WARDEN HIGH SCHOOL ASSOCIATED STUDENT BODY CONSTITUTION
PREAMBLE
We, the students of Warden High School, hereafter referred to as WHS; establish this constitution in order to improve the learning environment of Warden high School by increasing student involvement and by fostering the development of leadership abilities, citizenship, and proactive responsibility among students, both collectively and individually.
INTRODUCTION
Section 1- The name of this organization shall be the “Associated Student Body of WHS”, hereafter referred to as ASB.
Section 2- The colors of this organization shall be blue and white.
Section 3- The mascot of this organization shall be the “Cougar”.
Section 4- Upon the purchase of an ASB Membership, a student will be recognized as an active member of the ASB, which entitles the holder to participate in athletics, music programs, and clubs, and allows him or her to be admitted to select ASB sponsored activities and athletic contests at a reduced price.
ASB GENERAL
ARTICLE I- GENERAL MEMBERSHIP
Section 1- Membership dues will be in accordance with guidelines and policies established by the Board of Directors of District 146.
A. All members will abide by Association rules and District policies.
B. Fees may be reduced for those students who prove it difficult to pay the entire amount. Each student who is eligible to participate in the federal free and reduced-price meals program will have fees associated with attending or participating in optional noncredit extracurricular activities waived. Waiver forms are in the office.
Section 2- All WHS students in good standing shall be members of the ASB and shall be entitled to:
A. Vote, subject to registration requirements in ASB elections;
B. Attend and speak at Student Council meetings.
Section 3- ASB Members holding a valid ASB card shall be entitled to additional privileges, among which shall be:
A. Participation in ASB sponsored activities and organizations.
B. Admission at ASB rates to activities sponsored by WHS or its member organization.
C. Any further privileges specified in the By-laws.
D. Membership is voluntary. Students upon graduation, suspension, expulsion from school, or otherwise formally recognized as students, lose their rights to the ASB.
E. Denial of membership request or expulsion from the Association may be considered and acted upon by the principal only.
BY-LAWS TO ARTICLE 1
Section 1- Student participation in ASB activities is to be interpreted to include activities such as, but not limited to the following:
A. Attendance at school.
B. Participation in athletics, plays, band, cheerleading.
C. Membership in clubs chartered by Student Council.
Section 2- Student participation in athletic activities including cheerleading, requires the purchase of an ASB card.
ARTICLE 2- ASB OFFICERS
Section 1- The officers of this association shall be: President, Vice President, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Business Manager, Assistant Business Manager, and Public Relations Officer.
Section 2- All ASB offices shall be held for the period of one year, effective upon the current year graduation to the following year graduation. Officer training will be from election to the current year of graduation.
Section 3- All ASB shall agree to and sign the WHS Code of Conduct and must adhere to it while in office.
Section 4- All ASB must purchase an ASB Membership for the year they are in office.
Section 5- All ASB Executive Council Members must review the constitution and are required to display an understanding of its contents.
Section 6- All members of the ASB Executive Council must be enrolled in leadership class for at least one semester the year they are in office. Unless leadership conflicts with another class they need to meet graduation requirements.
Section 7- All members of the ASB Executive Council must be enrolled in at least 3 classes, one being Leadership at WHS Campus.
BY-LAWS OF ARTICLE 2
Section 1- ASB PRESIDENT
A. The ASB President shall have power to examine and operate in every branch of student leadership at WHS, including organizations, clubs, programs, associations, activities, classes, committees, and budgets affiliated with the WHS ASB.
B. The ASB President shall conduct all meetings of the ASB Executive Council and ASB
Senate, and shall prepare the agenda for these meetings.
C. The ASB President shall have the power to create any number of committees in order to research or investigate a petitioning club, team, group, organization, or for any reason that is deemed necessary by the President, with the advice and consent of the ASB Executive Council.
D. The ASB President shall be assisted in his or her various duties by all ASB officers, including the ASB Vice-President, the ASB Secretary, ASB Assistant Secretary, the ASB Business Manager, the ASB Assistant Business Manager, and the ASB Public Relations Officer.
E. The qualifications of the ASB President are that he or she be enrolled two semesters prior to his or her term of office in WHS, have variable previous leadership experience, and must be a member of the Senior class when he or she takes office.
Section 2- ASB VICE-PRESIDENT
A. The ASB Vice-President shall have power to examine and operate in every branch of student leadership at WHS, including organizations, clubs, programs, associations, activities, classes, committees, and budgets affiliated with the WHS ASB.
B. The ASB Vice-President shall report directly to the ASB Executive Council regarding WHS ASB affiliated clubs and music programs, and their budgets.
C. The ASB Vice-President shall be responsible to coordinate all ASB officer elections in preparation for the school year following the present term of office.
D. In the event that the ASB President is absent, incapacitated, becomes academically ineligible, or is removed from office, the ASB Vice-President shall assume the powers and responsibilities of the ASB President.
E. The qualifications of the ASB Vice-President are that he or she be enrolled two semesters prior to his or her term in office in WHS, have variable previous leadership experience, and must be a member of the Junior or Senior class when he or she takes office.
Section 3- ASB SECRETARY & ASSISTANT SECRETARY
A. The ASB Secretary shall record and distribute the minutes and agenda for all ASB Executive Council meetings and all ASB Student Council meetings.
B. The ASB Secretary shall take the attendance at, and maintain attendance records of, all ASB Executive Council meetings and all ASB Student Council meetings
C. The ASB Secretary shall maintain a record of all correspondence to the ASB and shall contact other agencies as directed by the ASB Executive Council.
D. The qualifications of the Secretary are that he or she be enrolled two semesters prior to his or her term in office in WHS, have variable previous leadership experience, and must be a member of the Sophomore, Junior or Senior class when he or she takes office.
E. The qualifications of the Assistant Secretary are that he or she must be enrolled two semesters prior to the term of office at WMS or WHS. They must be a member of the Freshman, Sophomore, Junior class the year that they are in office.
F. At the completion of their year as Assistant Secretary they will automatically move into
the role of Secretary the following school year; unless the ASB team from the original year (Assistant Secretary year) determines that the Assistant Secretary is not in good standing to become Secretary. Given the situation an election will take place for a new Secretary.
Section 4- ASB BUSINESS MANAGER & ASSISTANT BUSINESS MANAGER
A. The ASB Business Manager shall be in charge of keeping all ASB financial records, including the financial records of the ASB affiliated organizations.
B. The ASB Business Manager shall maintain and distribute financial status reports as needed to the ASB Executive Council.
C. The ASB Business Manager shall, along with the ASB Accounting Tech., handle all requisitions and expenditures requiring appropriate signatures for approval.
D. The qualifications of the ASB Business Manager are that he or she be enrolled two semesters prior to his or her term in office in WHS, have variable previous leadership experience, and must be a member of the Junior or Senior class when he or she takes office. Exceptions will be allowed on a case by case basis if no Juniors or Seniors apply.
The qualifications of the ASB Assistant Business Manager are that he or she must be enrolled two semesters prior to the term of office at WMS or WHS. They must be a member of the Freshman, Sophomore, or Junior class the year that they are in office.
E. At the completion of their year as Assistant Business manager they will automatically move into the role of Business Manager the following school year. Unless the ASB team from the original year (Assistant Business Manager year) determines that the Assistant Business Manager is not in good standing to become Business Manager. Given the situation an election will take place for a new Business Manager.
Section 5- ASB PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
A. The ASB Public Relations Officer shall be responsible for the distribution of information regarding events and activities, both upcoming and past, including athletic events.
B. The ASB Public Relations Officer shall be the student representative to the WHS ASB organization.
C. The qualifications of the ASB Public Relations Officer must be a member of the Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, or Senior class the year that they are in office.
ARTICLE 3- ASB ORGANIZATIONS
Section 1- ASB EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
A. The ASB Executive Council shall have the power to direct the ASB program.
B. The ASB Executive Council shall consist of the ASB President, the ASB Vice-President, the ASB Secretary, the ASB Assistant Secretary, the ASB Business Manager, Assistant Business Manager, and the ASB Public Relations Officer. All will be considered ASB Executive Officers and shall each be given equal voting rights on the ASB Executive Council, with the exception of the ASB President, who will only vote in case of a tie.
C. The ASB Executive Council shall meet weekly.
D. An emergency meeting of the ASB Executive Council can be called by the ASB
President and at least one other ASB Executive officer or the ASB advisor.
ARTICLE 4- ASB FUNDS
Section 1- INCOMING FUNDS
The ASB acquires its funds through ASB membership sales, fundraising, and other sources.
Section 2- ASB MEMBERSHIP
An ASB membership costs $25, and the money is distributed by the ASB Council as need arises.
Section 3- MANAGING FUNDS
The ASB is responsible for managing all funds and budgets within its own jurisdiction, including the General ASB fund, all class funds, and all clubs that are ASB affiliated.
Section 4- BUDGET APPROVAL
A. All ASB affiliated organizations shall submit budgets to the ASB Adviser by April 1st for the following school year. These budgets will then be submitted to and voted on by the ASB Executive Council and submitted to the Warden School Board for approval.
B. No ASB affiliated organization may fundraise or spend funds without ASB Executive Council approval.
ARTICLE 5- CLASS ORGANIZATIONS
Section 1- CLASS RESPONSIBILITIES
A. The Senior Class organization shall be responsible for planning the graduation ceremony and coordinating Senior activities.
B. The Junior Class organization shall be in charge of planning Prom and coordinating all Junior class activities.
C. The Sophomore class organization shall be in charge of coordinating all Sophomore class activities.
D. The Freshman class organization shall be in charge of coordinating all Freshmen class activities.
Section 2- CLASS OFFICERS
A. Each Class President shall have power to examine and operate in any order of business pertaining to their respective class, including, but not limited to, class budgets and conducting all Class Committee meetings.
B. Each Class Vice President shall assist in any order of business delegated by the president, and shall assume the responsibilities of the president in the event that he or she is absent, incapacitated, or becomes academically ineligible.
C. Each Class Secretary shall be charged with keeping records of Class Officer meetings, submitting them to the ASB Executive Council, and shall assist in any order of business otherwise delegated by their respective class president and vice president.
D. Each Class Treasurer/Business Manager shall be charged with keeping records of Class Budgets, completing paperwork for fundraisers and purchases, and making sure that all activities follow ASB policies and procedures.
E. Each Class Representative shall be charged with attending Student Council Meetings and
working as the liaison between the Class Adviser and ASB. He/she shall be required to be at student council meetings for the year he/she is in office. If the class rep cannot be at a student council meeting they should make sure another member/officer team from the class is present
Section 3- CLASS BUDGETS
Each of the class officers shall be held responsible for following the budget for their respective classes during each academic school year and submitting a budget by April 1st.
A. All funds belonging to WHS connected organizations shall be deposited in ASB accounts within 24 hours.
B. All expenditures of funds shall be made according to procedures established by the ASB Business Manager.
C. ASB funds will be acquired in the following manner:
D. Class dues are voted by each class and have to be approved by the school board.
ARTICLE 6- OFFICER ELECTIONS
Section 1- ASB AND CLASS OFFICERS
A. ASB Elections shall be held in the month of March. Class Elections will be held in April.
B. Officers for the ASB Executive Council shall have at least a GPA of 3.0 for the past two semesters in order to apply. They will be added to the WHS ineligibility list (Athletic Handbook) and follow the same rules as athletes. Any failure to keep grades at a 3.0 GPA past the ineligibility process will refer to Article 7 in the constitution.
C. All students winning an ASB Executive Office position shall automatically agree to attend such leadership retreat as may be directed. Any elected officer failing to attend such conference may be declared ineligible to hold office.
D. All ASB Officers shall be elected to their office by 70% student vote and 30% application evaluation. The application evaluation will be reviewed/scored by the ASB Advisor, HS Principal, ASB Secretary(staff) and the two (2) most veteran HS teachers.
E. The ASB Officers shall be elected by the vote of the entire student body, via secret ballot, each student being entitled to one (1) vote.
F. The Class Officers shall be elected only by members of their respective class, via secret ballot, each student being entitled to one (1) vote.
G. Candidates may run for office through self-nomination or the nomination of others.
H. The ASB Advisor with the consent of the executive ASB shall have the power to add extra election requirements as they see fit, including, but not limited to, campaign speeches and public presentations.
I. In the event that any position is not filled, the ASB Advisor shall have power to fill that position by appointment with the advice and consent of the ASB Executive Council.
Section 2 – WINNING THE ELECTION
A. Candidates for office will participate in a Primary (only if there are 3 or more candidates) and a General Election. The top two candidates in the Primary Election will move on to the General Election. In order to win the General election, a candidate must secure more votes than the other candidate.
B. In the event of a tie between candidates with the most votes, a second election will be held between those who are tied. The ASB Advisor shall be responsible for the timetable of the second election.
ARTICLE 7 – REMOVAL FROM OFFICE
Section 1 – GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL
An officer may be impeached for one or more of the following reasons:
A. Fails to fulfill the duties of his/her office.
B. Violates the WHS Code of Conduct.
C. Violates terms of the Officer’s Pledge & Leadership Agreement.
D. Excessive absenteeism as defined by missing more than 15% of scheduled meetings within a school quarter and excessive absenteeism of school.
E. Maintain a 3.0 GPA. If GPA falls below 3.0 but is above 2.75 then an evaluation of other leadership responsibilities, effort to bring grades up and teacher recommendations will be considered.
Section 2 – REMOVAL PROCESS
A. A document of violations will be submitted to and reviewed by the ASB Advisor.
B. A review board, made up of an Administrator, the ASB secretary (staff), and the ASB Advisor, will review and investigate all violations.
C. In no more than two (2) weeks the review board will grant the officer in question a hearing that will allow the officer to rebut any charges.
D. A two-thirds majority vote by the review board is necessary to remove an officer from his or her elected position.
E. An officer who has been removed from office may be granted an appeal. In this instance, the ASB Executive Council will meet with an Administrator, the ASB secretary(staff), and the ASB Advisor to review the violations and make a final decision for/against removal. A majority vote of 51% is needed to uphold the dismissal.
F. The ASB Advisor and the Executive ASB shall be granted the power to fill open positions by appointment, with the exception of elected presidents, whose positions will be filled by previously elected vice-presidents. The board will receive applications from any qualified persons seeking to fill the position after suitable public notice. Interviews of candidates for vacant positions will take place in a meeting open to the public. The board will appoint one of the candidates to serve until the next election.
ARTICLE 8 – CLUBS
ASB affiliated clubs that have the advantage of having all budgets overseen by the ASB have the ability to use the name of the WHS ASB on all orders of business including, but not limited to fundraisers, publications, and events.
Section 1 – CLUB APPROVAL PROCESS
A. Any club desiring to be WHS ASB affiliated must submit a club constitution to the ASB Executive Council.
B. The submitted constitution will then be presented for review to the ASB Executive Council by at least one representative, and the advisor, of the group seeking recognition.
C. The Executive Council shall review the club constitution for a period of no less than one week.
D. The Executive Council shall convene for discussion to make a recommendation for or against the establishment of the club seeking recognition at WHS.
E. The club constitution shall be presented to the ASB Student Council by at least one representative, and the advisor, from the club seeking recognition. The ASB Vice-President shall represent the ASB Student Council in reporting the recommendation of the ASB Executive Council, along with research done on the club.
F. The ASB Student Council will vote on the establishment of the club. It will be passed with a two-thirds majority.
G. The ASB Student Council will have the option of tabling the topic for future discussion in order to review the research in greater depth for further research and review. If this is the case, the ASB Student Council will make a decision in the next scheduled meeting.
Section 2 – CLUB OPERATING PROCEDURES
A. All members of the club must either be WHS Faculty or WHS Students who are actively enrolled.
B. The club must have a club advisor who is a WHS Faculty (teaching) Member. In the event that there is no faculty member who is interested in the position then it will be open to Warden School District Staff Members then Community Members or Parents.
C. The club must have no less than five active members, aside from the advisor.
D. All members of the club must purchase an ASB Membership. ASB will not approve any activities or fundraisers until said membership is up to date. **Clubs will need to reflect this requirement in their by-laws and state what represents a member.
E. An elected or approved representative of each club/class/activity are required to be at all student council meetings. Absence may result in denial of activities and fundraisers.
F. Failure to adhere to these procedures will result in the club’s affiliation with WHS ASB being suspended until or unless the ASB Executive Council rules otherwise. While a club is suspended, all club funds will be frozen.
G. Any club that is inactive for two consecutive years may have its constitution and ASB affiliation revoked by a majority vote of the ASB Student Council.
ARTICLE 9 – CONSTITUTIONAL PROCEDURES
Section 1 – AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION
A. An amendment is defined as any change to the present constitution.
B. Proposed amendments must be submitted by a student council member (an elected or approved representative of a class, activity or club) through the ASB Executive Council for review of content and formatting before they are brought before the ASB Student Council.
C. After the ASB Executive Council has approved the content and formatting of the proposed amendment, a petition requiring the signatures of 100 students, who are not members of the ASB Executive Council, must be submitted to the ASB Executive Council within 3 weeks. If it is not submitted within that time period the proposed amendment shall be tabled for future discussion.
D. The ASB Executive Council shall make a recommendation to the entire ASB Student Council at the next monthly meeting.
E. There must be a two-thirds majority vote of the ASB Student Council in order for an amendment to be made to the constitution.
Section 2 – REVIEW/UPDATE
A. There shall be a review of the WHS Constitution, headed by the ASB Executive Council, to be conducted each year during the months of April/May.
B. Every Three years the WHS Constitution shall undergo an in-depth review and evaluation for the purpose of determining if changes are necessary.
Section 3 – DISTRIBUTION
Copies of the constitution shall be made available to students through the Main Office, the Student Activities Office, and the WHS Website.
ARTICLE 10- MISCELLANEOUS
Section 1 – COURT (HOMECOMING) HONORS
A. Students can only receive one court honor prior to their Senior year.
B. During a student’s Senior year, all court honors are eligible to be won.
C. Students may decline court honors by informing the event chairperson within 2 days of the voting process of the Court.
D. Students who do not decline court honors and are selected as members of the Court are encouraged to attend all court functions.
Section 2 – INTER-SCHOOL RELATIONS
A. As a member of the Mid-Columbia Local Association* of Student Councils, WHS shall participate in its functions and activities.
*when the association is active
B. The WHS ASB shall keep in regular contact with the middle school’s ASB programs.
Section 3 - SCHOOL DANCES
A. Warden High School sponsors 3 dances a year. Homecoming (hosted by ASB), Sadies (ASB) and Prom (hosted by the Junior class). If at any time a club/class chooses to not host the assigned dance then the dance is open for “bid”.
B. Bid process: Once a club/class officially declines to host the assigned dance the ASB will announce the opening via various means of communication. Clubs/Classes interested in hosting the dance will have to submit a dance form (see ASB advisor or officers for form). The ASB will then evaluate all forms turned in and pick the group to host. The winning group will be assigned said dance until they no longer choose to host that dance unless another agreement was made.
C. Additional dances are allowed with the proper approvals by ASB and principal.
D. Cancelation of a dance at the last minute due to poor planning could result in the loss of that class/club hosting a future dance.
ARTICLE 11- VALIDATION OF CONSTITUTION
Section 1- This Constitution and by-laws, when approved by the District Board of Directors, recognizes the Associated Student Body of WHS.
Section 2- This Constitution and by-laws shall become binding and effective when duly accepted and signed by the ASB Executive Officers, after having been voted on by a 2/3 majority of the Student Council.