A parking pass is a requirement at Fuquay Varina High School if you are a driving junior or senior. Despite how important the parking pass is, not every student wants to buy it, and the reason may not be all that surprising.
Parking passes cost a lot, so how do students pay for them? Paying it yourself “would be a chunk of change,” said senior Isaiah Gregory.
So while some still end up paying for it themselves, others have their parents pay for it, which can be a big task for some parents. Senior Isaiah Gregory stated that if he had “$200 to spare,” he would have bought it himself.
You need to pay not only for the parking pass itself but also for additional expenses such as notarizing the paperwork, a lunch pass if you want to go out for lunch, and your student fees. These costs can add up to around $250 in total.
Many students and parents are unhappy with the price but still pay for it because they have to. However, students came up with an alternative option of paying for the pass.
Some students have started parking in the downtown parking area with only a short walk to school. It’s a great alternative, but it becomes an issue when walking through rough weather conditions.
The walk can cause students to lose valuable time that they could be using to get to class. “It’s a long walk, especially in the hot and cold,” said senior Laniaya Glasgow.
After spending $250 another question arises: is it worth it and what benefits does it bring? $250 is a lot for some students, so expecting your car to be safe at the school should be understandable, but the school district doesn’t provide any form of insurance for accidents in the parking lot and since each student parking here is a teenage driver, a lot of accidents can happen.
Senior Abdesammad Zerrouq said he, “had to pay out of pocket to fix the rear light,” with many other similar stories from other students.
Though the cost of the parking pass comes out to be a lot, for 180 days of school the cost of the pass is around $1.35 a day.
Mid-year graduates must also pay full price for a pass despite only using it for half the year.
It’s also quicker to park here instead of parking in downtown Fuquay so you won’t be late and you won’t have to walk through the weather like rain.
Is it worth $250 to deal with a long carpool lane after school to leave, the risk of damage by other high school drivers, and the long task of applying for and obtaining a pass?
The short answer is no. Although students are only spending $1.35 a day for the school year, the benefits don’t outweigh the cost. With downsides such as no protection from damage, a long carpool line to leave the parking lot efficiently, and the risk of being late to school every day, it’s not worth buying the pass this year.
