Mountain Range High School Student Government Constitution
Purpose:
We, the students of Mountain Range High School, in order to promote a democratic relationship with the student body, faculty, and community, do hereby establish this constitution. The mission of the Mountain Range Student Government is as follows: Student Government at Mountain Range High School exists to foster and inspire the development of student leaders who will carry out three main functions including: acting as a liaison between administration, teachers, and the student body, implementing needed events and services for the school, and advocating for pressing community issues and concerns.
Article I- Name
Section 1. The name of the organization shall be Mountain Range High School Student Government.
Article II- General Purposes
The general purpose of the Mountain Range High School Student Government, as a representative form of government is to:
Section 1. Elicit and voice student opinion and to work for the well being of the Mountain Range High School community.
Section 2. Provide a direct channel of communication between the students and staff of Mountain Range High School.
Section 3. Provide a positive example and understanding of the roles and responsibilities of leadership for students to learn and achieve.
Section 4. Sponsor and organize activities involving the members of Mountain Range High School in order to promote a more sociable and enjoyable atmosphere at school.
Section 5. Sponsor and organize activities in order to benefit the community in and around Mountain Range High School.
Article III- Powers Invested into the Organization
The powers of the Mountain Range High School Student Government, being allowed by the administration, faculty, and the student body are as follows:
Section 1. Student Government will take appropriate measures needed to ensure Mountain Range students are represented fairly.
Section 2. Student Government will make and govern policy of the student body.
Article IV- Membership
Section 1. The Student Government will include up to 50 voting members. There will be up to 13 officers.
Section 2. The following are the officer positions: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Community Service, Historian, Communications, Class Presidents, and Class Vice Presidents.
Article V- Elections
Section 1. Voting procedure: All student Government sponsored elections will take place during the month of April.
Clause 1. If a tie should occur, there will be a run-off election between the candidates involved as soon after the original election as possible.
Clause 2. All candidates must have at least a 3.0 GPA to participate in Student Government officer elections.
Section 2. Election Ballots and Results
Clause 1. Voting will be held on computers, for one day, in a designated room.
Clause 2. There will be a meeting to notify the winners on the Monday following elections.
Section 3. Student Government Officers
Clause 1. The candidate for President must be an upcoming senior and the Vice President must be an upcoming senior or junior. All candidates for President must have one year of experience in the Student Government class prior to the election.
Clause 2. Candidates for all officer positions of President, Vice President, Class Presidents, and Class Vice Presidents will be required to sign up for the election by a designated deadline, campaign for the election, and give a speech highlighting their personal goals and aspirations for the position if selected.
Clause 3. Candidates for President must run on a ticket in order to be elected.
Clause 4. The secretary, treasurer, communications, community service, and historian will hold an in-council vote.
Clause 5. All elected officers are required to be enrolled in Student Government for the entire school year.
Clause 6. Campaign Rules:
a. Candidates may spend up to $50.00 for an election campaign.
b. Candidates are responsible for making sure that their campaign materials are not littering the campus.
c. Candidates may display no more than five election posters of normal poster size (no larger than 22" by 20"). All posters must be approved in the office and hung in appropriate areas.
d. No offensive and/or obscene language will be allowed.
e. The use of individual announcements and/or Mustang TV for campaign purposes will not be allowed.
f. All materials must be taken down after school on day of election.
g. Campaigns will be conducted in a professional manner.
h. No food is allowed.
i. Must have 50 campaign signatures to begin campaigning. Student needs signatures from students he/she will be representing.
Section 4. General Homecoming and Royalty Elections
Clause 1. There will be a preliminary election for all royalty the week before homecoming/prom. The actual royalty election will be held the week of the event.
Clause 2. Nomination forms will be done on computers the week before, during lunches.
Clause 3. All nominees in the preliminary voting round must accept a nomination before being placed on the final ballot.
Clause 4. A boy and a girl will be selected from each class for the Homecoming Royalty Court.
Clause 5. If elected for Homecoming Royalty the same student cannot win Prom Royalty the same year.
Article VI- Frequency of Meetings
Section 1. Regular meetings will be held during 8th hour.
Section 2. The officers and advisor will meet at least twice a month. Meetings will be held when officers decide.
Section 3. In addition to coming to class, members will be expected to attend weekly meetings connected to their respective class. There will be consequences for missing any meetings and removal could result at advisor’s discretion.
Article VII- Member Duties and Responsibilities
Section 1. All members will be graded and expected to do the following as a member.
a. Be present at all required functions, consequences if not able to attend.
b. Plan yearly student activities approved by the Student Government.
c. Voice the ideas and concerns of the student body.
d. Student Government members must support all activities sponsored by Student Government.
e. All members must maintain a 2.5 GPA for all classes at semester’s end to maintain their position. Students not meeting this criteria will be placed on probation for one semester, if grades are not maintained, unable to reapply. Grades can merit removal at second semester.
Section 2. Attendance
Clause 1. A number of events will be required throughout the year. If a student is unable to attend a required event, he or she must inform the advisor one week prior to the event. At that point the advisor will decide whether the reason is excusable.
Clause 2. If the student is excused, the event may be made up by one of two methods.
1. Spend free hour helping in student center.
2. Community service.
Clause 3. If the student is unexcused, he or she will receive zero points for the event.
Clause 4. Enough absences may result in removal from class at advisor’s discretion.
Section 3. Officer responsibilities are as follows:
a. Plan and carry out specified activities and projects.
b. Communicate with the faculty, community, other clubs, organizations, and schools to promote positive public relations.
c. Participate in and improve the morale and spirit at all school events.
d. Organize each event appropriately and keep accurate evaluations and event folders for the following year.
Clause 1. These are the primary functions of these committees and they are subject to change or dismissal. Committee membership will be subject to rotation.
Clause 2. Miscellaneous committees will be formed during the year as the need arises. Members will be pulled from other standing committees to form these special committees.
Section 4. Removal from the class is as follows:
a. At least three members must present a case to the officers for removal.
b. If the officers decided to carry on the removal process then a meeting will be held with: one of the members placing the charge, member on trial, advisor, classadvisors, President, Vice President, class president, and secretary.
c. If the meeting group decides to carry on the process, then the class will vote after listening to the case on both sides. If 3/4 of the class votes in favor of removal the member will be removed.
Clause 1. Administration can overrule any part of the process.
Section 4. The Advisor’s duties must include but are not limited to the following:
a. He/she cannot vote but can interject opinion and advise the student government during any time of a meeting.
b. Assume the role of a disciplinarian and teacher if the class becomes overpowering and/or out of order
c. Act as a messenger from the administration and faculty to the Student Government.
Article VIII- Ratification
Section 1. The method of ratification for the constitution will be:
a. Pass out the current constitution at one of the first meetings of the year.
b. Discuss and change the constitution the following meeting, and then ratify the final draft.
c. Upon a ¾ majority vote by the Student Government, the constitution will become effective immediately.
Article IX- Constitution
Section 1. This Constitution, a permanent and vital part of the Mountain Range Student Government, will be kept year to year by the advisor.
Section 2. All members of Student Government will receive a copy of the Mountain Range High School Student Government constitution at the beginning of their term of office.
Section 3. This Constitution may be amended at any regular meeting provided the proposed amendment has been submitted in writing at the last regular meeting and members of Student Government have discussed the amendment thoroughly. At least 90% of the class must be present to amend the constitution and a ¾ majority vote is required to adopt the amendment.
Article X –Rules of Conduct
Section 1. A member’s behavior in all classes must reflect leadership. Any report from a faculty member will result in a behavioral/ conduct warning. The second report will result in disciplinary actions.
Section 2. Any member who is proven to be using or in the possession of drugs or alcohol will be immediately removed from any Student Government position.
Section 3. Any member who receives an illegal violation of city, state, or national laws, will be removed from all Student Government events/ activities.
Article XI- Position Vacancies
Section 1. The position of President will be filled by the Vice President.
Section 2. The position of Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Historian will be filled by an in-Council member or officer through the process of an in-Council vote.
Article XII- Acceptance to Class
Section 1. Application must be submitted with required teacher recommendations.
Section 2. After turning application, student may be selected to go through the interview process with current advisor. Additional interviewers may be present.