Home and School

2024-25 Home and School Association Board

President:  Angela Polzin

Vice President:  Tania Marciniak

Secretary:  Michelle Toporsh

Treasurer:  Angela Polzin

At Large Members:  Kyla Mrazek, Sam Wright, Katie Zajkowski

St. Matthew Home and School Commission Norms

Home and School Commission

Operational Norms

Section 1:  Name

This body is the St. Matthew Home and School Association hereinafter referred to as the Home and School Commission.

Section 2:  Parish Structure

The Home and School Commission is a standing committee of the School Advisory Commission.  The Home and School Commission is accountable to the school principal. 

Section 3:  Purpose

The purpose of the Home and School Commission is to assist the school principal in:

1)      Achieving financial/fundraising goals to support the short and long-term viability of the school.  This includes providing direct financial support to the school for the school operating budget and for the purchase of items that meet identified needs for individual classrooms, improvements to the physical environment of the school, capital purchases that fall outside of the school budget or other identified needs.

2)      Sponsoring events and activities that nurture the social, spiritual and educational initiatives of the home, school, and parish community of St. Matthew.

Section 4:  Authority

 Pastor

The pastor is the spiritual and temporal shepherd of the parish.  He serves the parish community in his teaching, sanctifying and governing duties. Among his teaching responsibilities, he is to see that the word of God is proclaimed, that the faithful are instructed in the faith, that the Gospel message of social justice is promoted, and he has a special care for the Catholic education of children and youth. (Canon 528)  A portion of these responsibilities is carried out through the parish school. He is the key person in relation to the parish educational program and finances.

The pastor is the leader of the parish and as such he is the leader in all the decision-making processes within the parish. The pastor has the responsibility to make decisions consistent with the educational and financial policies established by the Archdiocese. The pastor’s authority at the parish level includes the right to approve or disapprove all recommendations made by the Home and School Commission.

 Principal

The principal is accountable to the pastor for the spiritual and academic leadership and the administration of the school. The principal has a serious responsibility as spiritual and educational leader of the school. The principal assumes responsibility for understanding and accepting the unique role that Catholic schools serve in the educational mission of the Church. The principal serves as the chief spokesperson in articulating this mission and in calling the faculty and students to participate in a significant way in the life of the Church.

In addition to spiritual leadership, the principal is responsible for the administration of the school program. This responsibility includes the employment, supervision, and evaluation of staff, the establishment of educational programming, financial viability of the school, and the evaluation and management of student behavior. These responsibilities are assumed with archdiocesan and local policies.

Home and School Commission

The Home and School Commission authority is limited to formal commission meetings or to situations officially defined in this document.

A single Home and School Commission member or a group of Home and School Commission members cannot speak or act on behalf of the Home and School Commission or the school or parish as a whole unless officially designated by the principal and/or pastor to do so.

Section 5:  Collaboration with Principal

The Advisory Commission collaborates with the principal to advocate for the school in the following areas. 

1)      Mission and Governance

a.       Identification, recruitment, and vetting of potential Home and School Commission members

b.      Home and School Commission orientation, training, development, and evaluation

c.       Fidelity to mission

2)      Whole Child Education 

a.       Education for the whole person must form the spiritual, intellectual, physical, psychological, social, moral, aesthetic and religious capacities of each child. (NSBECS)

b.      Academic excellence for all students

3)      Institutional Advancement: Development, Marketing & Public Relations, and Enrollment Management

a.       Marketing and Public Relations:  activities to create, build, and maintain relationships with constituencies

4)      Finance

a.       School income sources

5)      Long-Range Planning

a.       Strategic Planning

6)      Facilities and Technology

a.       Short- and long-term capital facility needs and technology infrastructure needs

Section 6:  Membership

Selection and eligibility of members

1)      Members are either discerned or elected and approved by the pastor.  A nomination form is sent home to eligible members.  Volunteers are taken.  If the number of candidates exceeds the number of members needed, an election will take place.  The election process will be agreed upon with the current commission members.

2)      The pastor may appoint a Home and School Commission member.

3)      Paid employees and spouses or children of paid employees of the School or Parish are not eligible for Home and School Commission membership.

Ex-officio Members

1)      Appointed by pastor

2)      Participate fully in all Home and School Commission meetings and discussions

3)      Non-voting member

4)      Required Ex-officio Members:

a.      Principal

b.      Pastoral Council Liaison

Regular Members

1)      5 – 9 members

2)      Full voting members

Tenure

1)      Regular member term is three years

2)      Member may serve two consecutive three-year terms

3)      Member who has completed two consecutive three-year terms must be off the Home and School Commission for one full calendar year before regaining eligibility to serve on the Home and School Commission

4)      The term of office will coincide with the school’s fiscal year and begin on July 1 and end on June 30 of the following year. 

Installation

1)      Newly discerned / elected members to the Home and School Commission shall be installed at the last meeting of the school year during which they were discerned / elected, after the completion of the regular agenda.

Dismissal

1)      Members who are frequently absent from Home and School Commission meetings without good cause, or who act in a manner that is contrary to the best interests of St. Matthew School or the Home and School Commission, may be recommended for dismissal by the Home and School Commission to the pastor.

Section 7:  Officers

The officers of the Home and School Commission shall consist of a chairperson, vice-chairperson, secretary, and treasurer, and shall be elected by the Home and School Commission at the first regular meeting of the school year.  All members of the Home and School Commission are eligible for any office. Officers shall serve one-year terms. No officer shall hold the same office for more than two consecutive terms.  The pastor has the final approval of all officers. 

A vacancy occurring in any elected office shall be filled by the Commission with the approval of the principal or pastor.

Chairperson:  The chairperson shall preside at all regular and special meetings of the Home and School Commission, shall determine the agenda for all regular and special meetings in collaboration with the principal, and in general, perform all the duties of the office of chairperson and other duties that may be assigned by the Home and School Commission.

 Vice-Chairperson:  The vice-chairperson, in the absence of the chairperson, shall perform all duties of the chairperson.

Secretary:  The secretary shall maintain a written record of all meetings of the Home and School Commission. The principal must approve all minutes. The secretary shall furnish a copy of the approved minutes of each meeting.

Treasurer:  The treasurer will maintain a record of the Home and School Commission’s financial activity, prepare and submit monthly financial reports to the Commission, manage the budget process, and prepare a report at the close of each fiscal year (June 30).

Section 8:  Meetings

1.)    The Home and School Commission shall meet at least six (6) times per school year, at a designated time and place.

a.       The right of non-members to address the Home and School Commission at a meeting that is not otherwise open to the school or parish community, shall be reserved to those whose petition has been approved by the principal or chairperson for inclusion on the agenda in advance of the meeting. The chairperson shall control the speaking time for such person(s).

b.      The Home and School Commission may move any meeting, at any time during the meeting, into a closed session via an approved commission resolution. 

 i.   A closed session is limited to regular and ex officio Home and School Commission members

ii.   The pastor may invite or allow a non-member to attend a closed session.

2)      Special meetings of the Home and School Commission may be called, with the approval of the principal and/or pastor, by the chairperson or by a majority of the Home and School Commission members.

3)      No Home and School Commission meeting will be held without the principal or the pastor in attendance, unless the principal and the pastor have granted permission for the meeting to proceed.

4)      Quorum: For the purpose of transacting official business, it shall be necessary that a majority of the total members be present.

5)      The consensus method of decision-making shall be used. Consensus is a Christian approach to group decision-making. It presents an opportunity for all to be heard and avoids a “win/lose” posture that voting promotes. Consensus results in the growth of the group and in fuller ownership of decisions. Consensus has been achieved when there is general agreement or accord among the members. If the board fails to arrive at a consensus and the issue must be decided immediately, the chairperson shall call for a majority vote.

6)      The board may fix its own rules of procedure, but in the absence of such rules, Robert’s Rules of Order shall apply. 

7)      The ordinary order of business shall be:

a.      Call to Order

b.      Prayer

c.      Approval of Minutes

d.      Financial Report

e.      Principal’s Report

f.       Ad hoc Committee Reports

g.      Old Business/Decision-making items

h.      New Business

Section 9:  Committees

1)      The chairperson, in consultation with the principal, shall establish ad hoc committees as needed. 

2)      The Home and School Commission chairperson, in consultation with the principal, appoints the chairperson of all committees.

3)      The Home and School Commission chairperson and principal, in consultation with the chairperson of each committee, may invite persons who are not members of the Home and School Commission to serve as members of these committees.

Section 10:  Operations

1)      A tentative budget and calendar of events will be drafted in the fall for the upcoming school year and approved by a majority vote of the Home and School Commission with the final approval by the principal and pastor.

2)      All members of the Commission and Ad Hoc Committees shall adhere to the policies of the organization for fundraising requests, room requests, clean-up etc.

3)      All members of the Commission and Ad Hoc Committees shall adhere to the financial policies and procedures of the organization.  All income shall be counted by two individuals at the end of any event, recorded, and delivered to the school or parish office for deposit within 24 hours of the end of the event. 

4)      All income and expenses paid out shall go through the parish office.