Board's Discussion of Student Parking Fees Postponed

A discussion about student parking fees that was to have been held at the Saucon Valley School Board's June 28 meeting was postponed, after board member Edward Inghrim said fellow board member Lanita Lum should be in attendance for it.

Lum was absent from the June 28 meeting and Inghrim said she was most interested in having the discussion when it was first proposed.

Superintendent Sandra Fellin said the subject of parking fees "is always a topic of conversation that comes up when (the district is) looking at ways to offset (expenses)."

The fee structure currently in place annually generates about $3,000 for the district, and that money goes toward the production of student handbooks, she said.

Currently, a student who wishes to park his car on campus is required to pay $20 for the privilege of displaying a decal on his vehicle.

According to Saucon Valley High School principal Eric Kahler, 272 student parking permits were issued last year at various times throughout the school year.

A total of 126 students were eligible to receive free parking permits through a program that offers them as an incentive for achievement on the PSSA exam, he said.

Of those students eligible, "about 90 students received free parking," Kahler said.

Other rewards are also offered to students as incentives for achievement on the exam, he added.

Kahler said the total amount of money collected by the district from parking fees last year was $3,075.

The estimated cost of student handbooks in 2011-2012 is more than $2,900, he added.

Fellin said that at the July 26 meeting, when the issue of student parking fees is expected to be discussed, the administration is "just looking for direction; if you wish to keep (fees) or not, alter (them) or not."