Someone's going to get killed in my kids' high school parking lot

If you have any chance at all, you should go to that meeting and raise holy hell!

 

Quick update: The principal e-mailed me this morning and was apologetic. He also said that the school is safer than it was in previous years (he's right, but that doesn't justify the problems now).

I started parking in a different spot in the parking lot, and today was all quiet (except for my daughter forgetting that I was moving to a different spot).

It turns out that the e-mail response from the principal was not only CC'd to the super, it also was CC'd to the assistant super in charge of the three high schools. They're taking notice at the board office - good.

If it's any consolation (and it's not), there was a brawl involving a couple hundred students last week at one of the other schools. Just great.

 

A few quick comments...

Schools choose to send out school buses. There is no written obligation for a school to provide a ride to a student (unless they have something in their IEP). Crazy as it sounds, but all a school district is required to do is open the doors.

Would it be quieter and safer for your kids to wait in the school for 10-15 minutes and wait for the madness to move out? I'm sure the principal would be cool if you asked that favor.

Hopefully the principal gets a better grasp on this. It is not an easy job to clean up a parking lot, but he should think about parking passes for the students, and the school board should investigate starting those close bus routes again. You can always take away a parking pass which will take the offending car out of the parking lot.

If you want real results, email your elected school board member. You might burn some bridges with the principal and supers by doing that, though. Email your elected delegates to put heat on the police as well.

 

A very, very effective suggestion. Parking pass privileges can be revoked. And the rent-a-cops can crack down on/harass kids who park in what should be (are?) designated 'parent pick-up' zones.

 

Yes, there are parking passes, and the principal ordered a crackdown after the last set of problems. A bunch of cars got ticketed.

Unfortunately, there isn't a designated parent pickup zone. It's all one parking lot. I did ask him to consider that, though.