The Central Cabarrus High School

STEM ThinkTank By-Laws

Article I
Voting within ThinkTank
Section 1 The elected representatives and officers, excluding the President, shall have the power to vote. The
President shall vote only when needed to break a tie.
Section 2 For Quorum to be met, two-thirds of the elected representatives must vote.
Section 3 No changes to the By-Laws or Constitution can be made without Quorum.
Article II
STEM School Elections
Section 1 Qualifications for ThinkTank Representatives
A. Student must maintain and currently have an 80% average in ALL STEM courses and not failing
courses outside of STEM.
B. Be in good standing with teachers and administration
C. Students discipline record will be check for offenses and not be allowed to run for office if
a. The student shows a consistent pattern of misbehavior in the classroom including cheating,
disruptive behavior, disrespect to teachers or substitutes, tardies, or removal from the
classroom.
b. The student is not in good standing with the administration and teachers. The student has
been suspended from school.
c. The student will be a full-time student at Central Cabarrus for the year of election.
Section 2 Application and Ballot Information
A. In the weeks prior to elections, applications will become available online for interested parties.
Students will become aware of ballots by announcements and word of mouth.
B. All application deadlines will be strictly enforced. Students names will not appear on the ballot if all
criteria in the application is not met or if the student is ineligible due to academic or discipline record.
C. Once a student is on the ballot, all campaign guidelines must be followed or the student will be
immediately removed from the ballot.
Section 3 Campaign Guidelines
A. ThinkTank Representative guidelines
a. Five campaign posters may be put up within the school a week prior to election.
b. Posters MUST be approved by the ThinkTank advisor before hanging.
c. Handbills, stickers, and buttons shall be distributed within the school.
d. Candy is only allowed with the permission of the ThinkTank advisor and is given out 4 th
period and/or after school so that it does not interfere with lunch.

e. Candidates can set up an information booth during the two days prior to elections in Norse
Cove during lunches. The booth must be manned during all four lunches. The candidate may
not skip class to man the booth; campaign supporters can help man the booth during other
lunch periods.
f. Oral campaigning is also recommended throughout the week prior to elections.
g. Negative campaigning against opponents will not be tolerated.
h. Absolutely NO social networking is to be used for campaigning. If parties engage in social
networking campaign techniques, they will be removed from the election.
Section 4 Voting
A. All voting will take place within a STEM class. Students who are interested in voting can cast a vote.
Ballots not filled out correctly will not be counted towards the election.
Article III
All offices vacated during the school year will be filled as the Constitution deems.
Article IV
Any changes needing to be made the By-Laws should have a motion and discussion before voting by Quorum.
Article V
Meetings
Section 1 Meetings for the ThinkTank will be held weekly on stated dates decided by the ThinkTank
representatives and the ThinkTank advisor.
Section 2 All meetings will follow Parliamentary Procedure
A. The ThinkTank advisor and the President will set the agenda.
B. Each meeting will follow these guidelines:
1. Roll Call by the secretary
2. Reading and approval of the previous meeting minutes (by Vice-President)
3. Unfinished Business
4. New Business
5. Announcements
6. Committee (grade level) Reports
9. Adjournment
Article VI
Ethics Issues
Section 1 Absences from general meetings will not be tolerated.
A. If a member must be absent from a meeting, they must fill out an absentee slip prior to the meeting or
email the ThinkTank Advisor and President. They are responsible for reading ThinkTank notes
covered in the missed meeting. These notes can be found in the shared digital space.
B. Excused absences will be for family emergencies, athletic game (not practice), or absence from
school due to illness.
C. Any questionable absence will go before the Ethics Committee
Section 2 A point system will be used to monitor member activities.
A. ThinkTank representatives must achieve a minimum of 600 points by the end of the school year to run
for re-election.
B. ThinkTank representatives must have met 300 points by the end of the first semester. Failure to meet
these points will result in the loss of their grade-level position.
C. ThinkTank members MUST attend a minimum of four STEM-ran events.
D. Each event will be worth 100 points each.
E. In addition to earning points for ThinkTank through events, representatives can (but are not limited
to) complete the following:

a.
b.
c.
d.

Assisting a STEM teacher after school (50 points)

Attending a STEM event sponsored by fellow STEM schools (50 points)
Community service hours (50 points for each hour completed)
Competing in a community sponsored STEM event (i.e. Science Olympiad, UNCC Science
Fair, etc.) (100 points per event)
F. In order to receive points, students must complete a point form.
G. If the member fails to complete the points form, points will NOT be awarded.
Section 3- Students must maintain a STEM average of 80% or higher.
H. Any student placed on academic probation during the school year they are serving is at risk of losing
their position. Removal of the position will be left up to the ThinkTank advisor and the STEM
Teacher Committee.
Section 4: A. If ThinkTank members are suspended from school, the ethics committee will review the case. The
student may result dismissal from the Council. It will be determined on a case by case basis.
Article VII
Spending STEM funds
Section 1 The ThinkTank advisor will be responsible for any monies to spend from the CCHS STEM account.
Article VIII
Self-Removal from Position
Section 1 At any time during the school year, a student may choose to remove himself from a ThinkTank
position.
Section 2 If a student removes himself from a position, he will not be allowed to run the following school year.
If the student wishes to run in a consecutive school year, he will need special approval from the ThinkTank
advisor and STEM Teacher Committee.
--Last Revised 2015--