In the past month, there has been a reported 269 tardies at SHS. Perry Township Schools has been looking for a simple fix for a big issue for quite some time.

“Part of this process is to identify the cause of the problem,” Assistant Principal Drew Ann said.

Ann took this opportunity to investigate the seemingly everyday problem. Upon investigation, he found out that the tardies are due to reduced hallway flow. Ann then wanted to see why there is a reduced flow of traffic in the hallway, and how “the people” think it should be fixed.

”Trying to get to class in this place is ridiculous,” senior Danon Belk said, “traffic is worse than Banta on the first day of school.”

In order to avoid this traffic, Belk takes a path that adds three minutes to what he says should only be a four minute route, making him late to class.

“Most of the traffic is where the popular meeting spots are, like the main hall, the bus hallway and on that small bridge,” Belk said.

Other students, like freshman Joel Folman, agree saying he spotted some kids starting a “tent city” in the middle of the main hall.

As part of a student effort to help those affected by time delays, SPTV created “Cardinals in the Air,” a new traffic report team. The team uses a drone to capture footage of traffic in the halls and shows alternate routes that can be taken to different classes.

Students have found that this has helped them get to class sooner, and administrators have found that this made a small difference in students receiving tardies. The administration’s solution to try and permanently solve the problem is to add traffic signs to the hallways of SHS.

“Aside from the helpful nudge from the directional signs installed over the summer, these traffic signs will deal with some of the major issues we saw in our investigations,” Ann said.

These “major issues” included a student-ran campground of sorts, students using half of the hall to talk and students who have fallen asleep on the side of the hallways. However, with these traffic regulations being put into place, there comes a need for enforcement.

To fill this need for enforcement, hall monitors were given the ability to citate students as they see fit. These citations do not require that you pay fines, but they do require you to pay by volunteering to aid staff and/or clubs around the school.

If you become a “repeat offender,” you will be assigned to a larger project. A project could be something relatively small, such as helping reorganize a classroom, or something large such as helping revitalize the courtyard.

“This is a way for both parties to benefit,” teacher Nicole Fierce said, “The kids learn a lesson and gain a sense of accomplishment while the school gets stuff done that needs to be done.”