The “senior lot” has been highly disputed among students this year due to the parking issues. To park in the designated spaces in the lot, it is necessary to have a parking pass issued from the school. Due to limited parking around the school, kids that do not have passes have been parking in these spaces, leaving the seniors with passes no spots to park in.
It is not just seniors without passes who park in the senior lot, some juniors will park there as well even though they are not old enough to be there anyways. Juniors will park there due to the lack of spaces available for them around the school, leaving them the choice of either being late to class, or receiving a ticket.
Corporal Brent Olson is the school resource officer, and he had a lot to say about parking and how to avoid tickets.
“I check the lots periodically throughout the day, specifically the senior lot, swimming lot, and the teacher lot,”Olson said.
Olson wants to make sure that students are following the rules regarding parking and has given just under a dozen parking tickets so far this year.
A parking ticket can be worth anywhere from 50 dollars all the way up to around 100 dollars. Students take the risks of receiving a parking ticket when they go into a spot without the proper papers and or registration to park there.
“Unless you have 100 dollars laying around for every time you had a ticket, then it would be worth it to park there. It is not worth it to me, however,” Olson said.
The kids who park in the senior lot without passes are taking spots away from those who have paid for them, which can make the seniors aggravated at times. Senior Maxwell Cedrone-Ricks had a lot to say about this topic, as he experienced it first-hand.
“It was definitely worth getting a pass to the senior lot,” Cedrone-Ricks said. It is frustrating to all seniors, not just Cedrone-Ricks, to come back to lunch and have their spot taken by someone else.
“It is unfair that we had to pay for the parking pass, and that you guys just steal our spots,” Cedrone-Ricks said.
“I have lost my spot about four or five times this year,” Cedrone-Ricks said. He will come back from lunch, and find someone in his spot, forcing him to park far away from the school and be late to class, because he allowed just enough time expecting he would have the spot he paid for.
“Luckily, in the past month my spot has not been taken, the problem was really more during the beginning of the year,” Cedrone-Ricks said.
Clearly, more needs to be done regarding parking, and it should not be the seniors job.
“The county should take responsibility and check the lots more thoroughly, making sure everyone has a pass,” Cedrone-Ricks said. The seniors have a lot on their minds with applying to colleges, so they should not have to worry about not getting a parking space.
To avoid parking illegally, Corporal Brent Olson had some advice to leave with everyone who is driving.
“If you wake up an extra ten minutes earlier than you normally would, then you will get a spot easily and not have to park somewhere which will get you a ticket. Would you rather be a minute late to class, or have to pay a 50 dollar decal for parking?” Olson said.
This is just some advice from a man who is looking out for everybody’s best interests, and making sure the rules are followed. If you are not a senior and you do not have a pass, there is no reason to park in the senior lot. You have to ask yourself whether you want to be late to class by a minute, or receive a 50 dollar ticket.
