At Triton High School it is required of students who drive to school to pay a dollar a day for a parking spot, or to pay 180 dollars at the beginning of the year to get an assigned spot.

Students, such as Senior Josh Hemmerdinger, believe the parking is not fair to the students.

“I am not paying $180 to park at a public place that am abiding by the law to go to,” Hemmerdinger said. “Our parents are paying for taxes to the school so why do we have to pay another 180 dollars?”

Hemmerdinger has made a case to the principal but no changes were made.

“As a kid, paying that much money is a lot. It is silly that I am paying more for my parking than I do for my actual education.”

Although the lot that students park in is town owned, parents pay taxes to the government and the town which end up going to the school. Triton is known for having many budget cuts every year because of the lack of money going into the school.

Each year there are budget cuts on teachers and other things, such as after school late buses. However, Triton was able to find enough cash for a brand new field through donations and other means. Triton’s field cost more than two million dollars. With over 100 parking spots at 180 dollars a year, the school is pulling in at least $20,000 in revenue.

Teachers at Triton are not required to pay for parking. In fact, they are paid to be at the school. Students are forced to go to school under compulsory education laws. If they wish to park in a spot they must pay, or they are at risk of being towed. The towing, is at the owner’s expense.

Other schools don’t charge for parking in their lot. Amesbury High is one of them.

“Our parking actually was free. All we had to do was give them our car information,” said Sarah Conte, a 2017 graduate of Amesbury High School. “It’s weird that they make you pay for parking at school because you are required to go.”

At Newburyport High School students are allowed to park on the side of the road and do not have to pay.

Other schools are charging a fee for parking but it is reduced a great amount compared to Triton. An example of this is at Georgetown High. According to the their official school handbook, parking is only $75 dollars for a year, which is 41% of the cost at Triton.

According to Brian Forget, the Triton School District Superintendent, the cost of the school’s upkeep went up  around $25,000 last year.

“$20,000 went to snow removal, and $5,000 went to grounds upkeep… There is never money left over.”, said Forget when asked about the prices of parking and where the money goes.

Forget hopes to reduce the cost in the future because he does not believe students should have to pay fees for anything including parking, sports, clubs and activities.

“We would need to find upwards of $300,000 to offset all the fees of activities,” Forget said.

A petition that will be  presented to the school has been set up in protest of the rule. If you wish to sign the petition in support of changing this rule, it is in Mrs. Wagner’s and Mrs. Beaulieu’s room (A213), which is right near the gym.  

“Anyone is welcome to come by my room and sign the petition.” said Wagner.  “The only way to make a change is through support and signatures.”

Hopefully with enough support through the petition that the school will make it a goal to find some more money in their budget. (Stay tuned with The Triton Voice for further updates on the parking prices.)