GRANGER HIGH School has used a student parking system for several years, but administrators made key updates this school year by removing assigned parking spaces and letting students park on a first-come, first-served basis closer to the building.
School officials noted that the system serves both security and financial purposes for the campus. “We implemented the parking spaces to give students a chance to park closer, and to monitor the cars coming in and out of the parking lot,” Levi Negley, an assistant principal, said. “From the money that students paid for their parking space, it goes towards the student body expenses. The prices have never changed over the course of the years we have had this system.”
Negley says enforcing previous space assignments became impractical over time. “We also had assigned spaces for faculty, but it was hard to enforce, so we decided to take it out this year,” Negley said. “When I came to this school, I was assigned to the parking passes and map, and I helped students get their parking pass. We kicked around a lot of ideas for the system, and it was just a matter of time that we devoted to one of the ideas.”
Campus security personnel emphasized that permit tracking helps protect licensed drivers from liability during traffic incidents in student lots.
“My first thought on the parking passes was that it’s a good idea, because there are a lot of students that are unlicensed drivers and that have no insurance as well,” Michelle Peterson, an attendance tracker, said. “If there were something to happen, like a crash, I would have to pay for it.”
Peterson also noted that parking without permits or in restricted zones results in financial penalties. “I think that for students to get their parking spot and number, it would be first come, first served,” Peterson said. “Another thing is that students park in the visitor and faculty parking, or if they don’t have a parking pass, they will be fined a ticket of $10 to $20.”
Student opinions regarding the $10 annual fee and enforcement policy remain divided across campus. “I don’t think that the amount that us students are paying is worth it,” Kai Norwich (12) said. “I think that we should not pay for parking passes and that it should be free. The process of getting a parking pass was an easy process, but I believe that enforcing parking passes is a bad idea because I think we should be allowed to park anywhere of our choice.”
Norwich says the school should consider expanding the parking lot alongside cost changes. “If I had the chance to change something about the parking passes, it would be for it to be free and to increase the parking lot to make it bigger,” Norwich said. “From my years being here and the parking passes have been here, I have never been cited for a ticket from the school.”
Other students feel the nominal fee is reasonable compared to potential ticket fines.
“I think that the parking passes are worth it because it is only $10 and such an easy process to get as well,” Rafael Diaz Flores (11) said. “I believe that I am getting my money’s worth because I only paid $10 for it instead of having to pay a fee of $10 to $20 for a ticket.”
Diaz Flores believes tracking vehicles helps campus safety, though he would support a minor price reduction. “I think that the school enforcing parking passes and tickets is a good idea for the school to maintain a record of the vehicles,” Diaz Flores said. “If I could change one thing about the passes, I would change the price from $10 to $5 to make it cheaper for students.”
