Administration has changed the organization of the parking lots this year, which included numbering parking spots and assigning teachers to park in the area formerly known as the student parking lot. The system made room for the teachers who previously parked near the temporary classrooms , as well as account for the spots that will be lost because of construction later this year.
Since the lots are no longer separated by staff and student parking, the one on the northeast corner is called the Temple City lot and one on the south side of the school by the tennis courts is called the Lemon lot.
“Our goal was to get as many kids in as possible and I think we did that, and so every spot that was available for students has been sold,” Assistant Principal Richard Lohman said. “We had to make sure everyone had a parking spot and then the student spots were assigned just like everyone else’s were.”
The school changed the parking system this year because teachers who taught in the temporary classrooms can no longer park in the area by the baseball field. This is due to the next phase of construction, which includes turning the former temporary classroom area back into a baseball field and renovating the pool. An additional six spots in the Lemon parking lot are reserved for construction vehicles once pool construction starts.
Before the new building’s construction started, the majority of staff were able to park in the Lemon lot’s 70 spots. More staff have been hired since the start of construction in 2015, which is another reason that 95 staff members now park in the Temple City lot.
This leaves 100 student spaces in the lot, which were all sold at registration. To have the chance to get a parking spot later this year, students must ask for Ms. Schaffer to add them to the waiting list in room 311. This system of parking will be used in the future until more spots become available, either by the end of construction, the creation of a new parking lot or a combination of both. Many students took issue with the policy when it was announced at the beginning of the year. The most common complaint was the order in which the parking spots were assigned to students.
“Seniors should be prioritized along with people who come earlier in the morning,” Senior Carol Werthwein said. “Students who begin class earlier should be able to park closer in the lot than those who come later, to resemble a more fair first-come first-serve system.”
Students who were unable to get spots must park on Camino Real or other nearby streets due to the limited number of spots.
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