SAFE Bylaws

Article I – Name and Purpose

Section 1. The name of the organization is SUMTER AREA FAMILY EDUCATORS (SAFE)

Section 2. The purpose of the Sumter Area Family Educators is to offer information and support from a distinctly Christian perspective to all families interested in home schooling who wish to take part in our organization. SAFE recognizes home schooling families as those who legally home school under the provisions of SC Code § 59-65-40, SC Code § 59-65-45, and SC Code § 59-65-47 and those families with children under the compulsory age. Though our faith will often be evidenced in our activities, our aim is not to be a para-church organization. We will be active in political reform that supports the individuals’ right to home school their children. We will also provide information on spiritual, political, curricular, and practical matters. From time to time, we will offer activities for the educators and students which will be designed to enhance and support the educational process. We also encourage mutual support amongst our members.

Statement of Faith

Section 3. We believe:

The Bible, both Old and New Testaments, are God’s infallible Word, written by men inspired by the Holy Spirit. They are our supreme authority in all matters of faith and practice. (II Timothy 3:15-17; II Peter 1:21)

God has existed from all eternity in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:16-17; John 14:16)
God the Father is perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, and measureless in power. He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; He hears and answers prayer; and He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh being fully God and fully man. We believe He is God’s only begotten Son, born of a virgin, and sinless in life. We also believe in His bodily resurrection, His ascension into Heaven, His high priestly intercession for His people, and His personal, imminent, and visible return to the world according to His promise.
The Holy Spirit came forth from God to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement, and to regenerate, sanctify, baptize, comfort, and seal forever those who believe in Jesus Christ.
All men are sinful by nature and choice and therefore deserving of God’s just condemnation. (John 3:18)
Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the atoning sacrifice which provided for the payment of man’s sin debt. (Hebrews 10:8-10; 1 John 2:2; Romans 4:25)
Salvation is offered as a gift, free to sinners. This gift must be responded to in individual faith, not trusting in any personal works, but in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ alone. (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 John 1:9; II Peter 3:9; Titus 3:4-7)

Article II – Assets

Section 1. The assets of SAFE shall be used to provide educational and recreational activities or materials for our members. General operating expenses and benevolence needs, (cards, flowers, etc.) will be determined and obligated by majority vote of the Board of Directors. Other purchases of books, audio-visual materials or other items involving the expenditure of more than one hundred (100) dollars will be presented to the general membership (assuming Board approval) for majority approval at any regularly scheduled meeting. Three dissenting votes on the board concerning these types of disbursements will cause said issue to be tabled or withdrawn, providing the composition of the board is six to nine members. Two dissenting votes shall cause said issue to be tables or withdrawn, if the Board is composed of five members.

Section 2. In the event of dissolution, all SAFE’s assets shall be donated to such educational, charitable, or literary organization or church which has been determined tax exempt. See Article II, Section 1, for disbursement requirements.

Article III – Membership

Section 1. Membership commences upon payment of dues and approval of the Board of Directors. Applicants for membership may be provisionally accepted by the President between meetings of the Board.

Section 2. By submitting an application for membership in the organization, members agree to abide by all the standards and policies of the organization as established by the Board of Directors. Members shall refrain from engaging in any activity which may bring reproach on the organization or home education.

Section 3. The SAFE Board of Directors may, by a majority vote, deny or terminate membership when in its judgment the best interests of the organization will be served thereby.

Section 4. It shall be within the discretion of the Board to grant membership without full payment of dues to person who certify they cannot afford to pay regular dues.

Section 5. SAFE does not recognize Virtual Charter Schools (VCS) as home schooling as VCS is public schooling at home. Therefore, VCS students shall not be eligible for membership in SAFE and shall not be allowed to participate in SAFE-sponsored activities including but not limited to Club Day, Field Trips, Graduation, Testing, Presentation Night, Science Fair, History Fair, Yearbook, and Field Day.

Section 6. SAFE offers a nonvoting alumni membership to those families who have been prior members and have graduated all of their children.

Article IV – Board of Directors

Section 1. The business and affairs of SAFE shall be managed by the Board of Directors. The Board shall consist of the following positions:

President
Vice President
Secretary
Field Trip/Activities Director
Treasurer
Club Day Coordinator
Website Administrator

Board members must sign the Statement of Faith in order to serve.

Section 2. Other officers may be added or deleted upon recommendation of the Board of Directors and ratified by the membership. Board membership will never exceed nine or be less than five.

Section 3. The SCHEA (South Carolina Home Educators Association) representative shall be selected by the Board members from the membership if needed.

Section 4. The Board of Directors shall hold a regular meeting at least every other month and may hold additional meetings for the transaction of any business which may properly come before the Board when called. Board meeting dates and times will be published.

Section 5. The Contact Person will be appointed by the Board. Although not an officer, the Contact Person must sign the Statement of Faith and will be accountable to the President.

Section 6. Description of Officers and Contact Person.

Each officer will perform the specific duties listed in the position’s section of the detailed job descriptions.

President shall:

Preside at all meetings of SAFE.
Have general supervision over the affairs of the group and its Board members.
Not serve more than one year in succession as President but may serve in other Board positions and return to President at a later date if asked by the Nominating Committee and feels so led.

Vice President shall:

Assume President duties when required.
Perform such duties which may be delegated by the President.
Coordinate heads of different events as listed in specific duties.

Secretary shall:

Attend and keep the minutes of all Board and regular monthly meetings. If unable to attend, he/she will arrange for another Board member to take the minutes in his/her place.
Present a report of the minutes at each Board Meeting. Present a report of the minutes at each regular monthly meeting, when merited.
Be responsible for the drafting, recording, and emailing (or mailing, if needed), of all official correspondence, including the monthly newsletter.
Mail/email monthly newsletter to all members to be received as close to the first of each month as possible.
Be responsible for all handouts needed to conduct business at all meetings.
Be responsible to keep a brief history of the group’s activities through the newsletter.
Acquire the membership roster from the Website Administrator for use with the newsletter.

Field Trip/Activities Director shall:

Report to the Board as the overseeing coordinator who:
Oversees the organization and coordination of all educational and recreational field trips and activities.
Enlists others to help coordinate specific educational and recreational field trips and activities as needed.

Treasurer shall:

Have custody of and assume responsibility for all funds of the group.
Maintain the bank account and other financial documents including, but not limited to:
Schedule of Revenue.
Schedule of Expenses.
Mid-Year Income Statement, to be printed in the January or February newsletter.
Yearly Income Statement, to be printed in the July Newsletter.
Present a Treasurer’s Report at the monthly Membership meeting.

Club Day Coordinator shall:

Get input from parents on potential instructors for activities and classes, and with the Board’s approval, put together a line up of classes.
Arrange the location and the day of the week for Club Day.
Maintain the facility and the flow of classes throughout the year.
Head up Club Day programs (if any).

Website Administrator shall:

Update the Website with current Board Member information, to include Admin Logins and all other updates needed to reflect the current SAFE year.
Update/manage both online registrations and renewals for the new school year.
Maintain the current Membership Roster and Database, to include issuing Member ID Numbers, and provide the Membership Roster to the Secretary for use with the newsletter.
Oversee SAFE Reminder Text Lists.
Facilitate any official online social group/page associated with the SAFE support group.

Contact Person. The Contact Person shall be appointed by the Board. He/She ideally should be willing to serve for a number of years as point of contact for all news or inquiries related to home schooling. The Contact Person will relay those facts or inquiries to the appropriate Board member. This individual must sign the Statement of Faith and will be accountable to the President.

Section 7. Vacancies on the Board due to death or resignation will be filled by majority vote of the remaining Board members. The votes will be broken by the President. In the event of an officer’s temporary inability to fulfill his/her duties, the Board will appoint someone to assume those duties for whatever period is required.

Section 8. Each director shall take office June 1 and hold office until May 31 of the following year. If the successor cannot assume office at the proper time, the Board will assume responsibility on an interim basis.

Article V – Dues

Section 1. The membership dues for SAFE shall be set by a majority vote of those present at the first regularly scheduled meeting of the Board, each year.

Section 2. Dues are to be paid by August 1, unless special arrangements are made with the Treasurer. Those who do not meet these requirements shall not be entitled to the services of SAFE.

Section 3. Prospective members may receive two free newsletters and attend one function of SAFE as a “guest” in order to make a more educated decision about choosing membership in SAFE.

Article VI – Committees

Section 1. The President, with the advice and consent of the Board, may establish any committee deemed necessary for the efficient management of SAFE.

Section 2. A special nominating committee of three will be selected each year during the February Board of Directors meeting and augmented during the regular February SAFE meeting. The composition of the committee shall be as follows: One member shall be appointed by the President. A second committee member will be voted on by the Board as a whole, the President not voting except to break a tie. The final committee position will be voted on by the members present at the February SAFE meeting, after discussion and nominations have been taken. Nominees for the final committee member may not be on the current Board of Directors. Once the committee selection process has been completed, the committee member appointed by the President will organize the first committee meeting on or before March 1. The first order of business of this meeting shall be to elect a chairman. See Article VII for committee procedures.

Section 3. An elections committee of three will be appointed by the President each April to prepare, oversee distribution, collect and count ballots, as well as to certify and to report election results.

Section 4. These committees will be accountable to the President.

Article VII – Nominations and Elections

Section 1. The nominating committee chosen according to the procedure outlines in Article VI, Section 2, will have such meetings as may be necessary to select one or more qualified candidates for each position for the following year. The committee should meet as a whole, in person to conduct its business, except in obtaining the consent of the nominees. The committee will obtain consent from potential nominees and be prepared to report committee results at the April meeting of SAFE each year. If, between the report at the April meeting and election night, one or more nominees become unavailable for any reason, the nominating committee will attempt to find qualified replacements in time to proceed with the elections in a normal manner. If this is not feasible as determined by the recommendation of the nominations committee and as voted by the Board of Directors, then the Office(s) involved will be held over for a special election at a time to be determined by the Board of Directors.

Section 2. After the report of the nominations committee has been heard at the April meeting, nominations from the floor are in order. Persons making floor nominations should confirm the availability of prospective candidates before making nominations. After a reasonable time for nominations has passed or if no further nominations are forthcoming, a motion to close nominations is in order.

Section 3. Nominations will be opened, taken and closed office by office, until all nominations have been made in the following order:

President
Vice President
Secretary
Field Trip/Activities Director
Treasurer
Club Day Coordinator
Website Administrator
Any other existing offices by alphabetical order of the office title.

Section 4. Elections will be held during the May meeting of SAFE each year in the following manner: After the meeting is called to order, the Elections Committee will distribute ballots after a prayer for God’s leading is offered. The membership will record its votes and submit the ballots to the committee to be tallied. Votes will be counted twice by different members of the committee. When there are no discrepancies, the results will be certified and reported to the membership. Recounts will only be required if a discrepancy between counters is revealed, or if one is requested by the chairman of the Elections Committee.

Article VIII – Decision Making

Section 1. Board meetings are open to all members. The Board will reserve the right to call for an executive session during any Board meeting.

Section 2. Any member or group of members may bring appropriate business before the Board, either in writing or by other forms of communication to one Board member or the Board as a whole. The Board will provide a written response to the member or members involved if requested.

Section 3. Members or groups of members desiring to make a formal presentation at a Board meeting must coordinate such a request at least seven days prior to the meeting, unless waived by the President. See Article VII, Section 1, for additional information.

Section 4. Any decision made or action taken by the Board of Directors or the group as a whole must comply with the Statement of Faith.

Section 5. A quorum shall consist of the membership present for all purposes except changing the By-Laws. A quorum for the Board of Directors meetings shall consist of five members when the composition of the Board is six to nine members and the quorum shall be four when the Board is composed of five members.

Section 6. For the purpose of these By-Laws, the “SAFE year” begins on June 1 and ends May 31 of each calendar year.

Section 7. Each family shall have only one vote for each office in each election as well as any other business requiring voting.

Article IX – Changes to By-Laws

Section 1. Changes in or amendments to these By-Laws, with the exception of Article 1, Section 3, which is irrevocable, may be formally proposed at any valid meeting of the Board of Directors, provided prior notice and text of the proposed modifications have been sent to the Board by mail 30 days in advance of the meeting.

Section 2. Any proposed changes in or amendments to these By-Laws may not be made without a significant majority of the Board supporting such changes. Since the Board may be composed of between five and nine members, three negative votes on the Board will cause a proposed change to be tabled or withdrawn in all cases, except for a Board composed of five members. In such a case, two negative votes will cause a proposed change to be tabled or withdrawn.

Section 3. If the Board of Directors votes to change or amend these By-Laws, such changes or amendments must then be ratified by a majority vote of members present after: (1) The membership is notified of proposed changes in the newsletter. (2) First and second reading at two consecutive monthly meetings.

Article X – Parliamentary Procedures

Section 1. SAFE will use parliamentary procedure which is basically a code for implementing Matthew 7:12. “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” This organization intends to follow the Spirit, if not always the letter of Robert’s Rules of Order in the conduct of official organization business. The purpose of the rules is not to merely “get your own way”, but to arrive at the best possible decision of a matter as – it affects the greatest number of people. The basic rules for conduct are:

Don’t be late. You may be needed for a quorum.
Obtain the floor before speaking.
Avoid speaking about any matter until it is properly introduced by motion.
Keep to the question then pending.
Yield the floor to calls for order.
Abstain from personalizing issues.
Trust the presiding officer to be fair and air all sides of an issue.
Offer motions that pertain to the issue, and be prepared to explain and discuss that motion calmly with those who see the issue differently.
Accept and support the ultimate decision fo the group, even if you personally disagree with the decision in whole or in part.

The basic standards for the presiding officer are:

Start the meeting on time. People will learn not to be late.
Do not take part in debate while you are in the Chair. Yield the Chair to the Vice President while addressing the meeting as an individual.
Do not allow members to deal in personalities.
Do not use personal pronouns, but rather, “the Chair thinks”, or “The motion is out of order.”
Maintain control, objectivity, and impartiality.