The purpose of the GALA PFA is to enhance and support the educational experience at GALA, to develop a closer connection between school and home by encouraging parental involvement, support extracurricular activities (field trips, field day, and schoolwide community events) and to improve the environment at GALA through volunteer and financial support.
The GALA PFA meets monthly, represents the school community, engages families in the operations of the school, provides feedback to guide school leadership, raises concerns to be addressed, contributes to the development of the school environment and culture, and organizes volunteers, educational enrichment programming, and school events. Questions? Contact: PFA@GALACleveland.org
Ongoing fundraising for GALA:
1. Donate to GALA's Parent & Family Association (PFA)!
2. Help raise funds for the school through Amazon Smile! When you make purchases on Amazon, go to smile.amazon.com to make the purchase and the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organizations you select. To select GALA, follow the following steps: Sign in to your Amazon account at smile.amazon.com Hover over “Your Account” Click on “Your AmazonSmile” Click on “Change Your Charity” Search for "Global Ambassadors Language Academy Select Global Ambassadors Language Academy"
3. Help raise funds for the school through Office Depot! When you make purchases at Office Depot (in-store and online), provide GALA’s school ID at checkout (70237099) and GALA will receive 5% back in credits for FREE supplies!
Bylaws of Global Ambassadors Language Academy (GALA) Parent & Family Association
Article I – Name, Description & Purpose
Section 1: Name – The name of the organization shall be Parent & Family Association (PFA).
Section 2: Purpose – The purpose of the PFA is to enhance and support the educational experience at GALA, to develop a closer connection between school and home by encouraging parental involvement, support extracurricular activities (field trips, field day, and schoolwide community events) and to improve the environment at GALA through volunteer and financial support.
Section 3: Conduct – Meeting conduct expectations:
- PFA members should arrive at the meeting ready and eager to fulfill the purpose of the PFA;
- PFA members are expected to put the best interest of the PFA and GALA ahead of their individual desires;
- PFA members are encouraged to listen and speak up during meetings if they disagree with any suggestions or decisions;;
- PFA members should always treat each other respectfully and their colleagues the benefit of the doubt;
- PFA members shall not in the performance of their duties by words or conduct demonstrate prejudice or bias based on race, sex, religion, age, disability, national origin, or sexual orientation;
- PFA members should keep side conversations to a minimum during meetings so that we may be respectful of those speaking;
- PFA members should be aware that any topic(s) they desire to discuss during the meeting needs to be added to the agenda in accordance to Article III Section 5: PFA Meetings;
- PFA members are expected to be honest with themselves and others as to their abilities and capacities when committing to take on a responsibility, so that we can build trust in the organization as a whole and get things done as efficiently and effectively as possible; and
Any ideas that the PFA approves must still be approved by GALA administration.
Article II – Membership
Section 1: Membership shall be automatically granted to all parents and guardians of GALA students, plus all staff at GALA. There are no membership dues.
Article III – Officers
Section 1: Executive Committee – The Executive Committee shall consist of the following officers: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Officer positions cannot be shared.
Section 2: Term of Office – The term of office for all officers is one year, beginning immediately upon election, and ending upon officer election the following school year. Officers are term limited to no more than two (2) consecutive years.
Section 3: Standing Committees – There shall be four standing committees of the PFA: (1) Executive, (2) Marketing, (3) Events, and (4) Fundraising. The Executive Committee may create ad hoc committees as needed. All committees are expected to provide an update at each monthly PFA meeting.
Executive Committee – Shall be comprised of the Officers of the PFA. The committee shall collect agenda items, develop the PFA’s annual budget, oversee committees of the PFA, and establish a strategic plan (fundraising and engagement activities, calendar of events, goals, etc.) for the school year and beyond.
Marketing Committee – This is the group that takes care of getting the word out to the school and the community regarding events and PFA happenings to help increase knowledge of and attendance at events.
Events Committee – This is the group that will plan out the vision of the events and make sure they are successfully executed. They are hands-on, creative and are in the trenches organizing and laying the framework for the events.
Fundraising Committee – These are the people who secure funds from outside sources and maybe some internal contracts for events, fundraisers or activities. This group also comes up with ideas for how to get additional money to help our initiatives.
Section 4: Duties
President – Facilitate PFA monthly meetings and Executive Committee meetings, by: following agenda, keeping track of the time, and calling for votes for resolutions presented. Communicate meeting times and location. Calls for agenda items two weeks in advance of PFA meetings.
Vice President –Assist the President and facilitate meetings in the absence of the President.
Secretary – Prepares meeting materials, records and distributes meeting minutes of the PFA and Executive Committee, and hold historical records for the PFA.
Treasurer – Serve as custodian of the PFA’s finances, collect revenue, pay authorized expenses, report monthly financial activity, prepare year-end financial report, hold all financial records, and coordinate with GALA administrators for processing deposits and expenses.
Section 5: PFA Meetings – The PFA shall have regular monthly meetings during the school year. The Executive Committee shall have regular monthly meetings one week in advance of each PFA meeting. PFA agenda items must be sent to the Executive Committee at least one week in advance of the PFA meetings – any PFA member should send agenda items by email to all Executive Committee members. PFA President will call for agenda items two weeks in advance of PFA meeting. In the event that the Executive Committee receives more agenda items than time meeting time permits, the committee can prioritize topics and push agenda items to the next monthly meeting. The Executive Committee will consider the following when prioritizing agenda items: school calendar, event deadlines, size of project, overlap of initiatives, and resources.
Section 6: Removal – An officer can be removed from office for failure to fulfill his/her duties, after reasonable notice, by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.
Section 7: Vacancy – If a vacancy occurs on the Executive Committee, the Executive Committee shall appoint a PFA member to fill the vacancy, for the remainder of the officer’s term.
Article IV – Meetings
Section 1: General PFA Meetings – General PFA meetings shall be held to conduct the business of the PFA. Meetings shall be held monthly during the school year or at the discretion of the Executive Committee.
Section 2: Voting – Each member in attendance at a PFA meeting is eligible to vote. Absentee or proxy votes are not allowed. All PFA members are created equal. No single member, including Officers, have sole authority to make decisions for the PFA. All resolutions require a majority vote with a quorum. Any ideas that the PFA approves must still be approved by the GALA administration.
Section 3 – Quorum – Eight (8) members of the PFA present and voting constitute a quorum for the purpose of voting.
Article V – Financial Policies
Section 1: Fiscal Year – The fiscal year of the PFA begins July 1 and ends June 30 of the following year.
Section 2: Banking – All funds shall be kept in a checking account in the name of GALA. All requisitions will be processed through the Executive Director of GALA.
Section 3: Reporting – All financial activity shall be recorded in a manual or computer-based accounting system. The Treasurer shall reconcile the account(s) monthly and report all financial activity monthly. The PFA shall arrange an independent review of its financial records monthly.
Section 4: Ending Balance – The organization shall leave a minimum of $500 in the treasury at the end of each fiscal year.
Section 5: Contracts – The PFA cannot enter into any contracts on behalf of GALA. All contracts need to be approved by the GALA Board & will be processed by the Executive Director of GALA.
Article VI – Bylaw Amendments
Amendments to the bylaws may be proposed by any PFA member. A majority vote with a quorum is required to adopt an amendment to the Bylaws.
Article VII – Dissolution
In the event of the dissolution of the PFA, any funds remaining shall be donated to the GALA general fund.
Article VIII – Parliamentary Authority
The authority for this organization shall be “Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised.”
These bylaws were adopted on October 25th, 2016.
These bylaws were amended on August 24, 2017.