The beginning of the new school year also means new changes have been made at LHS. On Aug. 5, it was announced on both the school website and social media accounts that student drivers would only be allowed to park in the Berry Bowl parking lot.

Principal Michael Miller stated that this change was put into effect to be able to more easily prioritize the safety of students at LHS. He believes that this change will be easily sustained throughout the school year.

“I really feel like we put some systems in place to ensure that our students are safe here at LHS,” Miller said. “Through our dean’s office and our administrative team, having supervision out there during the dismissal process, delegating those lots specifically for our student parking and also our parent pickup drop-off makes me believe that this can be a nice sustainable change for us at LHS.”

In past years, dismissals, especially during FAST Fridays, both parking lots were messy for both bus drivers and parents. When adding student drivers to this equation, however, it becomes even messier.

“This change has been primarily to be able to separate those two lots, our student parking and our staff parking, along with that parent pickup drop-off area,” Miller said. “Well, what we’ve run into, honestly, has been families being able to find spots during the dismissal process. Therefore, they are lined up throughout the parking lot. 
It’s just a traffic issue. So, by moving those students parking over for the Berry Bowl, it really freed up our parent pickup and drop-off area.”

Though the pick-up process after school has become smoother, drop-offs in the morning are a different story. By the time first period starts, the main office parking lot is almost completely empty, and the Berry Bowl parking lot still has students trying to find a space to park.

“Many students often come in late or struggle finding a parking spot enough in the main office parking lot the last few years,” senior Blake Elmore said. “Limiting student drivers to the Berry Bowl only worsens this issue, as those who parked in the Berry Bowl previously were often athletes or those who genuinely couldn’t find anywhere else to park.”

It’s already hard to find a parking space in the mornings, but when students are entering and leaving the school due to office hours, an internship or Senior Flex, it becomes even more of a hassle. Though students are now allowed to leave through the Berry Bowl doors after signing out through the main office, they still have to enter through the main office doors.

“I’m not always going to be able to leave my internship at the exact time I need to, especially since I’m in the ER, so if I have to leave my internship a few minutes late, it makes things more stressful,” senior Rylee Zimmerman said. “It can also make me late to class a few minutes, which can get frustrating for both me and the teachers. I normally have to literally run over to the office after I park because I barely have enough time.”

Condensing all of the student drivers into one parking lot can still lead to safety issues.

“All the things I’ve heard have just been students’ reckless driving and getting into minor accidents with how tight it was looking for a parking space there was early in the morning,” Elmore said. “Or, how parents picking up their kids are too clueless to give more space for students trying to pull out or get to their cars after school.”

Students also have complaints about the increase in price for parking passes, especially seniors. In past years, they have cost $10 each year. This year, they now cost $25 and last all four years of high school. The majority of student drivers are either juniors or seniors, and this doesn’t particularly save money in the long run like it was intended to be. However, Miller has plans to implement in the future to benefit seniors.

“It’s actually going to be a little bit cheaper, and we are actually working on some things for our seniors specifically,” Miller said. “Especially with the addition of senior parking spots and how that all plays together to be cost-effective for our seniors if they choose to be able to have a parking spot, and also purchase their parking tag like they should.”

On Sep. 3, Miller announced that Senior Parking spots would cost $50 in total. If a student has already purchased a parking pass, then they’d only have to pay an extra $25 for a parking spot. Though the choice to purchase a parking spot is optional, it may still create issues when trying to park in the Berry Bowl.

“This is my last year,” Elmore said. “I have to pay double, more than the juniors, just to have a guaranteed spot in the morning?”