The Constitution/Bylaws of Piedmont Classical High School Student Council

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Amelia Patterson
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1 The Constitution/Bylaws of Piedmont Classical High School Student Council Article I: Name The name of the organization for which this constitution shall serve as supreme law shall be known as all as the Piedmont Classical Student Council, or PCSC. Article II: Purpose The purpose of the PCSC shall be to establish closer cooperation between the faculty and student body of Piedmont Classical High School; to establish standards of education, school spirit, and honor; to provide democratic government through representation of the student body; and to promote the general welfare of the school and the community. Article III: Members Section 1: The PCSC shall be composed of the executive board officers, grade-level representatives, class officers, and faculty advisor(s). Section 2: Executive Board a. The student body shall be represented by an elected executive board of officers, which shall be composed of the following: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Reporter as well as two selected Representatives from each Home Room, and Class Officers. b. The PCSC will meet once monthly under the supervision of the faculty advisor. Section 3: Ad Hoc Members All members of the Piedmont Classical High School student body are associate PCSC members and may attend council and committee meetings without voting powers. Article IV: Qualifications Section 1: Good Citizenship a. In order to qualify for the position of Representative or an Executive Board office, a student must maintain a good citizenship record (no out of school suspensions) during the school year of his/her running for office. If a Representative or Officer is suspended from school during his/her term in office, he/she will be subject to impeachment. b. All members of the Executive Board, Representatives, Class Officers, and Alternates are to abide by all school rules for student conduct; they are to conduct themselves at all times in a manner that brings credit to themselves as students and as representatives of Piedmont Classical High School. c. Any member of the Executive Board, Representative, or Class Officer who becomes involved in a situation which is detrimental to the PCSC and/or school can expect disciplinary action in accordance with school rules for behavior of students and deemed appropriate by the faculty advisor and the administration.

2 d. Any member of the Executive Board, Representative, or Class Officer who uses or possesses tobacco, drugs, or alcohol during their elected term will be removed from office by the administration. Section 2: Academic eligibility a. In order to qualify for the position of Representative, or Class Officer a student must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0. Executive Board Officers must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5. b. Any Representative or Officer who fails to maintain his or her academic eligibility shall be placed on probation for a six week grading period. Reinstatement shall occur at the end of the grading period if academic eligibility is achieved. Failure to do so will result in removal from office. Section 3: Class Membership a. The President of the PCSC must be a member of the senior class. b. The Vice-President must be a member of the junior, or senior class c. The Secretary must be a member of the freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior class. d. The Treasurer must be a member of the freshman, sophomore, junior or senior class. e. The Reporter may be a member of the freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior class. Article V: Elections Section 1: Term of Office The Executive Board and Representatives shall be elected for a term of one year and shall serve until their successors are elected. Section 2: Eligibility of Executive Board for Other Offices a. Officers are eligible for re-election, with the exception of President, provided they gain more votes than any other candidate. The President can only serve one term. b. Members of the Executive Board shall not be eligible to run for class officer during the same term. Section 3: Election Procedures a. Election of officers shall be held before the end of the first 6 weeks of each school year. b. Students must signify in writing their desire to run for office to the PCSC faculty advisor. This notification will take the form of a written petition to run. The petition to run must include signed endorsements from three teachers and parents, verification of academic eligibility from the guidance department. c. Candidates shall be granted at least five school days of campaigning, which is to be followed by an opportunity for the candidates to address the entire student body. d. The election shall take place in the form of a secret ballot in a designated class or assemble. e. The candidate receiving a plurality of the votes cast for each office shall fill said office. f. A committee of the faculty advisor shall oversee the counting of the ballots. g. The results of the election shall be announced to the student body and recorded in the minutes of the next meeting of the Student Council. Article VI: Duties of Officers Section 1: The President

3 a. The President shall preside at the meetings of the PCSC. b. He/she shall exercise one vote on each point before the PCSC. c. In the event of a tie vote on a point at issue before such committees, the President shall cast the deciding vote. d. The President shall appoint the special committee heads of the PCSC not designated by this constitution with approval of teacher advisor. e. The President shall have no power to veto or retard in any manner action on a bill. f. The President shall serve as the liaison to the PTSO. g. The President shall have the power to call special meetings of the PCSC, with the approval of the faculty advisor. Section 2: The Vice-President a. The Vice-president shall preside at meetings of the PCSC in the absence of the president. b. The Vice-president shall exercise one vote on each point before the PCSC. c. The Vice-president, when serving in the capacity of the president of the PCSC shall exercise all powers and authority of the office of president and shall be under all restraints of said office. d. The Vice-president shall function in any capacity as directed by the president. Section 3: The Secretary a. The Secretary shall make reports, in the form of minutes, for all business carried on for the previous meetings of the PCSC and shall present such minutes for approval at the next scheduled meeting of the PCSC. b. The Secretary shall exercise one vote on each point at issue before the PCSC. c. The Secretary shall be in charge of publishing bills that are to be voted upon by the PCSC. The Secretary shall publish or arrange to have others publish any documents of the PCSC and shall convey said documents to the point or points of distributions. d. The Secretary shall prepare all necessary correspondence between the PCSC and other organizations within the school, county, state, or nation. The Secretary shall maintain a file of such correspondence, which will be available to all members of the PCSC. e. The Secretary shall function in any capacity as directed by the president. Section 4: The Treasurer a. The Treasurer shall work with the officers and the faculty advisor to prepare yearly, nine weeks, and individual activity budgets. b. The Treasurer shall maintain complete and accurate records of expenditures and receipts of the PCSC and shall prepare an accounting of business transactions of the PCSC least monthly. c. The Treasurer shall maintain a file of receipts, records of expenditures and treasurers reports of the PCSC. d. The Treasurer shall exercise one vote on each point before the PCSC. e. The Treasurer shall function in any capacity as directed by the president. Section 5: The Reporter a. The Reporter shall prepare the agenda for each meeting of the PCSC. b. The Reporter shall maintain an acute attendance record of representatives attending the PCSC meetings as well as reasons for any absences and shall assist the president in tracking representatives continued eligibility to serve on the PCSC. c. The Reporter shall serve as a consultant to the president about parliamentary procedure and shall ensure that parliamentary laws be followed at all meetings of the PCSC.

4 d. The Reporter shall exercise one vote on each point before for the PCSC. e. The Reporter shall serve as a direct communication link with the school newspaper by submitting a column for each edition, upon review by the faculty advisor. f. The Reporter shall work with the Secretary to report business and upcoming events by the form of newsletters for faculty and Representatives to post in classrooms. g. The Reporter shall function in any capacity as directed by the president. Article VII: Duties of Representatives a. Each Representative shall attend all meetings of the PCSC; have one vote in all legislative matters of the PCSC; serve on at least one committee during the school year; and be responsible for reporting all Student Council information to his or her class b. Representatives and alternates may accumulate a total of three unexcused absences from either PCSC or committee meetings. After each unexcused absence, the Representative shall be notified by the secretary. After the third unexcused absence, a Representative shall be removed and replaced by an Alternate. c. When an Alternate takes over as a Representative, the Alternate must be voted on by the Executive Board and faculty advisor(s). Article VIII: Removal from Office Section 1: Causes for Removal Any elected member of the PCSC may be removed from office for the following conditions: failure to perform his/her duties, failure to maintain academic eligibility, failure to maintain good citizenship, or a display of any action which would reflect in a detrimental manner upon the office, organization or student body. Section 2: Removal Proceedings An Impeachment Committee shall be convened by the faculty advisor and the principal. Membership of the committee will be: two faculty members appointed by the principal, one administrator appointed by the principal, and the faculty advisor of the PCSC in a non-voting capacity. b. The Impeachment Committee must meet within two weeks of the Articles of Impeachment at which time the impeached member may make a presentation to the committee and/or submit his/her resignation. c. A two-thirds vote of the Impeachment Committee is required for the removal of the impeached member. d. The removed member shall be ineligible to be a PCSC Representative or hold any other office in the PCSC. Section 3: Vacancies Any vacancy shall be filled by a special election authorized by the PCSC. Article IX: Meetings of the PCSC Section 1: Regular PCSC Meetings a. The PCSC shall meet as least once a month during the school year. Meetings dates shall be approved by the faculty advisor.

5 b. A quorum of at least two-thirds of the PCSC must be present in order to transact business. A majority vote of representatives present is necessary for the passage of bills. c. The faculty advisor or a substitute must be present at all meetings. d. Regular meetings of the PCSC shall be conducted according to the following format: call to order, roll call, reading of the minutes, reports of officers and committees, old business, new business, miscellaneous, adjournment. Section 2: Special Meetings The President, faculty advisor, or the principal may call Special Meetings of the PCSC. Section 3: Postponed or Cancelled Meetings Meetings, which have been postponed or cancelled, may be rescheduled by the president with the approval of the faculty advisor. Article X: Limitations of Power Any action taken by the PCSC is subject to the approval of the faculty advisor and the principal. Article XI: Amendment Process a. The proposed amendment shall be submitted in writing to the PCSC by a Representative or member of the Executive Board. If the amendment is passed by a two-thirds vote of the PCSC, it shall be forwarded to the student body for consideration. b. If the amendment is passes by a two-thirds vote of the student body, it shall be made part of the constitution.

THE CONSTITUTION OF LAKE CITY HIGH SCHOOL

THE CONSTITUTION OF LAKE CITY HIGH SCHOOL OATH We, the student representatives of Lake City High School, will follow the examples of yesterday s leaders in order to become leaders of tomorrow. We represent