The by Laws Of

The By-Laws of

Willis High School Student Government

Preamble

We, the members of Willis High School Student Council and Class Officers, in order to uphold academic achievement, promote scholarly interests, and communicate lasting fellowships, hereby dedicate ourselves to the Willis High School student body. In the conduct of our activities, truth shall be our quest, diligence our staff, and achievement our aspiration.

Article I. Name of the Organization

The name of this organization shall be “Willis High School Student Government.”

Article II. Purpose of the Organization

The purpose of Willis High School Student Government shall be to promote and plan worthy scholastic activities for the students of Willis High School. To achieve this purpose, Willis High School Student Government shall represent the entire student population by providing opportunities for the development of leadership, for an intellectual climate of ideas and ideals, for active participation, and for stimulation of interest in continuing scholastic excellence.

Article III. Representation in the Organization

Section A. Types of Representation

The Organization shall consist of duly elected and/or appointed Student Council Officers, duly elected Class Officers, Faculty Sponsors, and School Administrators.

Duly elected Student Council Officers: actively enrolled students who have been elected by the student body at large.
Duly elected Class Officers: actively enrolled students who have been elected by the students of their respective class (senior, junior, sophomore, and freshman).
Faculty Sponsors: members of the Willis High School faculty and/or staff appointed by the School Principal, including faculty class sponsors (not to exceed 6 faculty/staff members).
School Administrators: The School Principal and each grade-level Assistant Principal.

Section B. Eligibility for Holding Office

To be eligible to serve as a member of Student Government, a student must comply with the following criteria:

Be enrolled at Willis High School, as a student in good standing.
Be of good moral character and possess recognized qualities of citizenship.
Have no grades of “F” or Incomplete in any grading period of the current school year and maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 (on a 4.0 scale) or 3.5 (on a 6.0 scale).

Section C. Revocation of Office

A student may be removed from office for any of the following reasons:

A member shall be placed on probation for one grading period if their grade point average falls below the minimum required level as mentioned in Section B.
In the event that a member, after being placed on probation fails to meet the requirement of 2.0 for continuing service in the Student Government, the student’s name shall be removed from the position and the office opened up for new appointment.
A member shall be removed from office for receiving any discipline referral resulting in a citation or suspension/expulsion. (This includes any citation received off campus; other than minor traffic violations.)
If, in the opinion of the Student Government organization, any officer is not carrying out the duties of his/her office, as outlined in this document.

Section D. Voting to remove a member from Office

1. A majority of 4/5 of the members present is required to remove any officer from their position.

2. Quorum of 3/5 will be required before any removal vote can take place.

Article IV. Meetings and Procedures

There shall be such meetings of the Student Government as to meet the minimum requirement of one (1) meeting per [calendar] month. The Student Council, Executive Board, and Class Officers may meet as often as the Administration deems necessary to conduct the business of their respective bodies. Parliamentary guidelines governing the meetings of Willis High School Student Government shall be Robert’s Rules of Order. The necessary quorum for meetings will be 3/5 of the populous.

Article V. Officers and Executive Board

Section A:

All officers shall be elected during the Spring Semester to serve the following school year. This excludes 8th-grade students scheduled to enter the High School the following year. To be elected, a candidate must receive a simple majority of ballots cast in secret. In the event that any office is vacated, with the exception of the office of Student Body President, the School Principal shall appoint a worthy student to fill the vacant office. The appointed official shall be ratified at the next Executive Board meeting. In the event the office of Student Body President is vacated, Senior Class President shall assume the duties of Student Body President until such time as the student body elects a new President from the student population.

Section B:

The duties of the Officers are as follows:

Office of Student Body President
Preside over all business meetings of Student Council and Student Government.
Appoint, establish and oversee any/all necessary committees; in conjunction with faculty/staff/administrator sponsors.
Vote only in the event of a tie.
Serve as an ex-officio member of all committees.
Present business to the organization(s).
Represent the organization(s) at all times.
Develop goals for the Student Council and Student Government with the help of the advisors and the other officers.
Appoint any committee chairs and/or positions.
Assist with the promotion of all Student Council and Student Government functions/events.
Must be academically classified as a senior.
Presides over the Executive Board.

2. Office of Class President (Applicable to all class levels)

Presides over all class-level meetings.
Vote only in the event of a tie.
Present business to the organization.
Represent the organization at all times.
Assist with the development of all financial reports.
Serves as a member of the Executive Board.

Office of Class Vice-President (Applicable to all class levels)
Perform all duties of the President in the event of his/her absence.
Assist with the development of all financial reports.
Take roll at class meetings/activities and record them in the roll book.
Read the minutes of the previous class meeting.

Office of Class Secretary (Applicable to all class levels)
Take minutes of class meetings.
Maintain records of the class meetings.
Maintain a record of all class correspondence.

Office of Class Treasurer (Applicable to all class levels)
Develop and maintain class fund raising activities.
Keep a set of books, which record all deposits and expenditures for the class.
Present a financial report at each business meeting.
Place all records in the official files of the organization at the end of each academic year.
Assist with the development of all financial reports.

Office of Class Historian (Applicable to all class levels)
Keep a full record of class functions.
Prepare and maintain the class scrapbook.
Keep pictorial history of class events and activities.
Direct implementation of service projects.

Special Office of Speaker
Presides over voting process over all business proposals and resolutions.
Casts the deciding vote in the event of a tie.
Is elected at large by the populous of Class Officers.

Section C.

The Executive Board shall consist of the Student Council President, Senior Class President, Junior Class President, Sophomore Class President, and Freshman Class President. This is an advisory board whose purpose is to give final ratification to all proposals brought before the Student Government. These officers vote on business issues only when a tie exists. This group will possess veto power over all proposals and resolutions of the Student Government, including a line item veto.

Article VI. Amendments

A written proposal shall be submitted to the Speaker a minimum of ten (10) days prior to a general meeting. The proposal shall then be presented to the Class Officer populous at the general meeting for discussion and possible ratification. Ratification will require a simple majority of the members present at the time of the general meeting. The proposal shall then be moved to the Student Council for review and then, after passing a simple majority of the Student Council, be passed on to the Executive Board for final ratification and enactment.

Article VII. Ratifications

These by-laws shall be effective immediately following ratification of three-fourths majority of ballots cast in a regular meeting.

Amendment I: Prom Committee—Senior class officers shall organize a prom committee to consist of only senior class officers and other students of the senior class.

The committee will not exceed 30 students (not including senior class officers and the student body president).
Students will be selected for the committee on a first come-first serve basis and must be approved by the [faculty] senior sponsor.

Amendment II: Freshman Class Officer Elections—Incoming freshmen must hold student council class officer elections no later than the 2nd week following Homecoming [dates TBD].