Student parking fees return to WCSD
Student parking fees are returning to the Warren County School District.
When social distancing rules were put into effect on school buses, the school board wanted to encourage students taking other forms of transportation to school. So, the members approved a measure that waived the $50 student parking fee for the 2020-2021 school year.
The board discussed that fee at this week’s committee meetings and will not waive the fees for this coming year.
“Formalizing parking and having specific parking spots … is very helpful when it comes to solving problems out there,” Superintendent Amy Stewart said. “Regardless of whether there’s payment for that pass… it’s important to have that structure.”
“It’s an extra duty that you have to monitor,” Director of Administrative Support Services Gary Weber said. “It’s a lot of work to get it set up and monitor it. From a safety standpoint, it helps to be able to do that.”
The board did not have a problem with charging a fee — a policy that went into effect around 2008, Stewart said.
“We provide transportation,” board member Arthur Stewart said. “So it’s a privilege” to allow students to park at schools. “The charge makes sense to me.”
The parking fees do not represent a major revenue stream for the district. Weber estimated $10,000 to $15,000.
Board member Joe Colosimo suggested those dollars could support enhanced video camera systems at the schools that would help provide some of the necessary monitoring without having to assign as many employees to the task. “There are some situations where we don’t have the camera coverage that we would like,” Weber said.
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