Senior year had finally arrived.

Kim Hellyer was excited to drive to school herself after years of having to hitch a ride with others.

With gas in her tank, and her back pack sitting in the passenger seat, she was ready for her day. She pulled in her spot, but was missing one thing: her parking permit.

Students with vehicles are required to purchase parking permits if they want to use the designated student lot. The permits, which cost $10, have been the topic of much discussion among those students who drive to school.

The handbook states that only senior students with a valid driver’s license are permitted to drive and park his/her vehicle on school property, and that they first must obtain an application for a permit to drive to school during the first week of school. In order to get the permit, the student must bring in a drivers license, proof of insurance, and the auto registration.

Policy and practice appear to be a little different though. While the handbook says only seniors are allowed to drive to school, juniors are able to get permits as well.  Additionally, the administration is more lenient with the time frame for purchasing permits for students can still obtain them in November.

A question running through many students’ minds is: Should students have to pay to use a lot that is already there for their use?

“I don’t think paying $10 for a parking permit is fair because I don’t usually drive the same car to school every day,” said senior Kim Hellyer. “Being that the parking permit is a sticker, it would be really inconvenient for me to constantly be switching the sticker to different cars.”

History teacher Mr. Anthony Angelozzi believes that permits are in place because parking on campus is not a right students are entitled to.

“Driving to school is a privilege, and a lot of the student drivers aren’t very good drivers as it is,” he said.

Senior Jaime Filer doesn’t like the permits because she doesn’t understand how the money benefits the school.

“I don’t think we should have to buy parking permits because we don’t even know where the money is going, and with us having to put gas in our tanks to get to school, asking for $10 just to park here is a little ridiculous,” she said.

According to one of secretaries in the upstairs office, the money goes into the principal’s fund.