The time has come once again for all that the school loans to its students to be returned. Textbooks are being collected from May 14, 2012 until the last day of student attendance—May 30. Materials borrowed from the Media Center are required to be returned, as well, and overdue notices have been distributed to students.
Though many students worry about fines for overdue books at the Media Center, Media Specialist Ms. Sue Dike assured students, “There are no fines; if you can’t return the book, you have to pay to replace it.”
Students should not worry about returning books to the Media Center out of fear of incurring late fees; they don’t exist.
Ms. Dike continued, however, adding, “We’d much rather have the book than the money [for a replacement], because some books can’t be replaced.”
Speaking on textbook returns, Inventory Manager Ms. Wavie Green said, “If students aren’t using [their books], they should turn them in as soon as possible.”
Hours for textbook collection have been extended as well to cope with the load of students giving their materials back. Students can return textbooks from 6:30AM to 3:00PM in the old gym, and also during lunches.
“We won’t be accepting [textbooks] in the Media Center because we do our distribution for the next year [in the gym],” Ms. Green clarified.
Students are normally scheduled for a textbook-return time by their teachers. However, if students miss their scheduled time, they can always come in during the extended hours.
Students will be held responsible for books that are not returned. “Debt slips will be given to bookkeeping the afternoon of the 22nd. Clearance cards [allowing seniors with debts to be cleared of them in time for graduation] come out on the 23rd. [Seniors] want to get their books in before the 22nd, their last day.”
Tyler Coughlin, a senior, advised fellow students to return their books as soon as possible: “I couldn’t find my English novel Their Eyes Were Watching God and had to pay [English teacher] Mrs. Meahl […] 10 bucks to bookkeeping. That was SUCH a hassle. Waiting in line in bookkeeping, wasting money, etc. All because I failed to turn in my books when they were due. I procrastinated. […] it turns out my little sister found it […] and had it the entire time. If I hadn’t procrastinated I would have saved $10.”
Ms. Green is looking for volunteers to help with textbook collection. “I’m looking for volunteers who have a free period or are done with their curriculum to help me set up books by subject,” she said.