request of the Board.

6.     Prepare a detailed financial report for the fiscal year, to be presented at the annual meeting.

7.     Notify all incurred debts to the Board. 

The Board Members at Large shall:

Act as or appoint a Nominating Committee for the purpose of the annual election

     
Section 6.  Vacancy, Resignation,  Removal, Transfer of Records

A.           In the event of a vacancy in the office of President, the Vice President shall succeed to that office for the remainder of the term.  A vacancy in any other Board position may be filled for the remainder of the term by a plurality vote of the members of the Board of Directors..  If the position remains vacant, the duties may be divided among the Board members for the remainder of the term.

B.           Any Board member may resign at any time by giving written notice to any other member of the Board of Directors. Such resignation shall take effect upon receipt thereof, and the acceptance of such resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective.

C.          The Board may remove any Board member for misconduct or neglect of duty by a plurality vote.  The Board shall request the written resignation of such member from the respective position.  If such resignation is not received by the Board within 3 days after such resignation has been requested, the Board is empowered to and shall thereupon declare such position vacant.

D.          Each outgoing Board member shall, as soon as possible within one (1) week after leaving their position, transfer to their successor, or to the Board, the files and records of the respective position.  Should the Treasurer vacate office before the expiration of the term, the Treasurer shall, as soon as possible within one (1) week of leaving office, transfer all records of office for the purpose of audit to the person or persons designated by the Board.

ARTICLE IV - ANNUAL MEETING, QUORUM, RESOLUTION OF AFFAIRS
 
Section 1. Annual Meeting

An annual meeting shall be held for the purposes of election of officers and the discussion and possible resolution of affairs pertaining to the Corporation.

Section 2. Quorum

Except where stated differently in these bylaws, the presence of a majority of the members of the Board of Directors will be necessary and sufficient to constitute a quorum for the commencement of the annual meeting.

Section 3. Resolution of Affairs

All affairs to be resolved at the Annual Meeting shall be done by a plurality vote of those T'CHERs members present.

ARTICLE V - COMMITTEES

All committees shall proceed in accordance with policy set forth by the Board.

ARTICLE VI - FISCAL YEAR, CONTRACTS, LOANS, DEPOSITS, DEBTS

Section 1. Fiscal Year

The fiscal year shall be from January 1 through December 31.

Section 2. Contracts

No contract shall be approved or ratified between this Corporation and any other party without the previous authorization and approval of the Board by a plurality vote.  Said authorization may be general or specific.

Section 3. Loans

No loans or advanced moneys shall be received by this Corporation, nor shall promissory notes, or any other evidence of debt be signed, without authorization of the Board of Directors.  Such authorization may be general or specific.

Section 4. Deposits

All of the Corporation's funds shall be deposited within two weeks in a bank, trustee, or any receiving institution which the Board of Directors shall choose.

Section 5. Corporation Debts

All checks, money orders, promissory notes, endorsements, and any other evidence of debt of the Corporation shall be signed by the director(s) or official(s), and in such manner, as the Board of Directors may determine.

Section 6. Expenses Reimbursements

Any member who has received approval for reimbursement of expenses shall present an itemized account of expenses to the Board.  The expenses shall be paid by the Corporation when funds are available.

ARTICLE VII - BOOKS, RECORDS, INSPECTIONS

The Corporation shall maintain in its office complete and correct records of the accounts and minutes of meetings, and shall maintain in said office a list of all members with their names and addresses.  All of the records and minutes must be in written form or in any other form that may be transcribed within two weeks.  No member of the Corporation, creditor, or any other person will have a right to inspect, copy, or remove said records, except when such a right has been conferred by law, these bylaws, or the Board.

ARTICLE VIII - DISSOLUTION

Dissolution of the Corporation shall be preceded by a disbursement of all equity to another nonprofit home education organization, to be chosen by a majority vote of the Board.

ARTICLE IX - AMENDMENTS

All bylaws of the Corporation shall be subject to amendment or repeal from time to time, and new bylaws may be made, by the unanimous vote of the Board.  The membership shall then be notified of said changes.  Membership need not be notified of grammatical, punctuation, and correlation corrections which in no way alter the intent of the respective bylaws.
 

Versión en español

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