We live in a time and place where academics are more competitive and important than ever. Students feel pressure from their parents, peers, teachers and future. With all of this stress, there is one thing that a student should not have to worry about: being late to school.
In the past there have often been announcements that the car line outside of the school is long and that teachers should wait past 9:30 to take attendance. This is not okay. Students need to be in class on time to maximize their learning. The issue of the drop off line compounds, because it takes an entrance away from anyone not being dropped off. Anyone parking at Lightridge in the morning needs to go around the back because the drop off line is so long.
Imagine this scenario. One dumb teen is speeding down Hovatter Road. Ms. Durusu is turning into the back staff lot from the other direction. Crash! Ms. Durusu saw the speeding student too late and neither had enough time to react. While this is all hypothetical, accidents like this happen all the time. The reason it hasn’t been fixed is because we have been looking for band-aids but not real solutions.
The deeper problem is the sheer quantity of parents who have nothing better to do with their time than drive their entitled children, who think they’re too good for the bus, to school. The 2024 Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President, Kamala Harris, once said, “Who doesn’t love a yellow school bus?” To answer her: the students of Lightridge High School. Unfortunately for them, many are going to have to just deal with it. To force this immense change in an immediate fashion, there is only one logical way to do it. Lightridge High School should reduce the amount of cars that are allowed to drop children off in the morning to 100.
How should these 100 drop-off passes be distributed? The school should auction off the right to drop your children off at school. Knowing the area we live in, this will most likely bring in a pretty penny. Don’t worry though, because it gets better. I could imagine people deciding to carpool, which could slow this line down. As a deterrent we will install cameras outside and limit each car to five seconds of stopped time. If they take more than five seconds, they will be charged 25 cents for each additional second.
“Is this equitable?” I can hear school administrators asking. No. Like previously stated the passes are auctioned off so the parents with the deepest pockets will receive the right to drive their children to school. The last possible question is what will the school do with the money? One great idea would be to fix the root issue. After a few years using the money to expand Lightridge Farm Road to two lanes would allow for one lane designated for drop off and another for usual traffic. Or give to the football team. Or whatever. I can’t think of everything.
I am by no means supporting any student who leaves their house at 9:20, lives eight minutes from the school, and feels like somehow Lightridge has wronged them, but I am here to say that there is a problem getting in and out of school in the morning and something needs to change.
