Newark+Student+Government+Constitution

=Newark High School Student Government Constitution=

PREAMBLE
__Goals and Objects__
 * To increase student participation and spirit
 * To encourage good behavior, attitudes, and good grades
 * To have a good, working relationship with the community/society

__Purposes of Student Government__
 * To run and promote Homecoming Activities and Spirit Week
 * To encourage school spirit amongst the student body
 * To run food drives and clothing donation drives
 * To run and promote the Prom Fashion Show
 * To assist freshman orientation activities
 * To help beautify the school and grounds
 * To provide a bridge between the student body and administration

ARTICLE 1 – NAME
__Section 1:__ The name of this organization will be the Newark High School Student Government (NSG).

__Section 2:__ Newark Student Government's Internal account with the school district will remain under the previous designation of SGA (Student Government Association) due to bureaucratic reasons within the Christina School District.

ARTICLE 2 – MEMBERSHIP
__Section 1:__ How can someone join this organization?
 * Elected Officer (See Article 3, Section 2)
 * Executive Committee (See Article 3, Section 7)
 * Interested students (Student Government Council)

__Section 2:__ Any academic or time requirements to participate in NSG?
 * Must have a GPA of 2.0
 * No suspensions in the past school year
 * No excessive absences

ARTICLE 3 – OFFICERS AND REPRESENTATIVE DUTIES
__Section 1:__ The elected officers of the NSG will be the **President**, **Vice President**, **Secretary**, **Treasurer, and Communication Director.** Students who run for an office and fail to win are welcome to become part of the **Executive Committee**, who are entitled to take part in officer meetings but only have 1/2 a vote when deciding issues at those meetings (see Article 3, Section 7).

__Section 2:__ Requirements in running for an elected office are:
 * Must have a Marking Period GPA of 2.5 as of the last report card
 * Must have no suspensions or ISA assignments in the past year
 * Must have attended previous meetings (see Article 4, Section 5)
 * If running for President, the candidate must be a member of the senior class unless approved by advisor

__Section 3:__ Should vacancies take place within an elected office that office will be filled by a member of the executive committee who will be voted for by the student council in a full meeting.

__Section 4:__ An officer will be placed on probation for the following offences for a period of time no longer than a single (1) marking period. Another offence will lead to expulsion from office (see below).
 * A single day in In-School Alternative (ISA)
 * Academically falling below 2.5 GPA in any single marking period

__Section 5:__ An officer will be expelled from office should they do any of the following…
 * Do multiple offences of those mentioned in Article 3, Section 4 while under probation
 * Be suspended, out of school, for any offence during their term
 * Be impeached for failure of duty by the executive committee and removed in a full session of student council by a majority vote

__Section 6:__ Duties of Officers
 * **President**
 * Must be a senior and elected in a full student body election (if needed)
 * Was part of NSG last year
 * Leads student government meetings
 * Must sign off and give final approval on all activities
 * Work with NHS staff and administration (including attending Board and PTA mtgs.)
 * In charge of 2nd and 3rd Marking Period events


 * **Vice President**
 * Leads student council meetings when President can’t
 * Work with NHS staff and administration (including attending Board and PTA mtgs.)
 * Keeps advisor and NSG up-to-date on DASC / leadership events
 * In charge of all Homecoming Activities (Spirit Week, Elections, Dance, etc)


 * **Secretary**
 * Takes minutes of all student council meetings
 * Forwards typed copies of the minutes to the CD or advisor for posting on the website
 * Keeps secretary’s notebook (attendance, minutes, disciplinary actions, grades)


 * **Treasurer**
 * Keeps financial records for Student Government
 * Heads fundraising committee and approves all expenses
 * In charge of food drives, ticket sales, and fund raisers


 * **Communications Director**
 * Will be in charge of advertising meetings and sponsored events
 * Works with the Buzz Squad
 * Helps advisor in maintaining the NSG Website
 * In charge of all school wide elections and polling the student body once a marking period

__Section 7:__ Those students who run for office, but are not elected, will become part of the Executive Council. The Executive Council should consist of no less than five students. Should the number of members be below that number, the advisor will choose a way to bring in additional members who qualify for the position. The executive council will meet prior to General Assembly meetings to debate topics of discussion for that meeting and organize event planning.

__Section 8:__ Duties of the Representatives
 * To inform non-NSG classmates of student council events
 * To take suggestions and questions from fellow students
 * Represent the student body of Newark

ARTICLE 4 – ELECTIONS
__Section 1:__ Elections will be held during the month of May, on a date to be determined by the student council. [|[1]]

__Section 2:__ Voting will take place amongst the students currently enrolled at Newark who will return the following year (freshmen, sophomores, and juniors).

__Section 3:__ Each member of the student body will have one vote.

__Section 4:__ Voting Procedure
 * School-wide secret ballot of pre-selected candidates
 * Will take place in homerooms on pre-arranged day
 * Any student who is absent the day of the vote forfeits the right to vote
 * Ballots will be delivered to students in English classes and returned to the advisor upon the voting being completed.

__Section 5:__ Students wishing to run for office must do the following:
 * Have 100 students sign a “desire to run” form
 * Have five (5) faculty members & at least one (1) administrator/advisor sign a “desire to run” form
 * Write and present a platform (a reason for running) to the NSG advisor
 * Attend at least four consecutive meetings prior to the election. [|[2]]

__Section 6:__ The advisor and a select group of volunteers will tally the votes. Students who are running, or have a rooting interest, cannot help count the votes. They can, however, attend the counting to ensure fairness. The result is to remain a secret until formally announced by the advisor. In case of a tie, a recount will be held and if the election remains tied a run-off election will be held.

__Section 7:__ Officers will be elected for one school year, beginning immediately after elections and ending on the last day of the school year.

ARTICLE 5 – GENERAL ASSMEBLY (Executive Board)
__Section 1:__ Meetings of the general assembly will be called at least once a month. The Executive Council and NSG officers will meet prior to the meeting to establish topics of discussion in advance. Executive Council and NSG officers will meet at least twice every month.

__Section 2:__ Students who are to attend the meeting should stay after school and ride the activity bus home unless alternate transportation is provided.

__Section 3:__ The meetings are to follow parliamentary procedure. All activities and topics debated and voted on meeting are final – must be present in order to vote. Each officer gets a vote, while the Executive Council recieves one vote for the majority position. In cases of a tie vote, each Executive Council member will recieve a vote.

__Section 4:__ Decisions made in meetings should be sent by the secretary to //Newark Live!// for announcement to the student body

ARTICLE 6 – ADVISOR
__Section 1:__ The advisor will be present at each meeting, but will have no vote

__Section 2:__ The duty of the advisor will be to give advice and help when needed

ARTICLE 7 – AMENDMENTS
__Section 1:__ Any person who has a suggestion for an amendment will need to present that idea to the executive board.
 * Ideas will need to be made into a motion and seconded
 * Motion will be discussed by executive board
 * Motion will be voted upon
 * A majority of those present will be needed to pass amendment
 * After being passed at the executive board meeting, the amendment idea is then taken to the general assembly where it is made into a motion, discussed and then voted on.

//Original Document ratified by the Constitutional Committee in October 2004.//

AMENDMENT #1 - IMPEACHMENT PROCEDURES (added in 2008)
__Section 1:__ Should a student officer violate rules stated in Article 3, Section 4 and/or Section 5, said student will be impeached.[|[3]]

__Section 2:__ In order to be impeached, a majority of the other officers (two or more) with the consent of the advisor OR the advisor will notify said student.

__Section 3:__ Said student will have the option of resigning from the position or defending themselves before the next scheduled NSG meeting(s).

__Section 4:__ If the said student chooses not to resign, the student can be removed from office with 2/3 of the Student Government members present at the meeting(s) voting to "convict".
 * If over half of the students present at the meeting(s) vote to "convict", said student has been censured and will be removed from the position should any other infraction take place during their term in office.
 * If under half of the students present at the meeting(s) vote to "convict", said student has been aquitted of all charges and will remain in their position with a marking period probation.
 * If a student is "convicted" they can run for a position ONLY by majority vote prior to the election taking place.

[|[1]] The first election, during the 2003-2004 school year, will take place in November. These officers will serve until the first regular election, which will be held in May 2004. [|[2]] In the first election, students who wish to run must have attended one of the first two informational meetings or spoken with Mr. Freccia privately. [|[3]] Proposed by the Constitutional Committee in February 2008 and ratified in full conmeeting in March 2008.

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