Parking permits for the 2017-2018 school year are required for student drivers to park in the student lot. Parking permits cost $37.50 for a semester and $75 for a full year. 

Without a permit, students will now be ticketed. “I feel like [parking permits are] not going to work because there are so many kids that drive to school, and since they didn’t enforce it last year many kids aren’t going to want to pay to park,” senior Vijay Vanathayan said.

Security staff member Steve Smith said that student drivers will receive a warning first, then a ticket. After the ticket, they’re going to get an orange sticker on their car as a reminder of the ticket obligation. “The main reason were ticketing people is that if something happened to your car, we have nothing to identify you with [if you don’t have a permit],” Smith added.

If students drive a different car to school one day and forget their permit, Smith says to “let somebody know if you’re switching cars and your permit is in the other car,”

While principal Carol Goddard is not a fan of the policy herself, she wants students to understand that it is a county-mandated necessity. “I don’t think it’s important that we’re ticketing people. I think it’s important to know that when you park in [Watkins Mill’s] parking lot, it is a privilege,” Goddard added.

A widespread concern among seniors is that the money from the parking permits is not benefiting them at all. But the money “does help with revenue,” Goddard said. 

According to the Montgomery County Public School’s Student Driving and Parking Facilities Memo, “All revenue collected from the parking fee will be used to support interscholastic athletics.”  The MCPS Board of Education also sets the price of the parking permits. 

Senior Daad Gabbani has been driving to school since her junior year and is concerned that money may be an obstacle for some students. “Some people don’t have a choice on how they get to school and making them pay extra for a parking space, plus paying for gas and insurance, can make it worse,” Gabbani said.

Some students have also considered parking in nearby neighborhoods, which may raise problems with residents living in the community.

Goddard understands that certain students may truly not be able to pay and said that if they have any complications, they should speak to her privately.