Somers High School Student Council Constitution Article I Name and Purpose All levels of Student Council shall be known as the Student Council, with its officers and members being known as the Student Council members. I The purpose of the Student Council shall be to: A. Establish and uphold the rights of the students while under school administration. B. Administer various extracurricular activities. C. Promote school spirit, general welfare, and unity of students and faculty through school activities. D. Regulate all fundraisers by extracurricular activities through the school calendar. E. Regulate the use of the concession stand and the school store. F. Promote leadership development among the student body. Article II Annual Membership All students in the High School have the opportunity to be members of Student Council and have the right to voice their opinion to the Student Council. I An active member is a student who attends at least one half of all meetings and does not miss two consecutive meetings unexcused. An active member has the right to vote. Excused absences include academic extra help, any absence that would be considered a legal absence from school, or any absence at the discretion of the Board s advisor(s). The discretion of the advisor(s) may be overturned by a majority vote of the Student Council. If a student misses more than ten minutes of a regularly scheduled meeting, it is considered either an excused or unexcused absence. Article III The Student Council Executive Board The Student Council Executive Board shall be designated as those members defined in Article II I. All Executive Board members shall have the right to debate, to hold discussions, and to vote on all issues. All members shall attend Executive Board meetings. Article IV Duties and Powers delegated to the Student Council All school activities involving school pupils, teachers, time, and property are considered Student Council activities. All of these school activities shall go through the Executive Board in order to be recognized as a school activity. I Student Council shall investigate, report, and legislate on all matters referred to it. II The Executive Board has the power to make laws and regulations to govern the students. V Laws proposed in Student Council shall be passed by a majority of the representatives and officers. Section V
Proposed laws involving changes or innovations in the school s policy may be brought for the Student Council to vote on. The law shall be passed by a half plus one vote of those voting. Section VI It shall be the duty of Student Council to carry on day to day business necessary for it to function. There is no quorum for business. Section VII The Student Council shall have the power to settle disputes among the classes through the medium of the Executive Board. Article V The Powers of the Student Council The members of the Student Council shall have the power to vote in the election of their class officers and Executive Board. Article VI The Powers of the Administration The Principal shall approve any school rules or amendments once passed by the Student Council. Article VII Offices and Their Elections The elected Student Council Officers shall be as follows: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Parliamentarian, Senior, Junior, Sophomore, and Freshmen Representatives, Fundraising Officer, and Publicity Officer Appointed positions include but are not limited to: Student Representative to the PTSA, Liaison to Administration, Liaison to any Class Board, Constitutional Advisor, Community Service Coordinator I The selection process for officers is noted in sections III and VIII of article VII. Candidates are elected by a majority vote of all students before the last two weeks of classes for a one year term. II Qualifications for candidates of the Executive Board A. Each candidate shall submit a petition signed by 100 students; included on the petition must be the signatures of ten teachers making the total 110 signatures. B. Students shall have an average of 84.5 or above to run in the election. If they do not they shall have the recommendation form filled out by 3 of their core curricular teachers. C. Each student running for a position shall have a speech of at least 100 words. This speech shall describe and express their reasons and desires for holding their particular office. It is to be handed in with the petition and contract. D. Students shall sign the contract stating that they will abide by all rules set down by the Student Council during and after the election process and hand it in with their petition and speech. This contract may be amended at the discretion of Board advisers and Principal or his designee. E. In order to run for President or Vice President of Executive Board the student shall have one year serving as an active Executive Board member, the student shall be entering Junior or Senior year. The active member must have served the year of election as a member in good standing with the Executive Board. Also the student must have a signature from an Executive Board advisor. F. All forms shall be handed in on time unless the student has a legal absence in which case the student must hand in forms upon their return, but before the speeches are held. Class Board
A. The candidate must meet the requirements as defined above with the exceptions of A and E. B. Class board students need to have 50 student signatures from their class and 5 teacher signatures. C. The student shall be an active member in good standing with his (her) current Class Board in the year prior in order to run for Junior or Senior Class President or Vice President. Also the student must have a signature from a Class Board advisor. V Candidates must present their platforms at an assembly of the student body. All speeches must be handed in with the petition, contract, and speech of intent on the date they are due. Speeches may not contain unreasonable promises to the student body and may not be changed after being handed in. Section V Elections shall be by secret ballot. Ballots shall be tabulated by Student Councils seniors as approved by advisors and the results announced at a time chosen by them. Adults will supervise this process. Section VI There is no limitation to the number of terms a qualified person may hold office. Section VII Powers and duties of the officers A. All Executive Board and Class Board members shall regularly attend scheduled meetings as well as actively participate in Student Council functions and activities. Should the board decide a member is not fulfilling these obligations the board may implement procedures to remove and or replace this individual as outlined in Article VIII. B. The President or his (her) designate shall preside at all Student Council meetings. He (she) shall appoint all committees, vote in the case of a tie, and call necessary special meetings. It is his (her) responsibility to meet with the officers during the summer to prepare a program for the school year. He (she) is a member of all committees. C. The Vice President shall assume the duties of the President in his (her) absence. It is his (her) responsibility to make sure that all committees are doing their work properly. D. The Secretary shall take attendance at all meetings, take and distribute minutes, and do the necessary correspondence for the Student Council. E. The Treasurer shall handle all Student Council funds following accepted school procedures. It is his (her) responsibility to make financial reports to the Executive Board. F The Parliamentarian should assume the responsibility of retaining order and enforce the Student Council Constitution at all Student Council meetings. G. The Fundraising Officer should assume the responsibility of the extra curricular activities calendar following accepted school procedures. He (She) should also be in charge of anything to do with raising funds. H. There shall be a class representative from each class who shall be a member of the Executive Board. They shall be elected as a class officer. Their duties shall be to attend both the Executive and Class Board meetings to facilitate communication between Student Council Boards. I. The publicity officer shall facilitate communications with the entire student body and publicize student council events. Section VIII Voting Ballot Regulations A. Because write in votes have not fulfilled the requirements of candidacy, those votes will not be counted. All other votes on the ballot will be counted. X
Candidates shall not run for a position if they will not be present or cannot fulfill the duties of office if elected. Article VIII Removal of Board Members Grounds for Impeachment: A. An officer misses three unexcused meetings he (she) will get a warning from the Student Council. If the member then misses three more unexcused meetings, he (she) automatically impeached. B. An elected or appointed officer not fulfill his (her) duties as determined by advisers or the principal. C. The officer betrays the behavior contract. I Removal Process: A. All active members shall vote on blind ballet whether removal shall take place. B. ⅔ of vote must approve removal. C. The impeached shall not have the right to vote. II Order of Succession: A. If the President leaves office for any reason, the Vice President shall take his (her) place. The Board will then hold a meeting of all active members to elect a new Vice President. B. For all other positions, active members of Student Council can nominate an individual for a vote. C. The vote is won by majority. V It is the responsibility of the Board to publicize the list of officers including any changes. Article IX Meetings Executive Board Meetings A. Meetings shall take place directly after school weekly and additionally when the Executive Board deems it necessary. B. Meetings shall be run according to parliamentary procedure. C. A Student Council advisor or designee shall be present at each meeting. D. Notification of meetings shall be one school day in advance when possible. E. An agenda shall be distributed at the meeting. F. Items may be placed on the Executive Board agenda by any student, staff member or administrator. G. Agenda items shall be approved by a student council advisor or designee. I Student Council Class Boards shall meet whenever they deem necessary. II General Student Council meetings shall be held once monthly. These shall be directly after school. The administration, staff and all students shall be made aware of these meetings. Article X Amendments and Ratifications Amendments shall be prepared by the Executive Board and shall be presented to the entire Student Council one week prior to presentation for a vote. I
Ratification by a two thirds vote shall be sufficient for the establishment of this constitution for the Student Council of Somers High School.