By Billy Davis

In a sour economy, with double-digit unemployment, it can be tough out there.

There are bills to pay.

Groceries to buy.

A house note, or rent, to pay.

A candy bar to collect… huh?

At South Panola High, a group of students got a healthy dose of real life last Friday when the school’s Career Tech department held its seventh annual, and aptly named, Reality Fair.

The concept is simple: each student is first assigned a career and a monthly net income, based on his or her semester average. Then that money is quickly gobbled up with groceries, the water bill and light bill – all the necessities that high school students typically have yet to ponder.

As if the bill paying wasn’t hard enough, students also drew a “chance card” from a jar. A few received a work bonus or income tax rebate, but most deducted a visit to the dentist, or the cost of a tow truck, from their checkbook.

Some students, with a good career choice and frugal spending, finish the Reality Fair with an enviable bank account. Many others squeak by. Either way, they receive a Pay Day candy bar for finishing in the black.

A few students finish in the red. They receive a Zero candy bar.

“The point is that the students learn the better your grades are, the more career choices you have,” said Rene Smith, counselor for the Career Tech department.

Smith said students pick a career, also based on their semester average, without knowing how much it pays. An “A” average would include choices such as a pharmacist or architect. Farther down the grade scale is court reporter, retail clerk and teacher’s assistant.

“Sweetie, you can’t make it on that income,” Tracy Goforth, of First Security Bank, advised junior Quanisha Williams after reviewing her checkbook.

Williams had sought work as a childcare worker, which gave her less than $900 in monthly income. As it sank in that the income didn’t stretch very far, Goforth encouraged the student to work harder in school, which would give her more career choices.

“It doesn’t mean she can’t be a childcare worker,” Goforth said afterward. “But it does mean she can’t spend more money than she makes.”

Goforth doled out sage advice throughout the Reality Fair. The First Security marketing officer had also visited the students, prior to the fair, to explain budgeting, savings, and check writing, Smith said.

Goforth used a financial program, the Teen Personal Finance Guide, a product of the Charles Schwab Corporation. Goforth has also used the guide to teach students at the Finch-Henry Job Corps Center.

In addition to First Security Bank, other participants included Pride Hyundai, Piggly Wiggly, Bob Leigh Realtors, Caldwell Insurance, Paw Paw’s Restaurant, TVEPA, and the City of Batesville.

Smith said First Security provided the checkbooks and lunch for the students, and Tri-Star Mechanical provided money to purchase the candy bars.

The Reality Fair is one activity planned by South Panola High’s Technology Department to celebrate February as National Career and Technical Education Month. The school offers 12 career and technical programs.