School has been in session for more than a week now, and most Skyline students have grown accustomed to the sight of their beloved institution of learning violated by unsightly holes, construction fences and the raucous din of bulldozers and trucks. However, what many are not accustomed to is the deficiency of parking spots. Many of the spots that were once available are now denied both to students and to staff, as they no longer exist. As for the remaining spots, they are few in number and clogged daily with traffic at ever-earlier hours due to the policy of first-come, first-served. Yet this is not the main problem with Skyline parking.
It’s understandable how parking spaces are in short supply due to construction. That is only understandable. It is also understandable how restricting the number of driving students is good for the environment and parents’ pockets. Also, no complaints should be made about the reserved staff parking, for obvious reasons. However, there is a problem with Skyline parking, and that is its cost and parking policy.
A friend who resides in California pays $30 for a year-round, reserved parking spot, that is not subject to first-come, first-served policies. (Let it be noted that this friend also resides in an upper-class residential area, thus, the fact that Skyline students generally come from high-income families is inconsequential.) Also, students at Cedarcrest High School in Carnation pay $25 for a parking spot, even while their school is under construction. This year, Skyline students have to pay $55 for a semester-long parking spot that is only reserved by how early the student arrives. Skyline alone demands exorbitant fees of its students with no guarantee of good parking. It is not disclosed as to where these extra fees go. It seems as if the least the School Board could do was tell students what they pay for.
The Skyline parking system should be revised, either to lower costs or to guarantee better parking places, or even better (at least for the students), both. If Californian students and fellow Washington students get away with lower fees, then why should Skyline students suffer?
Comments
Supply and Demand. They could demand $75, and people would still pay it per semester. If seniors didn’t take all the spots, I’m sure there would be enough juniors to compensate. The only way to get it changed would be a school-wide boycott of buying second semester passes. Only thing is, the district is poor enough as it is, and regardless of the principle behind it, I don’t feel like taking money from the district that they desperately need, especially since it comes out of my parents’ pockets :D
I completely agree. On top of car payments, insurance, and gas, we have to fork over $55 per semester just for the possibility of using a small rectangle of pavement? Now, I say possibly because one day earlier this week, I had the misfortune of arriving only a minute or so before school started. There were NO parking spots AT ALL. I am not getting the bang for my buck.
Issaquah has the same problem. Traditionally, when a student signed up for a spot and was successful in the lottery, he or she was assigned a SPECIFIC spot. We paid $50 per semester. This year we have parking passes that are color-coded designating where you can and cannot park if you are a “yellow carpooler” or a “blue NEVAC” or a “red single,” etc. With construction and reduced parking, people with red tags may loose their parking altogether, just depending how quickly or slowly demo crews take over our section of the lower lot. On top of it all, we’re paying $55 per semester. If anything, the fee should be reduced. Why am I paying a significant amount of money just to get screwed over by the school?