Student credit unions
growingWaiakea High joins six other
isle schools with repositories
HILO » Waiakea High School freshman Regan Kualii, 14, mows people's lawns in his neighborhood to earn money.
Sometimes his mother borrows the money, he says, with a hint that she isn't always prompt about paying it back.
The Hilo-based Credit Union of Hawaii did something this semester to make life easier for Kualii and other students wanting to safeguard their money: The credit union opened a student-run branch at the high school.
Credits unions in public schools are not new. Konawaena High School has had a student-run branch of the Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union since 1972.
Others are in operation at Baldwin, Farrington, Kau, McKinley and Waipahu high schools, with another planned for Moanalua.
But Waiakea might have the most elaborate one, set up in a regular classroom but with some modifications for security and a professional operation.
For example, Waiakea has an automated teller machine in the classroom, said Anne Matsuzaka, 17, the Waiakea senior who is manager of the credit union at the school as well as a regular employee at the main credit union building.
Unlike most ATMs, in which $20 bills are the smallest dispensed, the Waiakea machine distributes bills in $1, $5, $10 and $20 denominations.
The ATM machine could be a tempting target for burglary, but the credit union installed its own burglar alarm in the room, a double protection considering that the school also has its own alarm system.
Other locations handle security differently. At Konawaena, student tellers have a key to a safe, while school adviser Richard Kennel has the combination, said student teller Ryan Nakashima. Both are needed to open the safe.
At Waiakea the credit union also installed a T-1 data line, which allows for rapid transmission of substantially more data than a normal line. A full-scale teller's counter with windows was also installed.
But like any business, the employees make the Waiakea branch a success. Matsuzaka worked at the main credit union office for about a year before setting up the school branch. She had joined others in writing a business plan.
Her "manager" title is not ceremonial. She has already had to discipline one of the four student employees who work with her for violating the dress code ("casual business") and coming to work late.
The Waiakea branch is an outgrowth of a cooperative business education program headed by teacher Sheri Kojima. The quality of her students is already known.
"Last week, we got two more calls," she said. They asked, "Do you have any more students for us?"
KTA Super Stores executive Derek Kurisu helped set up the credit union branch. "This is to me one missing element in education, partnership with business in the real world," he said.