As construction has finished, classes have moved into the new Career and Technical Education (CTE) building, and teachers have their parking lot back, students begin to wonder if the seniors can move out of the junior lot and back into the senior one.
Students have begun to become curious as to if there will be new parking situations before the 2025-2026 school year. Each year, students look forward to obtaining their license, and once they do, they look forward to being able to drive themselves to school.
As the years in high school pass, students look forward to their senior year, when they get to use the “senior parking lot” that is at the front of the school. This parking lot was transitioned into the teachers because of the construction on the CTE side of the building.
Students reacted in different ways, but it has been difficult for some to find spaces in the parking lot across the street. The lot across the street is known as the “junior lot” or “j-lot” to many. There are also buses that stay parked in it, so sharing it with the juniors, seniors, and even some sophomores can be tricky. Students have resulted in parking in the grass if need be.
Having the privilege to park close to the school, in their “own” lot, that students consider the “senior lot” made it more exciting. As it was a senior speciality privilege. This being taken away once construction started was disappointing, but now that it is complete, students were hoping to receive it again.
School Administrator Shaun Sparks speaks about the parking plan.
“Most of the CTE staff will be parking near the Innovation Center. Juniors and Seniors will continue to park in the lot directly across from the high school,” Sparks said.
The school does not have a plan to transition parking lots this year, or even in the future. This new parking situation has been helpful to the school’s arrival and dismissal procedures, which can be difficult to navigate traffic through already.
“With the staff, students, and community already understanding our arrival and dismissal process, we will continue with the same procedures,” Sparks said.
As students may be disappointed with this answer and having to continue finding open spots or grass areas to park in the junior lot, this may be the best plan to continue with.
“We will continue to evaluate parking to determine the best possible outcomes and to ensure the safety of all individuals,” Sparks said.
Hoping that eventually the parking situations may change, for now it will stay the same as it has through construction.
