Schools
School Board Nixes Student Parking Fee
The Saucon Valley School Board voted July 26 to abolish a $20 student parking fee that has been in place at the high school.
The Saucon Valley School Board voted 6-3 at its July 26 meeting to eliminate the annual $20 parking fee that students have been paying to park in the school’s parking lot.
“I see this as something that is unfair and, in my opinion, discriminating,” said board member Lanita Lum, in reference to the fee and three parking spaces that in the past have been raffled off as a fundraiser for the nonprofit Saucon Valley Foundation for Educational Innovation.
Lum explained her position by stating that no one else has to pay to park in the lot, and said schools such as Northampton Community College do not charge students to park.
Find out what's happening in Hellertown-Lower Sauconwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
However, not all of the school board members supported the decision to do away with the fee.
Edward Inghrim said he passes by the high school parking when school is in session and sees some nice cars.
Find out what's happening in Hellertown-Lower Sauconwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“It’s hard to believe that a kid can afford a $5,000 car, but can’t afford a parking fee,” he said.
Inghrim said he is worried about taxpayers having to pay for such things.
Board member Susan Baxter said she had no problem with getting rid of the fee since “the lot is not a real cost” to the district.
Inghrim, however, said the lot is not free because the district spent $100,000 resurfacing it.
The student parking fee generated about $3,245 each year, which was used to pay for the high school’s handbooks.
After the meeting, Superintendent Dr. Sandra Fellin said the money to pay for future handbooks would be taken from the high school’s budget, although the details need to be worked out with the principal.
Although there is no longer a fee, students will still need to register their vehicles and receive parking stickers in order to park them in the lot.
At a future meeting, the parking spots that have been raffled off by the educational foundation as a fundraiser will be discussed.
Lum said that while she feels the educational foundation is a great organization, she does not like the fact that the closest spots to the school are given to the highest bidder. She said she believes that practice is discriminatory to students who do not have a lot of money.
“Too many things about teenagers' lives are about money,” she said.