CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS

PREAMBLE
Since it is imperative for a people to give greater expression to those ideas which it believes vital to the progress of education; and since special efforts to strengthen, preserve, and protect the good community schools of Texas are necessary, we do hereby establish this Constitution of the Texas Association of Community Schools.

ARTICLE I
Name
The name of this Association shall be the Texas Association of Community Schools.  A community school shall be defined as a school district which has no more than one high school.

ARTICLE II
Purpose
Section 1.  The purpose of this organization shall be to promote the progress of
education in the State of Texas.  In pursuit of this objective, the Association will do the
following:

• Work for the improvement of instruction in the Community Schools of the State.
• Provide means by which educators may seek self-improvement by participation in professional growth programs.
• Support legislation which will enhance the opportunities and abilities of Community Schools to provide quality education programs.
• Cooperate with other organizations dedicated to such purpose.           

ARTICLE III
Memberships, Dues and Meetings
Section 1.  Membership in the Texas Association of Community Schools (TACS) shall consist of Institutional, Individual, Professional, Associate, Affiliate and Honorary Life. 

Membership Year
The membership year begins on August 1 and ends on July 31 of the following year.

Institutional Membership
School districts in the State of Texas, which have no more than one high school in the district, are eligible to become Institutional Members of the Texas Association of Community Schools.  A representative designated by the institutional member school shall be the voting delegate from the school district.  Institutional membership fees shall be based on average daily attendance.  The Executive Committee has the authority to increase dues up to the cost of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Individual Membership
All employees of a school district which is an institutional member of the Texas Association of Community Schools shall be eligible to be individual members of the TACS on the payment of required dues and shall be entitled as such to purchase professional liability and other association approved insurance at cost plus any additional surcharge or fee agreed between TACS and the issuing agent, attend community school workshops, have access to all TACS publications at cost, serve on committees and have other privileges provided by this constitution.  Individual membership dues shall be set by the Executive Committee of TACS.

Professional Membership
All employees of a (non-subscribing) school district which is an institutional member of the Texas Association of Community Schools shall be eligible to be individual members of the TACS on the payment of required dues and shall be entitled as such to purchase professional liability and other association approved insurance at cost plus any additional surcharge or fee agreed between TACS and the issuing agent, attend community school workshops, have access to all TACS publications at cost, serve on committees and have other privileges provided by this constitution.  Individual membership dues shall be set by the Executive Committee of TACS.

Associate Membership
All persons who are interested in preserving quality education through the community school concept may become Associate Members of the organization upon payment of the association membership dues.  Associate Members shall have all rights and privileges of the Association except the right to vote and to hold office.  Associate Membership dues shall be determined by the Executive Committee of TACS.

Affiliate Membership
An Affiliate Membership in TACS is available to educators or groups of educators wishing to pursue public school interests.  Affiliate groups may have their own Board of Directors, Constitution and Bylaws and membership structure   independent of TACS.  Affiliate groups will pay a service fee to TACS in exchange for membership related services.  This fee will be approved by the Executive Committee of TACS.

Honorary Life Membership
Honorary Life Membership may be chosen by a vote of the Executive Committee of the Texas Association of Community Schools in recognition of distinguished service to community schools.  All nominees shall be screened and recommended by a special committee appointed by the President.

ARTICLE IV
Officers, Executive Committee and Election
Section 1.
Officers of this Association shall be:
1.       President
2.       President-Elect
3.       Vice President
4.       Immediate Past President
5.       Executive Committeepersons

Section 2.  Selection of the Vice President
The Vice President must have been affiliated with a school district or education service center which is an Institutional Member of this Association for two consecutive years prior to the election, and must have been a member of the Executive Committee for two years prior to his/her nomination.  The Vice President shall be elected by a majority vote of the membership.  Each member school district shall have one vote.
Nominating Committee will certify the eligibility of nominees to be placed on the ballot.

• An eligible candidate must agree to serve the Association as an Officer for four years, provided they consent to be a candidate.
• All eligible nominees who agree to serve will be placed on the ballot.
• Ballots will be mailed to each member school district in the spring.
• Ballots will be returned to the TACS office within 10 working days.
• Results will be announced to the membership by mail.
• In the event one candidate does not get a majority of the votes cast, a runoff ballot with the names of the top two vote recipients will be mailed to the membership.
• Runoff election ballots must be returned within 10 working days after they are mailed to the membership.
• Runoff election ballots will be tabulated and the results announced by mail.

Section 3.  The President-Elect shall be President of the Texas Association ofCommunity Schools after one year’s service as President-Elect.  The Vice President shall become President-Elect after one year’s service as Vice-President.

Section 4.  The Executive Committee shall be composed of the President, President-Elect, Vice President, Immediate Past President, TACS Executive Committee member of each Education Service Center Region and TACS Legislative Chairperson.

The Executive Committee election will take place after the Vice President has been elected.  The length of term for an Executive Committee member is two years.  An Executive Committee member will serve for no more then two consecutive terms.  After serving two consecutive terms, a member would not be eligible to serve again for a minimum of two years.  Individuals running against incumbents on the executive committee must have signatures from 50% of the members in the region.

The Executive Committee member will become ineligible if they have missed three meetings of the Committee in a two year term, or if the employing school district of the Executive Committee member has not paid their annual dues in full by December 1 of any year.

Each Executive Committee member is required to be employed in a school district or education service center which is a current Institutional Member.

Executive Committee members will be elected by ballot using the following procedures:
A. Nomination forms will be mailed to each community schools Superintendent in each of the twenty regions.
B. The two individuals receiving the most nominations in each region will be placed on the ballot.  If only one person is nominated in that region then that person is elected to the Executive Committee.
C. Ballots will be returned to their respective regions for voting.
D. If there is a tie for a place on the ballot, all individuals tying for the place will be placed
on the ballot unless one nominee receives nominations from a majority of the school
districts in the region.  In the event, that person will become the Executive Committee member without ballots being mailed to the membership.
E. There shall be an alternate in each region.  The individual receiving the most votes from the region will begin a two year term in June after their induction and serve for two consecutive years.  The individual receiving the second highest number of votes will be elected Alternate for two years.  Should the Executive Member resign or become ineligible to serve the Alternate would become the Executive Member.
F. Should the Alternate become an Executive Member, an election will be held in the region for an Alternate.  Should the Alternate Member become ineligible, an election will be held in that region for an Alternate.

Section 5.  The Executive Director of TACS shall be elected by the Executive Committee and serve as secretary-treasurer of the Association.

ARTICLE V
Amendments
This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of the members voting either by mail ballot or at any regular or called meeting of the membership.  Notice of the amendment must be given to the members at least twenty-four hours before the vote is taken, except in the instance of a mail ballot.  A two week notice is required before an amendment is made by mail ballot.

BYLAWS
ARTICLE I
AMENDMENTS
Duties and Terms of Office
Section 1.  Each Officer shall take office in June after their induction and serve for one year, or until his/her successor is elected.  In case a vacancy occurs, it shall be filled by the Executive Committee to finish the unexpired term.  The fiscal year shall be June 1 – May 31.
Section 2.  The President shall preside at all meetings.  He/she shall appoint all committees not otherwise provided for in the Bylaws and be an ex-officio member.
Section 3.  The President-Elect shall preside in the absence of the President and act as chairperson of the Program Committee.  The duty of the Program Committee shall be to make all necessary arrangements for programs at all regular meetings for the Association.
Section 4.  The Vice President shall preside in the absence of the President and President-Elect.
Section 5.  The Executive Director and Director of Administrative Services shall sign all vouchers.  If either the Executive Director or Director of Administrative Services are absent for an extended period of time due to circumstances beyond their control, the Officers of the Association will appoint another individual to co-sign all vouchers.

The Executive Director and all other paid employees of the Association will perform all duties as prescribed in the job descriptions for their positions.  Job descriptions will be approved by the Executive Committee. 

The Executive Director may be awarded as much as a two year contract to be considered for renewal by the Executive Committee one year prior to expiration.

ARTICLE II
Executive Committee
Section 1.  The Executive Committee shall meet at the annual meeting or at the call of the President or the majority of the Executive Committee members.  It shall be the duty of the Committee to act upon business which is to be presented and to fill vacancies which may arise between meetings as herein provided.
Section 2.  Members of the Executive Committee shall serve for two years or until their successors are duly elected.

ARTICLE III
Special Committees
Section 1.  There shall be the following special committees:  Budget, Audit, Nominating, Legislative and such others as may be created by the President.
Section 2.  Special committees, except the Nominating Committee, shall be composed of a minimum of three (3) members, and shall be appointed by the President.  Any person so appointed to any special committee shall be an institutional member of the Texas Association of Community Schools.
Section 3.  The Nominating Committee shall be composed of not fewer than five (5) not more than seven (7) members. The committee appointed by the President shall be approved by a majority of the Executive Committee, provided that not more than one (1) member so appointed to the Nominating Committee shall be selected from one region.
Section 4.  The Legislative Committee members will serve for two consecutive years.

ARTICLE IV
Standing Committees
Section 1.  The President shall appoint standing committees:  Membership and such others as may be created by the Executive Committee.  Each standing committee shall be composed of a minimum five (5) members, who shall be members of the Texas Association of Community Schools and who shall serve for a term of one year.  Any vacancy on any standing committee created from any cause shall be filled by appointment by the President.
Section 2.  The duties of the Membership Committee shall be to promote active memberships in the Texas Association of Community Schools.
Section 3.  The President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.

ARTICLE V
Meetings
Section 1.  The annual meeting of the Texas Association of Community Schools shall be set by the President, with approval of a majority of the Executive Committee.
Section 2.  It is recommended that each region have a minimum of two meetings per year and have a chairperson, chairperson-elect, secretary-treasurer, and other officers deemed necessary.  Duties of the region officers shall be the same as those of the state officers.
Section 3.  The order of Business shall be as follows unless changed by a majority of executive committee members present.
1.  Opening remarks by President
2.  Reading of the Minutes
3.  Executive Director’s Report
4.  Reports of Committees
5.  Unfinished Business
6.  New Business
7.  Adjournment

ARTICLE VI
Quorum
Section 1.  A quorum of the annual business meeting of the Association shall consist of the members present.
Section 2.  A quorum of all committee meetings shall consist of the members present.
Section 3.  A quorum for Executive Committee meetings shall consist of a majority of its membership, after due notification, 10 days in advance by the president.

ARTICLE VII
Rules of Procedure
Robert’s Rules of Order (Revised) shall be used to govern parliamentary procedure in all meetings of the Association.

ARTICLE VIII
Adopted originally 1975-76
Amended July 14, 1976
Revised July 28, 1982
Amended July 20, 1984
Amended January, 1988
Amended July, 1989
Amended June 9, 1990
Amended September 21, 1992
Amended February 9, 1994
Amended April 1, 1999
Amended June 9, 1999
Amended March 5, 2003
Amended March 12, 2004
Amended January 6, 2006
Amended June 28, 2010