CONSTITUTION OF - South Western High School Student …



CONSTITUTION OF

THE SOUTH WESTERN HIGH SCHOOL

STUDENT COUNCIL

ARTICLE I

The name of this organization shall be the South Western High School Student Council.

ARTICLE II

The purpose of this organization shall be to encourage student participation in school activities, to promote school spirit, to conduct worthy projects for the general welfare of the school, and to develop the leadership potential in student council members.

ARTICLE III

Section 1: Membership in the Council shall consist of at most ten elected representatives from each class.

Section 2: Faculty member(s) shall be selected by the administration of the high school to act as the Council Advisor(s).

Section 3: The Council shall encourage and sponsor such activities that will build school spirit and student morale.

Section 4: The Council shall sponsor projects that will provide financial means to support its own activities.

ARTICLE IV

Section 1: Regular meetings will be held at least twice monthly.

Section 2: Special meetings may be called by the President, by an Advisor, or by committee chairpersons. Notice of such meetings shall be given to all Council members whom the meeting involves.

Section 3: The order of business of all formal meetings shall be as follows: Call to order by the presiding officer; roll call to determine a quorum; report of the Recording Secretary and reading of the minutes of the previous meeting; report of the Treasurer; reports of committee chairpersons; old business; correspondence and actions taken of the same; new business; suggestions for the good of the order (if time permits); adjournment.

ARTICLE V

Section 1: The elected officers of the Council shall be President, Vice-President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer, Historian, School Board Liaison, and School Board Representatives (2). All officers shall be required to have at least one year of prior membership and must not have been removed from Student Council in the year immediately preceeding the term of office, excepting loss of membership by failing to win a majority in the general election.

Section 2: The President, an elected junior or senior of the Student Council, shall preside over the meetings, create meeting agendas, appoint Council committees, serve as chairperson of the Student Liaison Committee, and be an ex officio member of all committees.

Section 3: The Vice-President, an elected member of the Council, shall preside in the absence of the president. The Vice-President shall also serve as the chairperson of the Student of the Month committee.

Section 4: The Corresponding Secretary shall keep a file of all the Correspondence of the Council and shall be responsible for typing the necessary letters, notes, and reports of the Council. Additionally, the Corresponding Secretary is responsible for the Student Council website and all publicity for Student Council activities. Typing and/or computer skills are preferred for this position.

Section 5: The Recording Secretary shall keep an accurate record of the proceedings of the Council meetings and of all business activities of the Council in the Student Council record book. This responsibility includes taking attendance for and recording the minutes of each meeting for the Advisor(s), the President, and each Student Council member.

Section 6: The Treasurer shall receive and deposit all money, receive bills and pay them, and keep an accurate account of the finances of the Council.

Section 7: The Historian shall be responsible for keeping record of all Student Council activities by means of a scrapbook. The Historian is responsible for presenting a scrapbook and a slide show at the year end banquet.

Section 8: The School Board Liaison and two other School Board Representatives, one regular and one alternate, shall represent the student body at the district's monthly school board meetings. School Board Representatives shall meet with the President and/or Advisor(s) to discuss school board representation prior to the monthly meeting. Reports to the board should encompass current student activities.

Section 9: All elected officers shall maintain a binder which holds all pertinent Student Council information and official responsibilities.

Section 10: All elected officers shall be required to participate in a training session prior to taking office.

ARTICLE VI

Section 1: The President, Vice President, and Advisors shall appoint all of the upcoming year’s committee chairs the summer before the respective school year. The chairs will be assigned after consideration of the end-of-the-year evaluations.

Section 2: Any emergency committees needed during the school year will be created under the President and Advisor’s approval.

ARTICLE VII

Section 1: The Vice-President shall fill the vacancy left by the President in the event that the President is removed from office or finds it necessary to resign his/her position.

Section 2: If any other officer's position becomes vacant during the year, the remaining Council members shall elect another officer. The newly elected officers shall follow all duties as indicated in Article V.

Section 3: If any member’s position becomes vacant during the first semester, the student with the next highest votes from the most recent election will fill the vacancy. If, during the second semester, a position becomes vacant, it will remain vacant; having the responsibilities of the position evenly distributed. In the event that there is no student to fill the spot, it shall remain vacant.

Section 4: If any member of Student Council is not fulfilling proper duties, maintaining active membership, or not upholding the expected code of conduct, the advisor reserves the right to dismiss that member at any time.

Section 5: If any officer or member of the council is consistently neglecting his/her duties or is lying, stealing, cheating, or participating in any other action unbecoming of a Student Council member, advisors and members reserve the right to move impeach the member and remove the individual from the council by a two-thirds majority vote taken by secret ballot. The member/officer in question must be present at the time of discussion and final decision.

ARTICLE VIII

Section 1: The Student Council shall be responsible for the supervision of Homecoming activities including the election of the Homecoming Court, announcements to participants and the student body, the ceremony of crowning the Homecoming Queen, and the Homecoming Dance. The final wave of Homecoming Queen voting will be counted only by the Advisor(s).

Section 2: Council reserves the right to host school dances as approved by the administration.

ARTICLE IX

Section 1: The terms of the newly elected Council members shall begin after the officer elections are held. Incumbent member duties shall continue until the last day of the school year.

Section 2: Officers will be elected at the officer elections by a majority of voting representatives. Voting representatives will consist of the incumbent members and advisors. The advisors shall consult and determine the recipient of their vote. The advisors’ ballot shall be marked and separated from the rest of the ballots. It shall not be counted unless a tie should occur in the election of officers. Should a tie occur, the ballot shall be counted. If only one advisor exists or is present at the election, his or her ballot shall also be treated as aforementioned.

Section 3: Officers shall be elected in the following order: President, Vice-President, Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, Historian, School Board Liaison, and School Board Representatives (2).

Section 4: The Election Board will consist of senior Council members. It shall be the duty of the Election Board to always act impartially, to meet at a special meeting, to start election proceedings, to issue applications to the candidates, to supervise elections, to publicize the results of the elections, and to report to Student Council within one week of all Election Board meetings.

Section 5: The Election Board shall be responsible for overseeing election procedures with the incoming freshman class and for supervising the election of freshman representatives at the same time as senior high school elections are held in a similar manner.

Section 6: The Student Council Advisor(s), President, and the Vice-President shall be responsible for counting all election ballots regarding membership.

Section 7: Persons wishing to run for Student Council must submit an application for membership and a teacher evaluation. The advisors and senior members of executive board will review these items to determine whether the student advances in the election process. Following the presentation of speeches, each class shall vote, and the top ten majority votes shall determine membership in Student Council.

Section 8: To run for an elected office in Student Council, members shall commit to a maximum of two offices by signing a list under the intended position(s) at least two weeks prior to elections. The list shall be available for all Student Council members to view. A five day grace period will be permitted for any deletions or changes; however, no additions will be permitted.

Section 9: During the election of officers, printed ballots shall be used for each of the selected offices. A write-in shall be included for additional nominations.

Section 10: The ballots for an elected office shall be counted and results shall be announced prior to the voting for the next office. After the newly elected president is recognized, he/she shall conduct the remaining elections.

ARTICLE X

Section 1: The Council shall strive to create higher and better ideals of conduct by setting a good example.

Section 2: Members are required to abide by the school's Academic Eligibility Requirements.

Section 3: All members are required to abide by the Athletic Conduct Code as stated by the current student handbook.

Section 4: Members who obtain detention shall receive a cut for each offense.

Section 5: Members who obtain alternate education shall receive two cuts for each offense.

Section 6: If the advisor is made aware of a situation unbecoming a member by another faculty member, administrator, or other Student Council member(s), discipline will be at the discretion of the advisor.

Section 7: If any Student Council member acquires three cuts during the process of one school year, he/she shall be dismissed from the Council.

ARTICLE XI

Section 1: Council members are required to attend all Student Council meetings and functions.

Section 2: The only way a Student Council member may be legally excused from a Student Council meeting or function is through an excuse. A legal excuse shall be defined as an excuse sheet submitted to the advisor or president three days prior to the event. The excuse will then be approved by the advisor and president if attendance of Student Council meeting or function is impossible due to a previous school responsibility, a legal absence from school, an illness that has prevented the attendance of school, or other conditions beyond the member's control but not due to lack of planning. If an excuse is not approved, one cut shall be administered. If a Council member is not present when his/her name is called at roll call, he/she is considered absent and receives one cut.

ARTICLE XII

Section 1: The Executive Board shall consist of the President, Vice-President, Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, Historian, and School Board Liaison.

Section 2: The Executive Board shall meet once a month.

Section 3: The Executive Board reserves the right to eliminate a Student Council member's cut.

Section 4: After a member receives a cut, the member must attend the next Executive Board meeting in order to have the cut reconsidered. When the member attends the meeting, he/she must present their situation before the Board during that meeting. At this meeting, the Executive Board will determine if the cut shall remain or be deleted. If the member does not attend the next Executive Board meeting, the member forfeits the right to present his/her situation to the Board.

Section 5: If a personal situation arises concerning a cut, a Student Council member has the option of presenting his/her situation to the advisor for consideration.

ARTICLE XIII

Section 1: The Constitution or any part thereof may be amended.

Section 2: A proposed amendment must be written and submitted to the President. It will be placed on the agenda for the next Council meeting. The proposed amendment will then be given a second reading at the next Council meeting. A vote will then be taken after the second meeting.

Section 3: Any amendment shall be considered in effect after it has been passed by a two- thirds vote of the members present.

Section 4: Two-thirds of all representatives comprising Student Council shall constitute a quorum to do business.

Amended 4/30/03

Amended 4/13/04 (Article V, Section 1; Article IX, Section 2; Article IX, Section 7)

South Western High School

Student Council

by-laws*

1. The name of this organization shall be the South Western High School Student Council.

2. The purpose of this organization shall be to encourage student participation in school activities, to promote school spirit, to conduct worthy projects for the general welfare of the school, and to develop the leadership potential in student council members.

3. The elected officers of this organization shall be President, Vice-President, Recording Secretary, Cooresponding Secretary, Treasurer, Historian, and School Board Liaison.

4. The President shall preside over all meeting and create meeting agendas with the help of a faculty advisor.

5. The Vice-President shall preside in the absence of the President.

6. The Recording Secretary shall keep an accurate record of the proceeding of the organization’s meetings and of all business activities conducted by this organization. Written minutes of all meetings must be kept on file with the faculty advisor.

7. The Treasurer and faculty advisor shall receive and deposit all money, receive bills and pay them, and keep an accurate account of the finances. Expenditure of funds must be reflected in the written minutes.

8. The Treasurer and faculty advisor will complete an Activity Account Deposit form to accompany all deposits given to the school office. This form shall require the signature of the activity advisor and a student officer, preferably the Treasurer.

9. All disbursement forms shall require the signature of the activity advisor and a student officer, preferably the Treasurer.

10. A fundraising/event Accountability Sheet must be completed for each fundraiser/event by the advisor of the organization immediately following completion of the activity.

11. Funds remaining in accounts that have been inactive for more than one year must be transferred to the Student Body Account.

*These by-laws are standard for all activities and are required by school policy

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