Bison Buck cashes out
More stories from Ellie Knapp
Prior to Dec 17, Carlisle High School had a branch of Members 1st, called the Bison Buck. Although this branch will no longer be operational, students will continue to participate in educational programs with the federal credit union.
If you’re looking for a way to withdraw cash from your bank account during the school, you’re going to be disappointed.
The Members 1st location at CHS, known as the “Bison Buck,” closed its doors for good Monday, December 17.
The bank franchise, which has been at the high school since 2010, is also leaving other schools around the area.
“While we have closed some in-school branches, we will continue to dedicate resources to provide financial education,” said Rachel Mathias, Financial Education Coordinator at Members 1st. “We value the partnerships that we have with the schools and are excited about expanding our financial literacy efforts. Through this reallocation of resources, it is our goal that the value of our support of Carlisle High School will be through our financial education programming as opposed to an in-school branch with low volume and limited hours.”
This CTE program may not be operating inside of Carlisle High School’s doors, but it is not over, as there will still be opportunities for students to participate.
“[The students in the program will] continue to work for Members 1st at one of the branches,” said Albert Parrillo, Director of Careers at CHS. “Students working through Carlisle Area School District’s Diversified Occupations or Work Force Education Programs at Members 1st will not change. That opportunity will continue to happen every year if we have students who can fill the position.”
The “Bison Buck” was not used very much, and Mathias understands this.
“The data shows us that the Bison Buck was seldom used and hours were extremely limited,” said Mathias.
Although clubs and teachers had accounts and could use the franchise, many students don’t have Members 1st accounts or don’t have the time during their lunch to walk to Fowler. Even if students had both, there are not many needs of a student to pay in cash.
“I don’t really have time between classes to go and get money, and I generally carry any cash I need anyhow,” freshman Hannah Alwine said.
The “Bison Buck” may be closed, but Members 1st Federal Credit Union still has many services available for students.
“Our Student Services encompass a wide range of programs including information on financing a college education and our financial education programs,” the Members 1st website reads.
Even without an in-school location, Members 1st Federal Credit Union will keep up its service to students, through both internships and student savings programs.
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Ellie Knapp is currently a freshman at Carlisle Area High School and this is her first year on Periscope as a staff writer. Ellie is on the JV field...
salko hrnjic • Jan 16, 2019 at 2:10 pm
I am glad that they’re still committed to the programs enrolled in the program despite closing the branches down. It really is important to encourage financial literacy for rising high school students. Personally, i did not even know this was thing at the school, so i dont think it closing down will have substantial impacts on daily high school life.
Kalei Arnett • Jan 15, 2019 at 7:45 am
Considering I never used the Bison Buck I thought it was always nice to have just in case. However, since it wasn’t used too much and the hours were limited there really didn’t seem to be a point in keeping it.
Dyamond Jones • Jan 14, 2019 at 9:02 pm
I think that the removal of the Bison Buck will not hurt many students. I personally have never heard of many students using the banking system. I believe that the bank may have been more successful with additional advertising and activities similar to the those associated with the Bison Corner.
Evan Bates • Jan 14, 2019 at 12:51 pm
Truly a shame. I am the treasurer for German Honors Society and my only job was to shuttle packets of money from the classroom to the Bison Buck. I did this duty only once but it was a nice excuse to get out of class. It was the only job among the officers that had anything to do and gave me a nice feeling of usefulness. Sad to see it go.
Grace Colestock • Jan 14, 2019 at 10:58 am
At first when I heard they were getting of the Bison Buck, I thought it was a really bad idea; but now looking at it, I see it wasn’t really a big deal. I do not really know any students that used it regularly, besides for making payments for clubs and groups like class councils. It was a really nice amenity, but I completely understand why they got rid of it since it wasn’t being used and was probably more of an expense for the bank than a benefit.
Bethany Hanak • Jan 14, 2019 at 8:43 am
Despite having a Member’s 1st account, I never used the branch in CHS due to its limited hours and I also had a busy schedule which didn’t allow me to get over to the bank too easily. Regardless, I am saddened by the loss of the bank inside of the school, since I know it played a role in a few CTE programs. I am glad that Member’s 1st still intends to play a role in providing students with internship opportunities and financial education programs.
Thomas K • Jan 14, 2019 at 4:36 am
Although it’s unfortunate that the bison buck is closing, I think it’s considerate of member’s 1st to continue their relationship with schools through the CTE program. I personally have never visited the bison buck because it was inconvenient.
Armela Ferhatovic • Jan 13, 2019 at 6:16 pm
I thought that having a school bank was convienent. It was an easy way for students to withdraw money. It was also very beneficial for clubs. Key club was able to manage their funds in school through the school bank. I’m sad to hear bison buck is closing down.
Joseph Dimino • Jan 11, 2019 at 9:29 pm
It is sad to see the Bison Buck go but I have to agree with Members 1st reasoning for doing so. I personally never used it nor did I really know
Anyone who did. I think it would be better if time that was spent running the branch was used for financial literacy education instead.
Maddie • Jan 9, 2019 at 9:09 am
I’m sad to hear that the Bison Buck is closing. I never personally used this resource for many of the reasons mentioned in this article. The location wasn’t convenient, I don’t have a Members 1st account, and I generally don’t have any need for cash during school hours. I am very glad that this program will still be continuing in other ways for the students involved!