ASB Director

[Guest Stephanie Nasser]

Good Morning.

I am in charge of ASB – Associated Student Body for a high school in CA and we have a question on our constitution – last school year, there were amendments to our constitution  voted on and those amendments were unanimously passed and since have been adopted and we have been operating by those adopted amendments – it has now come to my attention, the written constitution does not reflect those adopted amendments – the issue is, the last year’s group never took minutes nor recorded the vote for such amendments. The retired director was in charge of recording the voted amendments and it just did not get done?  where do I go from here?????? Thanks so much for your help.

[George Mervosh]

Good Morning.

I am in charge of ASB – Associated Student Body for a high school in CA and we have a question on our constitution – last school year, there were amendments to our constitution  voted on and those amendments were unanimously passed and since have been adopted and we have been operating by those adopted amendments – it has now come to my attention, the written constitution does not reflect those adopted amendments – the issue is, the last year’s group never took minutes nor recorded the vote for such amendments. The retired director was in charge of recording the voted amendments and it just did not get done?  where do I go from here?????? Thanks so much for your help.

 

An amendment to the governing documents takes effect immediately upon its adoption.   RONR (11th ed. ), pp. 597-98

 

What's missing is a record of those actions taken.  My recommendation is that the body appoint a committee of people who were involved in last year's process to draw up a set of minutes based upon what actually happened and once the assembly agrees that this shall be the record of what happened, you can make your corrections to the copies of the constitution that everyone should have. 

 

You're very fortunate there wasn't any (or much) dissent on those amendments, or straightening this out would be a disaster.  Of course you need to take all steps necessary to ensure this never happens again.  You're not the first group this has happened to.

[Guest Stephanie Nasser]

Thank you so much for that response - could the party of those that are re-recording the minutes per se, be the executive council  which is 5 studentsof the current class - because those students were present when the vote occurred? Or does it need to be a certain number of students??

[George Mervosh]

Thank you so much for that response - could the party of those that are re-recording the minutes per se, be the executive council  which is 5 studentsof the current class - because those students were present when the vote occurred? Or does it need to be a certain number of students??

 

In forming the committee the body can include whomever they wish to have serve on it.  No minimum number. Having members serve who were present when these amendments were adopted makes perfect sense.

[Gary Novosielski]

Thank you so much for that response - could the party of those that are re-recording the minutes per se, be the executive council  which is 5 studentsof the current class - because those students were present when the vote occurred? Or does it need to be a certain number of students??

The committee can be of whatever size the organization thinks best.  But the committee that is reconstructing the minutes is really only preparing a draft of what was passed.  

 

Once their job is done, they will report back with the draft minutes which will then be presented for approval (or correction) to the assembly (whichever body they are the minutes of), even though some, many, or most of the people currently in the assembly might not have been present back then.

[Josh Martin]

Once their job is done, they will report back with the draft minutes which will then be presented for approval (or correction) to the assembly (whichever body they are the minutes of), even though some, many, or most of the people currently in the assembly might not have been present back then.

 

I think I would recommend that the assembly authorize the committee to actually approve the minutes, since that's probably what should have happened in the first place. This sounds like some sort of student government organization, and I'd therefore guess that there has been a periodic change in the membership of the assembly since the last school year.

[George Mervosh]

I think I would recommend that the assembly authorize the committee to actually approve the minutes, since that's probably what should have happened in the first place.

 

Yes indeed, it's absolutely proper if they are comfortable with that.  Might speed things along as well.

[Gary Novosielski]

I think I would recommend that the assembly authorize the committee to actually approve the minutes, since that's probably what should have happened in the first place. This sounds like some sort of student government organization, and I'd therefore guess that there has been a periodic change in the membership of the assembly since the last school year.

That's fine, as well.   If the assembly has confidence in those on the committee, it could authorize them to approve.  Of course, if they have that much confidence, then approval of a draft would probably sail through as well, but it's better to have this thing completed ASAP.