PAC Constitution & Bylaws

Each PAC is governed by: Canadian Law Its own C&B’s

DPAC can provide: Advice Experience Assistance

PAC Executives often change:   File a copy of your C&B’s with the DPAC office   office@dpac43.org

Do you know what’s in your Constitution & Bylaws?

Executive Positions Which ones are required?

EXAMPLE: The composition of the PAC Executive must include:. President EXAMPLE: The composition of the PAC Executive must include: President Vice-President Treasurer Secretary

Other voting and/or committee positions but non-essential positions are: Volunteer co-ordinator Fundraising co-ordinator DPAC Representative Communication co-ordinator Parent Education co-ordinator Emergency Preparedness co-ordinator Members-at-Large The positions of President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary are essential to the operation of the PAC and must be filled before any nominations will be accepted for other positions.

Voting Members

EXAMPLE: Administration, staff (teaching and non-teaching) and students of XXXX School may be invited to PAC meetings as non-voting attendees. However, a staff member with a child as a student at the school will be allowed to be a voting member at a general meeting of the PAC.

Quorum At an Executive meeting At a General meeting

EXAMPLE: At any duly called general or special meeting, the number of voting members present shall be a quorum, as long as they out-number the non-voting members. If the agenda has been provided with less than one week’s notice when calling a general or special meeting, a quorum shall be a minimum of 50% of the elected Executive officers plus the voting members present, as long as it totals a minimum of five (5) members. For the purposes of Executive meetings and resolutions of the Executive, the quorum shall be two-thirds of the voting positions filled on the Executive.

Notice of a meeting

EXAMPLE: The President or Chair Designate will prepare agendas after accepting input from the Executive, other PAC members and the Administration. A meeting is duly called when the agenda has been posted and distributed to the parents at least seven (7) days prior to a general meeting. PAC Constitution & Bylaws

Budget and Spending

EXAMPLE: A proposed budget should be drawn up by the President and the Executive and be modified and approved by the membership at the final general meeting of the year. A new budget must be approved before the old one expires. The general membership must approve all expenditures by the Executive or Committee Members over their budget. Preferably this should occur at a general meeting if one is held prior to that expenditure being made. If this is not possible, an expense up to 10% of the budgeted amount or $200, whichever is the lesser, can be approved by the Executive. The PAC is not obligated to reimburse individuals who exceed these guidelines without prior approval.

Fundraising

EXAMPLE: Fundraising activities will be undertaken only when there is a clearly identified need agreed upon by the PAC. Fundraising activities should not become, nor be viewed as, the most significant contribution the PAC makes to the school.

Code of Conduct relating to Fundraising

EXAMPLE: No member or their family shall benefit financially from fundraising at school unless there has been full disclosure to the PAC and the Executive prior to the fundraising starting.

PAC Constitution & Bylaws can be changed PAC Constitution & Bylaws can be changed. Make them fit your community needs.

Contact Sandy for a template: office@dpac43.org

C.A.S.L. Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation How this new law impacts PACs

On July 1, 2014, the Canadian Government enacted the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation. This legislation includes restrictions on the sending of commercial electronic messages (CEM) without the consent of the recipients:   “An Act to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage reliance on electronic means of carrying out commercial activities”

Examples of School District electronic communications which may include commercial purposes:   - Offers for goods and services from a school (e.g. sale of school photos, yearbooks) - Communications between school district staff about commercial activities not related to school district activities (e.g. staff selling goods) - Communications regarding continuing education programs - Communications regarding hot dog lunches and field trips that cost money - Fundraising by charities that are not registered under the Income Tax Act   NOTE: CEMs may be contained in various types of electronic communications such as newsletters and emails. Although not all electronic messages a school district sends will be CEMs

You now need consent from EVERY member of your PAC in order to email a communication

Obtaining consent to send CEMs   Express consent may be obtained orally or in writing. Although oral consent is allowed, it is more prudent to obtain written consent.   A request for consent to send CEMs should be its own independent form as CASL does not permit CEM consents to be bundled with other terms and conditions. A paper consent to receive CEMs could be included in the school year registration package for parents/students to execute and return to the school. The CEM consent should be filled out by all individuals who will receive CEMs and should be its own independent form in the package. The request for consent to send a CEM must ask the recipient to “opt-in” rather than requesting that recipients “opt-out” of receiving CEMs.   The person who sends the CEM has the onus of proving that that they had consent to send the message. Accordingly, it is important to carefully track consents.

Information to be included in a request for consent   An express consent (electronic or paper) under CASL must include:   The purpose for which consent is being sought; The name of the party seeking consent; If the consent is sought on behalf of another person, the name of the person on whose behalf consent is sought and a statement identifying both persons; The mailing address, and either the: telephone number; email address; or web address   of the person seeking consent (or the person on whose behalf consent is sought); and   A statement that the person whose consent is sought can withdraw their consent.

On EVERY electronic communication you send to your membership you MUST provide an opt-out option and you must remove the individual from your mailing list within 10 business days. EXAMPLE: You are receiving this email because you are a XXXXXX School PAC member and we have your written consent to communicate with you via email. You may withdraw your consent to receive emails from the PAC Executive at any time by sending an email to XXXXXX@hotmail.ca, please include "unsubscribe" in the subject line.  Your request will take 10 business days to complete.  Thank you.

To gain a better understanding or to learn more about the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation please visit:   The full text of CASL is available online: http://fightspam.gc.ca/eic/site/030.nsf/eng/h_00211.html   The Government of Canada website regarding Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation: http://fightspam.gc.ca/eic/site/030.nsf/eng/home