Leadership Roles and Responsibilities

Runs meetings and represents Council to the school community 

1. Presides over all Council meetings.

2. Must be a veteran of at least one year of the Council.

3. Serves on the Administrative Committee.

4. Can make no motion and is not able to vote except to break a tie.

5. Meets regularly each week with the Principal to communicate Council business to the Administration with the Assistant Moderator.

6. Is responsible for representing Council and its views to the public and school community.

7. Is responsible for organizing a school-wide assembly each fall to introduce the Council and its goals to the student body.

8. Is responsible for all matters assigned to the committee and for the prompt reporting of committee business.

9. Is responsible for setting the Council’s regularly scheduled meeting time in cooperation with the Assistant Principal.

10. Is responsible for seeing that the Council meetings have a positive and business-like tone and that full discussions and airings of points of view are encouraged.

11. Is responsible for writing the “Message from the Council Moderator” for the student handbook at the end of the school year, before the Handbook’s annual revision.

 Chair of Executive Committee, plans agenda for meetings, and oversees all Council committees -

 

1. Presides over meetings in the absence of the Moderator.

2. Chairs the Executive Committee and is responsible for its effective operation. (See duties of the Executive Committee in article VII, Section B of the Council Bylaws).

3. Is responsible for planning the agenda for each week’s Council meeting and ensures it gets to the secretary before the minutes are posted on the Council bulletin board.

4. Is responsible for attending one meeting of each committee per quarter to check in on committee progress and to obtain an overall view of committee function.

5. Represents the Council and its views to the public and the school community in the absence of the Moderator.

6. Oversee or facilitate the Council Committee web pages. Ensure each page includes:

(a) chair/chairs

(b) current members

(c) time/place of meeting

(d) committee responsibilities

(e) committees’ meeting notes

(f) action the committee has taken to date

7. Meets regularly each week with the principal to communicate Council business to the HHS Administration with the Moderator.

Manages Council funds -

1. Is responsible for accurate accounting of all Council funds.

2. Is responsible for tracking and payment of Council appropriations.

3. Is a member of the Student Activities Committee and is responsible for organizing and presenting the recommended SAC budget to the Council.

4. Is responsible for fund-raising activities and their organization.

5. Is the only one with the authority to sign and process Council purchases.

6. Is responsible for ongoing and complete communication with the Financial Secretary of Hanover High School.

7. Presides over meetings in the absence of [the Moderator and the Assistant Moderator].

Writes minutes, takes attendance, and handles roll call votes -

1. Takes, distributes, and posts minutes of each meeting on the Council bulletin board and on the Council website.

2. Is responsible for posting a complete list of passed and failed motions for the current school year.

3. Is responsible for handling the Council’s correspondence and maintaining records of it.

4. Will be a member of the Organizational Engineering Committee.

5. Is responsible for maintaining a complete file of minutes in the school library and the main office.

6. Is responsible for maintaining a complete attendance record of all Council members.

7. Presides over meetings in the absence of [the Moderator, Assistant Moderator, and Treasurer].

8. To post committee and council attendance on the Council bulletin board three weeks before elections.

Voting member and student liaison between the Council and the Committee on Programming and Procedure -

1. Is responsible for attending all Committee on Programming and Procedure meetings, as a voting member of the Committee. 

2. Is responsible for representing the interests of the Council to the committee and the interests of the committee to the Council.

3. Will be a member of the Curriculum Committee. 

4. Is responsible for establishing a working relationship with the Principal and the Dean of Students on committee issues.

5. Is responsible for keeping the student body current on Committee on Programming and Procedure issues through the school paper.

6. Is responsible for representing the interests of all of Council during Committee on Programming and Procedure meetings, regardless of their constituency as a voting member of Council.

7. Presides over meetings in the absence of [the Moderator, the Assistant-Moderator, the Treasurer, the Secretary, the Dresden School Board Representative, and the Public Relations Person].

Non-voting member and student liaison between the Council and the Dresden School Board -

1. Is responsible for attending all Dresden School Board meetings, as a non-voting member of the Board.

2. Is responsible for representing the interests of the Council to the board and the interests of the Board to the Council.

3. Will be a member of the Curriculum Committee.

4. Is responsible for establishing a working relationship with the chair of the board and the Superintendent of Schools on Dresden School Board issues.

5. Is responsible for keeping the student body current on Board issues through the school paper.

6. Presides over meetings in the absence of [the Moderator, the Assistant Moderator, the Treasurer, and the Secretary].

Communicates Council activity to the student body and community -

1. Is responsible for communicating the actions of the Council to the student body and the community at large.

2. Is responsible for organizing presentations about Council and the democratic process to HHS staff and all ninth-grade social studies classes each fall, in conjunction with the Moderator.

3. Will be a member of the Student Life Committee.

4. Is responsible for promoting school involvement by posting the Council agenda at least 24 hours before each meeting and for maintaining an effective Council bulletin board, in conjunction with the secretary.

5. Is responsible for organizing a presentation about the democratic process at HHS to be given to the Dresden School Board at the beginning of each board term, in conjunction with the Dresden School Board Representative.

6. Is responsible for organizing a presentation to parents at the eighth-grade RMS Parent’s Night.

7. Is responsible for distributing a letter to all new staff at the beginning of the school year inviting them to attend a Council meeting.

8. Is responsible for submitting a monthly report summarizing the major issues being dealt with in Council if not already being covered by a Broadside member. 

9. Is responsible for submitting updates to the Common Ground Announcements.

10. Is responsible for maintaining Council social media, i.e. Instagram.

11. Is responsible for organizing a school visit designed to inform Council members about practices at other schools at least twice a year.

12. To post the minutes from each week on the Council Bulletin Board and the other bulletin boards throughout the school.

13. To post a list of Council Nominees for the school a week before the election.

14. To email the motions passed that pertain to the entire school at the last meeting and the agenda for the next meeting by 12 (noon) on Wednesday.

15. Presides over meetings in the absence of [the Moderator, the Assistant Moderator, the Treasurer, the Secretary, and the Dresden School Board Representative].

In 1972, Tom Hanlon died unexpectedly. He left a void that highlighted more than ever that this “all-school political science laboratory” needed a custodian. It was decided that the Council needed more attention and care than it was receiving. To address this, the position of Council Executive was established.

1. To serve as Parliamentarian of the Council.

2. To be responsible for maintaining and preserving a complete record of Council activities for the year.

3. To preserve and maintain records of the Council.

4. To directly assist the Moderator in carrying out the Moderator’s duties.

5. To be a non-voting member of and work with the Executive Committee, especially in developing agendas.

6. To serve as a resource person to the Council committees.

7. To serve as a liaison to the school administration.

8. To be responsible for procedures facilitating Council business and Council decisions.

9. To serve in an advisory capacity to the Council, and to its officers. The Executive cannot make motions and cannot vote.

10. To plan and run the Council’s annual fall retreat, in conjunction with the Moderator and Assistant Moderator.

11. To serve on the Judiciary Committee as a non-voting member and a resource for the chair.

12. Will serve to evaluate the work of the Judiciary Committee at least once each year and report its finding to the Council.