St. Anthony Catholic School Kailua Oahu Hawaii

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS OF ST. ANTHONY SCHOOL BOARD
Ratified 19 March 2008

ARTICLE I

TITLE

Section A: NAME

The name of this body shall be the St. Anthony School Board, hereafter referred to as “the Board”.

ARTICLE II

MISSION

Section A: DEFINITION

St. Anthony School is a component of St. Anthony Catholic Parish in Kailua, Oahu, Hawaii and provides educational opportunities for students from pre-school and pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The mission of the St. Anthony School Board is to assist in maintaining a school which is academically strong, Catholic in focus, and sensitive to the unique cultural realities of Hawaii. The Board is dedicated to supporting policies and plans which will enable St. Anthony School to spread the message of Jesus Christ and the values of the gospel, develop a Christian community dedicated to the service of others, and empower its students to reach their highest intellectual potential in a caring environment committed to academic excellence.

The Board will work collaboratively with the pastor of the parish, principal of the school, and all stakeholders in pursuing, achieving, and affirming the philosophy embodied in the mission statement. As the Board attempts to identify and coordinate the educational and economic needs of St. Anthony School, it will support policies and plans through the process of review and recommendation. An integral part in accomplishing the school’s mission is the formulation and maintenance of a strong and sustainable fiscal solvency plan.

ARTICLE III

PURPOSES AND FUNCTIONS

Section A: ESTABLISHMENT

The Board is established by the pastor, in accordance with existing diocesan policies and guidelines. The pastor is the administrator of the parish and its school.

Section B: POLICY

Any Board member may submit to the Board Chair, in writing, any proposed policy change. Proposed policy changes must be submitted and circulated, by the Board Chair, to each Board member at least one month prior to its inclusion on the agenda for the following month. A two-third majority of all voting members of the Board shall be required for submission to the administrative team.

Section C: GOVERNANCE

The administrative team of the school consists of the pastor and the principal.

According to Canon Law, the pastor of the parish and school is the sole administrator. The pastor shall be the final authority of all administrative decisions and actions as long as the pending decisions and actions are not in conflict with diocesan and Hawaii Catholic School’s policies and guidelines.

Assisted by the Hawaii Catholic Schools, the pastor hires, supervises, and evaluates the principal of the parish school.

The Board shall be consultative and advisory to the administrative team. The consultative and advisory board is one that cooperates in the policy making process by formulating and adopting but never enacting policy.

Section D: JURISDICTION

Board members cannot act independently from the administrative team and cannot make decisions binding for the parish educational program.

The Board is independent of the Parish Finance Committee. However, collaborative semi-annual or annual meetings are encouraged in order to exchange ideas, and assess the status of the mission, goals, and objectives of the programs and policies of the school. In addition, the meetings between the Board and the Parish Finance Committee will serve to strengthen communication and commonalities, enhance the spirit of cooperation, and renew the commitment of developing and maintaining a Catholic school of highest esteem, while upholding the Catholic principles and teachings of the Church. Basically the meetings among the Board, the Parish Finance Committee, Parent Teacher Student Guild (PTSG), Faculty, and administrative team are to identify and review the institution’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Section E: LIABILITY

The Board members, except for the pastor of the parish and principal of the school, are bone-fide volunteers who serve without any remuneration or any expectation of remuneration. Further, the Board members serve merely in a consultative and advisory capacity. Therefore, pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statute Section 415B-158.5, the Board members shall not be liable for any damage, injury, or loss caused by or resulting from his or her performance of, or failure to perform, any duties of a Board member, unless he or she was grossly negligent in the performance of, or failure to perform, such duties.

ARTICLE IV

MEMBERSHIP

Section A: COMPOSITION

There shall be nine (9) members of the Board, seven (7) elected and two (2) ex-officio members. The seven (7) elected members of the Board shall be parishioners of St. Anthony Church Kailua and / or parents of St. Anthony School students. However, of the seven (7) elected members, no more than four (4) shall be parents of current St. Anthony School students. In addition, all Board members shall be at least 21 years of age. Elected members shall hold voting rights on the Board. The Pastor of St. Anthony Church and the Principal of St. Anthony School shall serve as ex-officio members of the Board without voting rights.

The term of office for an elected member of the Board shall be three (3) years. A school year is defined from 1 August through 30 July of the following year. There will be no limit to the number of terms that a Board member may serve. If an elected member of the Board resigns or is removed from the Board, the Board Chair, in consultation with the pastor, will designate a replacement for the vacated position for the remainder of the unexpired term. Employees of St. Anthony School and officers of the PTSG are not eligible for election to the Board.

ARTICLE V

OFFICERS

Section A: POSITIONS

The officers of the Board shall consist of the Chair, the Vice-Chair, the Secretary, and the Treasurer. Officers must be voting members of the Board and shall be elected annually at the June Board meeting of each school year. There will be no limit to the number of terms a Board member may serve. A majority of those present shall be necessary for officer elections.

The Chair shall act as Chairperson of the Board. In doing so, (s)he shall execute all documents on behalf of the Board; shall be responsible for the agenda to be followed at all Board meetings; shall preside at all Board meetings; and in general shall perform all duties of the office of the Chair and such other duties as from time to time may be assigned by the Board or the pastor.

The Vice-Chair, in the absence of, or at the request of the Chair, shall perform the duties and exercise the functions of the Chair, and when so acting, shall have the power of the Chair and shall perform such other duties as from time to time may be assigned by the Chair.

The Secretary shall be responsible for taking, preparing, and circulating the minutes of each monthly Board meeting, and for preparing and circulating the agenda before each monthly Board meeting.

The Treasurer shall be responsible for preparing school budget reports for review by the Board. The Treasurer shall also chair the School Finance Committee, and present all recommendations of the Finance Committee to the Board for review.

ARTICLE VI

MEETINGS

Section A: TIMES

Regular meetings of the Board shall be held monthly from August through June, with no meeting in July. Special meetings of the Board can be scheduled at the discretion of the Board Chair. All regular meetings of the Board shall generally be held on the second Wednesday of each month on the St. Anthony School campus, but may be held at such times and places as directed by the Chair, upon not less than ten (10) days notice. The dates, times, and location of all regular Board meetings shall be published in the school’s yearly and monthly calendars, the school’s website, and in the church bulletin. Board meetings shall also be deconflicted with PTSG monthly meetings in order to allow maximum attendance by parents, faculty, and staff, if desired. A majority of the voting members of the Board is necessary for the transaction of business at all meetings, and a majority vote of the members shall be sufficient for any decisions or elections.

The Board may establish its own rules of procedures at all regular and special meetings. A voting member of the Board who misses three (3) regular meetings without just cause may be dismissed at the discretion of the Chair, in consultation with the Board and approval of the pastor. All agenda items shall be submitted to the Chair no later than ten (10) days prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting. All regular meetings are open to parishioners, parents, and faculty, any of whom may be addressed from the floor if notice is given the Chair at least ten (10) days prior to the regular scheduled meeting.

Certain areas of interest will be briefed and/or conducted during regular Board meetings throughout the year, as specified below:

August

1. Chair – welcome new Board members / conduct new Board member orientation.

2. Chair – establish new membership of committees.

3. Chair – lead information gathering session to define goals and objectives for the new Board for the school year.

September

1. N/A.

October

1. Treasurer – initiate budget review process for next school year.

November

1. Chair – provide quarterly progress report on achievement of goals and objectives previously set by the Board.

2. Treasurer – distribute next school year’s draft budget to the Board for review.

3. Long Range Planning Committee Chair – distribute next school year’s draft marketing plan to the Board for review.

December

1. Chair – conduct a vote of the Board in order to approve the draft budget for next school year.

2. Chair – conduct a vote of the Board in order to approve the marketing plan for next school year.

January

1. Treasurer – present to the Board a recommended tuition plan for next school year.

February

1. Chair – conduct a vote of the Board to approve the final budget for next school year.

2. Chair – provide quarterly progress report on achievement of goals and objectives previously set by the Board.

March

1. Principal – ensure announcement for any openings on next year’s Board and/or Committee positions is distributed to all parents of students.

2. Pastor – ensure announcement for any openings on next year’s Board and/or Committee positions is distributed to all parishioners.

April

1. Chair – conduct review of all applications for potential new Board members.

2. Faculty Rep – present draft faculty retention survey to Board for review.

May

1. Chair – coordinate conduct of Board nominations for next school year.

2. Chair – ensure all Board members complete the annual principal evaluations, then submit them to the pastor for review.

3. Principal – brief number of students registered for next school year.

4. Principal – brief number of students registered for summer school.

5. Principal – brief number of teachers returning next school year.

6. Principal – distribute draft calendar for next school year to all Board members for review.

7. Pastor – submit annual principal evaluations to the Diocese for review.

8. Faculty Rep – conduct end of year faculty retention surveys.

June

1. Chair – coordinate conduct of elections to select officers for next year’s Board.

2. Principal – finalize calendar for next school year and post to school website.

3. Treasurer – brief end of school year financial status to the Board.

4. Faculty Rep – brief end of year faculty retention survey results to the Board.

5. Chair – conduct end of school year Board surveys.

6. Chair – recognize outgoing Board members and staff.

ARTICLE VII

ELECTIONS

Section A: SCHEDULE

During the month of March, information of vacancies on the next year’s Board will be published by the principal to all parents of current students, and by the pastor to all parishioners of the church. Board elections will be held during the month of May by a designated selection committee, while the election of members to the Board’s executive committee will be made during June.

Section B: PROCEDURES

A five (5) member selection committee of designated officials from the school and church shall be formed to review the applications of all potential Board members. The selection committee will in turn forward all nominations to the pastor for final review and approval. The five (5) members of the selection committee shall be: the Principal, the Vice-Principal, the PTSG President, the Parochial Vicar, and the Parish Council President. No later than 30 days prior to the May nomination process, all potential applicants shall submit a resume, in addition to a written letter addressed to the Pastor and the Principal, outlining the applicant’s specific reasons for wanting to join the Board, and what qualifications make the applicant an ideal candidate for selection. Members of the selection committee will utilize the 30 days prior to elections to review all material received from applicants. The Board nomination process will occur during the Board meeting in May, followed by final review and approval by the pastor within seven (7) days following the nomination process by the selection committee. Officer elections will then occur during the Board meeting in June. A majority vote of the five (5) members of the selection committee is required for nomination of an applicant’s package to the pastor for final review and approval. In addition, a majority vote of the current Board members is required for election of officers to next year’s Board.

ARTICLE VIII

COMMITTEES

Section A: OVERVIEW

The Chair shall name the members of each committee to facilitate its work. Committees may add non-board members with the approval of the Board. Each Ccommittee shall conduct its own business prior to the monthly Board meetings. Each Committee Chair will then brief the full Board on all matters pertaining to that particular Committee.

Section B: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Executive Committee of the Board shall consist of the Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Pastor, and Principal. The Board Chair shall serve as the Chairperson of the Executive Committee. During intervals between regular meetings of the Board, the Executive Committee shall have authority to transact all necessary business on behalf of the Board; however, no action taken shall conflict with the policies or previous actions established by the Board, the Diocese, or the Hawaii Catholic Schools Office. The Executive Committee shall meet at the call of the Chair and shall develop its own rules and procedures. A majority of the members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum. The Executive Committee does not operate independently of the Board and must report its decisions to the full Board.

Section C: EDUCATION COMMITTEE

The principal and selected faculty members shall present to the Board for review and comments facets involving curriculum, admission standards, school accreditation, scholarship programs, and all other programs and areas of interest affecting the academic climate, standards, and procedures of the school.

The work of the committee does not include mandating specific teaching strategies; rather the committee will propose a vision that will impact broadly the school’s existing curriculum. The formation of focus groups consisting of stakeholders is a good process in the development of realistic indicators for school-wide learning expectations.

The Chair of the Board shall communicate with the faculty and Parents Teachers Students Guild (PTSG) and student families with a monthly report sharing salient current activities and pending happenings.

Section D: FINANCE COMMITTEE

The Finance Committee makes recommendations to the pastor, principal, and Board regarding the composition of the school budget, disbursement of money, and the collection of tuition. The Finance Committee also makes recommendations regarding long range financial goals. The Finance Committee will be composed of three (3) members, each of which shall be parishioners of St. Anthony Church Kailua and / or parents of St. Anthony School students. The Finance Committee Chair shall be the Treasurer of the School Board. It is the responsibility of the finance Committee Chair to present all recommendations of the Finance Committee to the Board for review.

Section E: LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE

With primary input by the principal, the pastor, and the Diocesan strategic plan, the Committee’s primary duty and responsibility is to review, maintain, and update a five year plan for the school, in support of the school’s five-year accreditation review process. The plan should be structured to address six primary elements: enrollment, curriculum, staffing, facilities, finance, and business development. Beyond the five year plan, the Committee’s general mission is to focus on long-term planning and provide strategically focused recommendations to the principal that supports the school’s continuous improvement. The Committee will be directly responsible for coordinating facilities and business development strategy while serving in a coordinating role with appropriate parties for the remaining primary elements to maintain the five year plan.

ARTICLE IX

RULES OF ORDER

Section A: METHODOLOGY

In order to make the best decisions, the consensus method of decision-making shall be used. When the Board is unable to reach consensus, a vote should be taken.

ARTICLE X

AMENDMENTS

Section A: PROCEDURE

The Constitution and By-Laws may be amended, supplemented, or repealed in whole or in part at any time by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of all voting members of the Board. The amendment should be presented in writing a month before the scheduled meeting.