Drogheda East Meath Educate Together Association (DEMETA)

Contact: Suzanne Smith Tel:01 8900540 or 087 2632071 email: suzannes@indigo.ie


CONSTITUTION

1. The Association shall be known as the Drogheda/East Meath Educate Together Association.
2. The aims of the Association are to support the idea of multi-denominational education and to establish in Drogheda/East Meath area a National School, which shall be:-<br>

[a] MULTI-DENOMINATIONAL i.e. all children having equal rights of access to the school and children of all cultural and religious backgrounds being equally respected.<br>

[b] CO-EDUCATIONAL and committed to encouraging all children to explore their full range of abilities and opportunities.<br>

[c] CHILD CENTRED in its approach to education and shall use all reasonable means/resources to ensure that the educational needs of all students, including those with a disability or exceptionally high ability, are identified and provided for.<br>

[d] UNDER PREDOMINANTLY DEMOCRATIC MANAGEMENT with active participation by parents in the daily life of the school, with due regard however for the professional role of the teachers.<br>

    3. Membership. Membership of the Association is open to all who support the aims of the Association and who are prepared to accept the Constitution of the Association and abide by its rules. Membership of the Association shall cease<br>

[a] on the death of the member

[b] if the member resigns by notice in writing to the Secretary

[c] if an Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting resolves that she/he has ceased to be a member, provided that notice of such a resolution has been sent to her/him together with notice of the meeting

[d] in the case of non-payment of fees at the AGM<br>

The Executive Committee may at any time cancel the membership of any person if it considers that the activities of such person are injurious to the interests of the Association or inconsistent with its aims.<br>

  1. Trustees. Three [3] Trustees may be elected at the AGM and together with the Treasurer of the Association they shall be entrusted with all the assets of the Association; they are entrusted to ensure that all such assets are used only in the furtherance of the objectives of the Association as laid down in this Constitution<br>
  2. The Executive Committee shall be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting of the association from among the Association’s members and shall have responsibility for the day to day administration of the Association. It shall consist of a Chairperson, a Secretary, a Treasurer and at least six [6] other members. A quorum at a committee meeting shall be five [5] members. Casual vacancies on the Committee may be filled at the next general meeting, but the Committee may co-opt to fill the vacancy until the next General Meeting,. A simple majority vote of committee members present voting on proposals will be sufficient to deem a motion passed but unanimity is preferable and should be sought in the first instance.<br>
  1. The Secretary shall keep a written record of all General Meetings and all Executive Committee meetings. In the Secretary’s absence, another member of the Executive committee may take the Secretary’s place pro tempore.<br>
  1. The Treasurer is responsible for administering all monies of the Association, for preparing a budget of all proposed expenditure, for receiving all subscriptions, donations, loans and other monies received by the Association and for making payments on behalf of the Association. S/he shall present an annual audited account to the Annual General Meeting.<br>
  1. The Annual General Meeting shall normally take place in January, and the Secretary shall give members at least two weeks notice in writing. General Meetings shall be called by the Secretary on the request of the Committee, or by the request in writing of not less than one-fifth of the total membership of the Association. The Secretary shall give all members at least two weeks notice in writing of such meetings. The Committee shall have the right to issue standing orders for the conduct of the AGM. Any ten [10] members can call for an EGM - three weeks notice is required and it must take place within six weeks of notice.<br>
  1. The Association may raise money for any of its aims by all lawful means, including subscriptions, functions, collections, or any other fund-raising activities.<br>
  2. The Association may acquire by gift, purchase, fee farm grant, lease or otherwise and may hold unconditionally or subject to any conditions or restrictions any real or personal property and any rights over or in such; and may exchange any land, buildings, or real or personal property held for the Association, for other land, buildings or real or personal property or sell, lease, let, dispose of or otherwise deal with any lands, buildings or other real or personal property of the Association.<br>
  3. The annual subscriptions payable by members shall be determined by the AGM and shall be payable on acceptance to membership for the calendar year of joining the Association, and shall be payable on/ag AGM or on joining in each subsequent year.<br>
  1. The Association may have two separate accounts:-<br>

[a] The Administration Account into which the membership subscriptions shall be paid; the purpose of this account is to meet the basic administration and administrative costs of the Association. Any significant surplus in this account after all the bills for the subscription year have been met shall be transferred to the School Account.<br>

[b] The School Account - all monies subscribed, given, bequeathed or lent, towards the aims of the Association must be paid into this account, and payments out of this account must be specifically in furtherance of those aims and be approved by the Trustees as such.<br>

  1. Any change in this constitution requires a two-thirds majority of members present at the Annual General Meeting. Proposals for any change, which must be in accord with the aims of the Association as outlined in Article 2 above, must be supported by the signatures of at least six [6] members, and must be submitted to the Secretary at least a month before the AGM. Every member of the Association shall receive two weeks notice of all such proposals to change the Constitution.<br>

14. If upon the dissolution of the Association there remains after the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities any assets whatsoever, the same shall be given or transferred to some other institution or institutions having aims similar to the aims of the Association, and which shall prohibit the distribution of their assets among its or their members to an extent at least as great as is imposed on the Association, such institution or institutions to be determined by the members of the Association at or before the time of dissolution.<br>

Return to Homepage


Copyright © 2001 DEMETA
Webmaster: Suzanne Smith, with assistance from Gerard McKevitt
Revised: March 5th, 2001 URL: http://indigo.ie/~suzannes