Trinity raises student parking fee to $200
Trinity High School students who drive to school are facing a more than 560 percent increase in their on-campus parking fee.
The school district raised the student parking fee from $35 to $200 for the 2016-17 academic year to help cover expenses for parking lot improvements.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 436 people signed an online petition launched by a student asking the school district to reduce the price to $60.
“I think this is totally unfair,” said Janey Hrutkay, who purchased a parking pass for her daughter, a senior at the high school. “Can we afford to pay it? Yes. But many students cannot. What are the justifications for not charging employees, teachers and staff for parking spaces, yet charging students?”
Superintendent Michael Lucas said all parking fees will be used for parking lot improvements to provide safe parking for students who park on campus.
“We do not have enough parking spaces for all student drivers. Many students park off campus and walk across intersections unsupervised in the dark morning or evening because there is no parking available on campus,” said Lucas.
According to Lucas, the school district plans to add additional student parking and provide safety features including improved signs, security cameras, additional traffic supervision, guardrails, a walkway and appropriate lighting for evening and early morning events.
“We want to provide safe parking for all of our students that want to park their car on campus. It was determined that the taxpayers are funding the bus transportation for $3 million a year and should not share the burden of the luxury for students to park their car on campus,” said Lucas, noting the fee breaks down to about $1.10 per day.
Hrutkay argued students should not be required to pay for facility improvement projects.
Students who work after school or participate in extracurricular activities are unhappy with the parking fee increase.
The high school lot can accommodate about 150 students. Three parking spaces were still available Tuesday afternoon.