They’re learning interest

SANDPOINT – During his lunch period, Alex Finley lined up at the counter of Horizon Credit Union’s new Sandpoint High School branch to deposit $10.

Sixteen-year-old Finley was the first customer of the day. Liara Nosiglia, the teller who waited on him, was one of his peers.

Welcome to Bulldog Branch – a fully operating branch of the credit union, and run by students. When the first lunch bell rings, the tellers hurry from class to open the vault and prepare their cash drawers for an 11:20 a.m. opening. Bulldog Branch, named after the school mascot, is open five days a week during the school’s three lunch periods.

More 130 students have pre-registered for checking or savings accounts at the branch, which celebrated its grand opening Monday. Having their names entered for an iPod drawing helped bolster student interest in opening accounts. But some, such as Finley, also have a genuine interest in saving.

“I have a tendency to spend too much,” confided Finley, a sophomore, as he held up a bottle of Gatorade – his impulse buy of the day. “If I put it in the bank, it’s not burning a hole in my pocket.”

Bulldog Branch is a first for North Idaho, but the concept of banks and credit unions opening high school branches is part of a national trend, said Jeff Adams, CEO of Horizon, which is based in Spokane.

The goal is to teach kids money-management fundamentals before they get their first credit card offer, he said. Horizon offers checking accounts to students 16 and older. Learning to balance a checking account is an important part of personal finance, Adams said.

Horizon officials visited about a half-dozen student-run bank branches in Washington and Oregon before opening the Bulldog Branch. The branch will never be a profit center, said Steve Wilder, a Horizon vice president.

Horizon budgeted about $55,000 to renovate a former storage area at Sandpoint High. The space includes a security camera, plus computer equipment.

Horizon also spent six weeks training the four student tellers. The students were selected for their grades, interest in the project, and ability to work with customers and two managers from Horizon’s Sandpoint office, who are on-site overseeing the Bulldog branch. The students had to master the same tasks and textbook learning as Horizon’s full-time tellers.

Jarae Nordgaarden, a 15-year-old sophomore, said she came away impressed with the credit union’s extensive security system.

“People who rob banks have no common sense,” she said. “Do you know how many silent alarms there are?”

“I keep worrying that I’ll set one off,” said Nosiglia, who also a sophomore.

Until she took the training, 17-year-old Kourtney Smith said the Banking Secrecy Act was just a term she’d heard on Jeopardy. Now, she knows it was set up to prevent money laundering from illegal activity.

The student tellers don’t get paid, but they did receive two credit hours for their training.

Bulldog Branch fits Sandpoint High’s goal of providing high-quality vocational education, said Rick Rhodes, the school’s career pathways and work-based learning instructor.

“They’re getting real-world experience and real-time training,” he said. Rhodes hopes to see students’ work experience at Bulldog Branch evolve into summer job offers.

Bulldog Branch will serve teachers and staff, as well as students. Many of Sandpoint High’s teachers are already members of the credit union, said Principal Becky Kiebert. They’ll be able to make car and mortgage payments at the branch.

“Our head librarian withdrew $20 during the soft opening last week,” Kiebert said. “He wanted to make sure everything was working.”