The parking situation has been anything but acceptable this year.
At the beginning of the 2022-23 school year, construction caused the parking lot to be moved to the tennis courts. This was an acceptable option because there were plenty of spots and a separate reserved lot for students with Senior Honor Code.
After the lot was moved to its current location and the senior lot was taken away, parking became a huge issue.
The new parking lot has nowhere near enough parking spots. Students have had to change their morning schedules in order to beat other students into the lot.
At the beginning of the year, students could arrive at school as late as 8:20 a.m. and still find a few open spots. At this point, if someone arrives at school after 8:15 a.m., there is little chance of finding a spot.
Students should not have to worry about being able to find a parking spot when they arrive at school on time.
The solution presented was to make an overflow lot at the very back of campus, next to the baseball and football fields.
The problem is, if someone arrives at school later than normal, they will have to search the lot for a spot, and then go to the overflow lot. This makes it very difficult to make it to first period on time.
Some students have chosen to park in spots that are not legal parking spaces. They would rather get a parking sticker than be late to their first period.
When someone parks in one of these unmarked spots, they are given a pass and told to move their car to the overflow lot. This causes students to miss class time.
As the year goes on, more students will get their licenses and start driving to school. This will cause the number of available spots to continually decrease.
The school has given out more parking passes than there are spots. This will continue to happen throughout the year and the parking situation will only get worse unless something is done.
One solution to this problem is to make a separate parking section for students with Senior Honor Code.
Before the Senior Honor Code parking was disbanded, there was no issue finding a parking spot. There is no reason a separate senior lot should not be put in place.
Senior Honor Code students were already given less benefits this year than in previous years. After Senior Honor Code was disbanded, seniors had little-to-no benefits, and now with it back in place, the benefits are nothing compared to having separate parking.
It is understandable that construction impacts the parking situation, but it should not cause students to miss out on instruction. This issue needs to be addressed, and a solution needs to be put in place.
It is unacceptable to let this continue happening without change.
