On Friday, January 17th, many seniors received an anticipated message via Student Square, revealing whether they would be guaranteed a parking spot for the rest of the school year.

Despite initial predictions that only seven spots would be lost due to the move to the new school, over 80 seniors were surprised to learn they did not have spots, a number far higher than the administration’s forecast.

In addition, the school went back on its promise to offer parking to students without licenses. In October, Mr. Scott stated, “We’d like to make things fair and give the people who didn’t have a car or license in the first semester a chance at parking.” However, after the move, only students with permits were eligible for the lottery.

Recently, Mr. Scott confirmed that “80” spots were lost during the move, despite the original prediction of only seven lost spots.

The principal explained that the school “had not anticipated losing [the spots] on daily drive,” referring to spots along the tree line. These spots covered a drainage pipe that needed to be moved for the new turf. “They feel the need to rip up that area to fix the drainage area,” he said, indicating those spots may not return soon.

With fewer spots available, questions arose about how they were being assigned. While the school initially planned a lottery system, the sudden loss of spots made the allocation process more important. Mr. Scott explained, “The superintendent and I discussed the pros and cons of both looking at some sort of merit-based system, application system, or lottery system.” After weighing the options, the two agreed that a lottery system was the most fair. “A lottery system was completely up to randomization,” he said, “and would eliminate perceived biases on behalf of the administration.” The concern was that people might think Mr. Scott or the superintendent “may have picked people we know or have a strong relationship with.” In the end, he felt the lottery system created a “more level playing field.”

However, the solution does not address students who rely on parking spots for jobs or to participate in extracurricular activities. When suggested alternative Parking allotment measures,  Mr. Scott admitted, “We were scrambling a little bit, because we hadn’t anticipated losing that many spots. We certainly weren’t getting as deep into it.”

During the move, confusion about parking spots has led to additional issues, with some students with parking permits losing their spots for several days due to other parking in their spots. Mr. Scott addressed this by claiming that during the move “Security personnel went out and collected license plates and contacted them with a warning of being towed.” He explained, “Most of them were seniors who had gotten confused about not having parking spots,” and that “staff members had also moved into other spots” due to the recent snow. Mr. Scott believes the issue “has resolved itself.”

Despite the ongoing parking struggles, the board is exploring a temporary solution. The drop in spots is “one of the reasons [the board] has been trying to figure out ways of gaining some additional parking,” Mr. Scott said. While not confirmed, he and the superintendent are “reaching out to some local organizations that are geographically close” to provide parking closer to the school for students who missed out.

In the following week, Mr. Marchand will also share his insight on the parking spots.Follow up with the Raider Report later this week to hear Mr. Marchand’s side.