"Far from being ends in themselves, the disciplines
are means for answering generative "essential" questions.
Indeed, armed with the disciplines and with the possibility of interdisciplinary work,
individuals are in the best position to revisit these essential questions
and to arrive at their own, often deeply personal answers."
-- Howard Gardner and Veronica Boix-Mansilla
For the transitional period upon the granting of the charter, the interim board of directors will be
expanded by five seats. These new seats will be reserved for the education director, two
representatives of the teachers as chosen by the teachers, a representative of the support staff as
selected by the support staff, and a representative of the students as elected by students in the
sixth grade. Because the school does not yet have an education director, nor any teachers,
support staff, or students, these positions will be filled as early as practical. On or before
December 31, 2001 (the first school year), this enlarged board will:
a) conduct an Annual Meeting at which all members of the Volcano Community and the school community (teachers, parents, staff, students, etc.) will elect 2 community representatives (who shall not be teachers, staff, or parents of children attending the school) to serve starting on or before December 31, 2001.
b) supervise an election by the parents for six seats on the board to serve starting on or before December 31, 2001.
On or before December 31, 2001, all current members of the interim board will resign to be
replaced by the newly chosen and elected representatives. The size of the board will then be
reduced to 13 members.
BYLAWS
FOR THE VOLCANO SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES,
A COMMUNITY PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL BOARD
By a majority vote, the board shall fill vacancies on the interim board. After the transition period,
the board shall fill only community representative vacancies by majority vote. Replacement for all
other vacancies shall be selected by the group that the position represents (i.e. parents, teachers,
support staff and students). Members who are selected to fill vacancies shall serve until the next
regularly scheduled selection process.
By a majority vote of all the members of the board, the board may remove any member of the
board with cause.
The Chair of the Board shall prepare agenda for, schedule and preside over meetings,
The Vice Chair shall preside over meetings in the Chair's absence and assist the chair in the
performance of the chair's duties.
The Treasurer shall account for all money raised and spent by the board.
The Recording Secretary of the Board shall take minutes of all meetings and maintain a record of
all pertinent documents.
The Corresponding Secretary shall be responsible for all correspondence.
The Public Relations Liaison shall ensure that the Volcano community is kept appraised of the
activities of the board and maintain an e-mail database.
2) Prepare and submit grant applications;
3) Prepare and submit a detailed implementation plan to the Department of Education;
4) Designate a process for selecting members on a permanent school board;
5) Draft bylaws for the permanent school board;
6) Enter into contracts, leases and other agreements which are, in the Board's judgment, necessary or desirable in order to start a public charter school in the Volcano area;
7) Pursue obtaining IRS 501c(3) status;
8) Open accounts with financial institutions as appropriate;
9) If necessary, purchase and maintain insurance;
10) Hire staff, including a principal and teachers, if appropriate;
11) Any other action that the board determines is necessary in order to start a new charter school
in the Volcano area.
2) Evaluate the teacher-director's performance
3) Develop general school policy and guidelines;
4) Set broad school policy and guidelines;
5) Oversee and evaluate the implementation of the school's vision, mission and goals;
6) Approve an evaluation process for student academic achievement and monitor results;
7) Conduct grant writing and fundraising;
8) Adopt the budget and oversee fiscal accountability;
9) Oversee relationship between school, community and parents;
10) Delegate tasks to teacher-director as appropriate.
The board shall strive to make decisions through consensus. In the event that this process is not
workable, the board shall follow Robert's Rules of Order. Action shall require a majority of the
board members present at a meeting at which a quorum is present. All decisions shall be
documented in the minutes.
Members may vote by proxy only if an item has been discussed at a previous meeting and only by
doing so in writing.
Should a decision need to be made between meetings, the chair shall get the approval of a
majority of the members via e-mail and/or phone.
All board meetings shall be open to the public and shall only be closed for the reasons provided in
Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 92.
A) Conduct an annual meeting at which all members of the Volcano community and the school community (teachers, parents, staff, students etc.) will elect 2 community representatives (who shall not be teachers, staff, or parents of children attending the school) to serve starting December 31, 2001, one of whose terms shall last two years and the other of whose shall last one year; from then on, community representatives will be re-elected or replaced at the annual community meeting for two year terms;
B) Supervise an election by the parents for 6 seats on the board to serve starting December 31,
2001, three of whose terms will last for one year and three of whose will last for two years; three
parents will be elected to serve two year terms annually, thereafter.
On December 31, 2001, all current members of the interim board (parents and community
representatives) who are not elected by the parents or chosen by the board to represent the
community will resign to be replaced by the newly chosen and elected representatives. The size of
the board will then be reduced to 13.
After the entire transition period is completed, the 13 member board will be comprised of:
Six parents (who shall not be teachers at the school) serving two year terms, half of whom are elected by the parents in the fall of even numbered years and half of whom are elected by the parents the fall of odd numbered years;
Two community representatives serving two year terms, one of whom is elected at the annual meeting in even numbered years and one of whom is elected at the annual meeting in odd numbered years;
The teacher-director
Two representatives of the teachers, elected by the teachers annually in the fall;
One representative of the support staff as selected by the support staff annually in the fall;
One representative of the students as elected by students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades
annually in the fall.
Board members shall not be personally liable for the board's debts, liabilities or other obligations.
No board member shall participate in decision making on any issue where there is an appearance
of a conflict of interest. A member of the board may not participate in discussions or decision
making as a member of the board regarding individual personnel matters if s/he is the specific
subject of discussion.
Upon the winding up and dissolution of this organization, after paying or adequately providing for
the debts and the obligations of the organization, the remaining assets shall be distributed to a
nonprofit fund, foundation or corporation which is organized and operated exclusively for
educational and charitable purposes and which has established its tax exempt status under section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Adopted Monday, October 18, 1999 by the Board. Amended August 8, 2000.
Policies may be developed within committee(s) of the Board of Directors with input from
teachers, staff and parents. Policies will be adopted by the board of directors. Changes to
policies may be suggested with input from parents, students and staff with final approval from the
Board of Directors.
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