Aragon adopts district no-cash system for club food fairs

This Friday, Sept. 27, Aragon students can expect to encounter changes at the lunchtime club food fair. Unlike fairs during previous years, cash will no longer be accepted at individual food booths. Instead, students must purchase $1 tickets from four stations staffed by leadership students and use those tickets to purchase food items.

This new method of running the food fair comes as a directive from the district office. Site technician Nancy Walsh says, “We just want everything to be upfront [because] auditors, when they look at the books in the schools, they want to see that there’s some kind of reconciliation between what goes [out] and what is taken in.”

Leadership teacher Catherine Williamson adds, “They want to make sure nobody is not caring about counting things as they should be and they want to make sure that nobody’s got money going off where it shouldn’t be going … They want a paper trail that they can accurately [track].”

In addition to meeting auditors’ needs, this change is intended to help clubs. Williamson says, “It’s easier on the students. [Club staff] are just taking tickets, not making change. Also, students won’t be handling [both] cash and food.”

The change has received a mixed reaction. Some, like junior and Aragon Gay Straight Alliance president Shannon Thielen, express concern about sales dropping. Thielen says, “I think it’s going to be really inefficient. The lines are going to be too long because people aren’t going to be able to have time to buy the stuff. It would ruin the clubs’ business.”

Senior Jackie Pei acknowledges the purposes of this change and says, “I understand why the district would [want the change] because they are scared of students embezzling money, and I think it is beneficial that it is more organized.”

Under this change, clubs will turn in their collected tickets to the business office and money will be directly deposited into the clubs’ individual accounts.

However, for clubs wishing to donate the money to a charity directly, the process is a little more complicated because the school district cannot send checks from its accounts to charitable organizations. Clubs intending to donate profits to charities must notify the business office so that the money can be directed to the club’s advisor. The club and its advisor will then donate the money in the appropriate manner.

ASB Secretary Albert Boe, who oversees the club commission, says, “I don’t think anybody from the student perspective really loved the idea, but it was something that we were told by the district we had to go to for auditing reasons. So, at this point, we are just taking what we have to do and mak[ing] it as easy for the students as possible.”

Although this process may come new to Aragon, it is not without precedent. Burlingame High School has operated its food fairs using tickets for the past few years.

Burlingame leadership commissioner Andrew Guan says it works well overall but recognizes its shortcomings. “For the students, its kind of a hassle. You’re not sure on how many tickets you want to buy but by the time you check prices, the line is ridiculously long,” says Guan. “But from an ASB perspective, it works a lot better than money. When people pay clubs, you have no idea where that money is going. The volunteers for the club selling food might just take that money and go buy a Call of Duty game.”

Boe admits that switching to tickets for the first time will come with its own set of challenges, saying, “It’s the first time we’re doing this so we’re trying to work out the kinks before, and we’ve talked about different problems that might arise, and we’re trying to address them.”

Addressing concerns about the use of tickets not sold by the school, Leadership resolved to sell tickets of an unannounced single color only during the food fair. Unsold tickets can be turned in for money at the end of lunch at the ticket booths. Additionally, leadership held a lunchtime meeting with club representatives the Tuesday before the fair in an effort to explain the new process and respond to any concerns.

Williamson concludes, “First time out, there will probably be some pitfalls, but I think everyone will eventually get used to it.”

How do you feel about this change? Leave us a comment below.