Student Council has been upgrading the school store over the last few weeks. They are upgrading the pay system and will be able to take cards, Apple Pay and Cash App.

This upgrade will help increase the amount of money Student Council makes from the store due to students carrying cards more than cash. 

“We recognize that so many kids are carrying cards these days instead of cash, so that will increase our business. It can be easier for kids and more convenient if they are hungry but don’t happen to have cash on them,” adviser Jessica Hogan said.  

Many students only carry a card or never have cash on them due to having jobs and direct deposit. 

“It’s helpful for people who use cards and not cash. A lot of people in high school have a job and use a card over cash because of it. People complain about not being able to use the student store because they don’t have cash on them,” freshman Ethan Franks said. 

This change didn’t just happen overnight. Instructional coach Michael Baker had to workto get this approved and commit to the changes. 

“I had to go through meetings with various members of the school in order to gain their insight and approval,” Baker said. “After I had all hands on deck, I began doing extensive research on the different types of technology. The price and quality were two big things I had to take into consideration when looking online.” 

Workers believe the store was in need of a change. One that would help make everyone’s lives easier. 

“Keeping track of everything and staying organized is so much easier,” senior Marcella Parker said. “There is less room for error now than there was prior to the new system. With the old system, we didn’t know how much of each item was being sold.” 

The training wasn’t hard to get used to for some of the workers; however, the changes are still exciting. 

“I work in retail so the machine and training process wasn’t different from what I do everyday,” senior Aaliyah McGee said. “It’s still exciting because the new system is so much faster. I love that it’s a touch screen and the fact that I don’t have to do the math for people’s change.” 

The cash option is still available for those who prefer physical bills over using a card. 

“Since I am only 14 years old, I don’t have a card or an actual income source. For me, cash is just easier because that’s usually what I carry around,” Franks said. 

Training for the workers was a quick process, but everyone had a role to make sure everything ran smoothly with the changes being made. 

“We had to count all the stock we had in the store and in the storage room, so it took about two class periods to go through and get accurate numbers of everything,” Parker said. “Then we had to learn how the register actually worked along with how to put in our passwords and set up our own account.” 

Baker and Hogan want students to know about one of the changes that come along with using a card in the school store. 

“There is no tax on the cards; however, there is a charge,” Hogan said. “When you use your card, there are two fees. One fee is for 10 cents and the other is a 3% charge. For example, if you buy something for a dollar, it will ring up as $1.13.” 

“The reasoning behind the charge on cards is due to the fact the school district is not allowed to pay for credit card processing fees legally, so the students using the cards have to handle the fee,” Baker said.