As the 2020-2021 school year is quickly coming to an end,OHS is beginning to set everything up for next school year. This includes parking spots and passes. Lately there has been a ton of commotion regarding the parking passes from sophomores and students who are at risk of getting zoned out from OHS. 

These rising concerns are completely valid and staff and administration has realized it, but many students and parents find OHS to be uncooperative with these issues. To apply for a parking spot, it is required that you have your license. Many sophomores have been having trouble with these requirements because they don’t turn 16 until after the deadline for the parking spot requests. Administration has changed these requirements to just a permit, which cooled some students and parents down, but there are still concerns “We only have so many parking spots and we have more students than there are spots available so every year around this time I get an influx of phone calls, my mailbox is full almost every other day,” said Bradley Garraway, Head of security. “I feel like the world stops turning until the students get their parking spots, it’s a top priority for kids here.”

Students and parents need to realize the stress that the administration is going through because assigning the parking spots to all of these students is stressful for admin and constantly being emailed just puts way more stress onto them. “I wish they would understand and embrace a little bit of patience, because everything is digital right now” Garraway said.

The concerns some families have are completely valid, being scared of not being able to attend OHS next year is very understandable and the administration recognizes that. Being worried you wont get a parking pass because you don’t get your license until the summertime is also a very reasonable concern. 

“I think that the administration’s raffle-like approach to handing out parking spots is harmful to students who may need parking more than others. I think they should devise a way of selecting students for parking that prioritizes students who need them.” said Jack Pyles, sophomore.

Many students dread having to park somewhere else, but some don’t have a choice. 

“If I’m not able to get a parking space I’ll have to park somewhere else as moving schools is a long process. This however isn’t very secure, different spots get taken every day and it’s uncertain if you’ll find a spot some mornings. My parents also work a lot so getting driven to school is not an option for me,” Pyles said.

This will always be a concern for students and their parents as long as OHS is still a standing school and everyone should remember that staff acknowledges these concerns and they’re handling them the best they can.

“This is a yearly thing and it will resolve itself, and I do understand the reasoning behind the school’s rules, but I think that they should consider taking kids who live far more seriously,” Pyles said.