As most students and staff of Kelly Walsh know, the parking at the school is a painful daily obstacle. Most students have to decide whether they will risk being tardy to class, due to searching for a spot in the parking lot, or have to endure a lengthy walk to school after parking in the neighborhoods. This frustrating situation leaves students and staff alike wondering, why is this not being fixed? Thankfully our very own Duane Reimer, a Kelly Walsh staff member, holds many answers regarding the parking lots.

Reimer explains that the amount of parking spots is in fact not decided by the school itself. The state representatives decided that the Natrona County School District would be allowed 4,000 parking spots to be dispersed across each high school in the district. Although this seems to be a large number, these parking spots are to be used by staff and students. The major problem with these allotted parking spots was that there was not a certain amount granted to each school based off of amount of students, but rather the school board decided how many they believed each school should receive. The board came to an agreement that despite Kelly Walsh’s approximate 1,800 students, compared to Natrona County’s approximate 1,650 students, Natrona should be given more parking spots for being “historically larger” in class size.

There are around 2,000 teachers, students, and visitors entering Kelly Walsh daily, yet only 440 current parking spots. An additional parking lot is being built on the North side of the school, but this will only add 200 spots bringing the total to 640 spots. The parking may never be truly adequate for the size of Kelly Walsh High School, and sadly there is no simple answer as to how this can be fixed. If students and staff come together there may be a way to petition for more parking spots at the school. If students are interested in fighting for better parking, they should speak to school administrators about how they could possibly help appeal to the school board to improve the situation for all drivers.