Do ATMs belong in high schools?

NO
Jim Mendola
Don't sanction impulse spending

ATMs do not belong in high schools. Money machines are common in areas where impulse shopping is desired—malls, amusement parks and casinos, to name just a few. Many retail businesses have installed ATMs because access to ready cash makes some customers more likely to buy things they otherwise might not buy. This tells you something important about the nature of ATM use. What might the presence of ATMs in high schools tell the community about the nature of education? Do we want to be seen as encouraging impulse spending?

There are many reasons not to install ATMs in schools. First, schools are really not in the business of selling things to students. Other than cafeteria food, classroom supplies and a few bits of school-spirit merchandise, schools generally function as cashless societies. Of course, the yearbook and class rings are big-ticket items, but not the sort to be purchased on a whim.

Moreover, cash in schools creates problems. Every high school administrator deals with theft among students. Easy access to cash could create a whole new generation of lunchroom bullies who won’t bother with nickels and dimes, but go straight for the ATM card and its PIN. Many schools also struggle daily to discourage and deter criminal behavior such as drug use and gambling. Easy access to cash would make that job even more difficult. Readily available cash might also create an in-school caste system. Students with money can flaunt it more easily, while those without ATM cards will likely feel inferior.

One may argue that the benefits of ATMs in schools outweigh potential harms. Perhaps the vast majority of students who use ATMs will learn to better manage their own money. Not likely. Money management requires planning, not impulse. And any budget certainly suffers from the fees charged with every ATM withdrawal. Given that most students will withdraw only small amounts at a time, a $1.50 fee, which would seem modest for a large cash withdrawal, is a high price to pay for each small one. There remains the question of whether schools should profit from such fees.

In business classes, we teach our students to prepare a budget and stick to it. If students are following a budget, they will know how much money they need on a daily basis. And their parents should be involved as well. High school students (despite their objections) will benefit from careful oversight of their spending habits.

As districts around the country struggle with the difficulties created by soda machines, cell phones and text messaging, let them be spared the additional problems that ATMs might bring.

Jim Mendola teaches business and computer classes at Kenmore East High School and Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Tonawanda, N.Y.

YES
Daryl Grove
It's an educator in a box, the evidence shows

Education’s purpose is beyond the classroom and beyond today: It must be relevant to society at large and forward-looking. So, I would suggest that if consumerism is a challenge, tackle it head on. Actively teach students how to be consumers. Address the earning, saving, giving, spending, investing and protecting of money—and sound decision-making in the process. In this education, an ATM in a high school can be one tool—a low-maintenance, real-world educator in a box.

The primary arguments against ATMs in schools usually center on consumerism. Are students being merchandised? Do schools make obscene profits? Is essential education being eroded to make way for commercialization? These are valid questions to consider. Having spent nine years teaching high school math and science, I’ve been part of similar discussions from “the inside.” And for the last decade, first in management of an international company and now as owner of a growing business, I’ve gained an “outside” perspective on education.

Any threat of rampant consumerism is grossly exaggerated. Only one student in eight has an ATM card, which the student uses at a school ATM only five times in a school year. So even those with a card only spend $5 to $8 in ATM fees a year—the price of a single movie ticket! And that’s supposed to be hurting our children? I hardly think it worth discussing. These numbers are real. I know from experience, having placed the first ATM in a high school in Oregon and having tracked the numbers ever since. And it should be said that no high school is getting rich on an ATM. In any high school with an enrollment of 1,500 or more, an ATM will pay for itself. But if the truth be told, any poor fundraiser will do better. The real benefit is indirect.

Another fear was highlighted by one principal who told me, “We don’t want to be a bank.” But stand at the door of the school bookkeeper’s office, as I have many times, and you’ll soon see that schools have long been in the banking business. Students come for change, to pay for bus passes, activities, ID badges, lab courses, sports events and more. And 90 percent of them carry an account. Who are we kidding? We accommodate students’ monetary needs every day. With an ATM, some of that traffic can be redirected away from the bookkeeper. And, oh yes, schools with ATMs are actually finding that students and parents are accessing the machines to pay down their accounts. Imagine that—schools making it convenient for their “customers” to pay for the “product.” Indeed, students are consumers. And high schools with ATMs model smart money management.

Daryl Grove is a former high school teacher and current owner of GoodVantage Resources, which specializes in electronic payments and communication tools. He lives in Gresham, Ore.