Parents Angry About Parking Situation at Oswego East High School

The words ‘under construction’ don’t make most people jump for joy.

So when and announced last week that they’d be undergoing renovations and closing down parking lots, there wasn’t much jumping going on.

Oswego East Principal Jeff Craig said the school only learned construction dates about two weeks ago and started to inform the students as more information became available.

“We found out that construction was going to start on March 26,” he said. “We’d be losing about 150 parking spaces.”

According to Julie Weinmann, a parent of an Oswego East senior, the students were called down to the office on Tuesday and Wednesday to turn in their passes.

“There was no communication at all,” she said. “I received an automated voice message a day later but they’d already started revoking the kids’ passes.”

“I know several other parents are completely appalled at the way this came about,” said fellow Oswego East parent Laurie Patton. “I realize it's a privilege to drive to school; however, you cannot give a student a week’s time to figure out alternative plans.”

“They should at least have given parents the opportunity to get through the summer,” said Weinmann. “They sprung this right at spring break and pulled this out of nowhere.”

The problem, Weinmann says, is that some students really need to have a car available.

“Kids work after school, have sports and other activities," she said. "How as parents are we to get everyone where they need to be especially if everyone in a house works?”

Originally, all junior and sophomore passes were being revoked, as Craig said they were trying to allow as many seniors as possible access to their cars. However, Craig has announced a partial solution that many may find helpful.

“After speaking with the construction manager, we were able to bring in three temporary gravel pads,” Craig said. “They’ll accommodate about 100 cars.”

But it isn’t a solution for everyone.

“My son is a sophomore so he still isn’t able to drive,” said Patton. “He has a job several days a week in Aurora and needs his car to get there. Parent pick-up isn’t an option and by the time he gets home on the bus, he’ll be late to work.”

“Kids aren’t driving for fun anymore,” said Weinmann. “It’s for economical reasons. Due to the economy, they aren’t working jobs for 'fun' money, but to save up for college. And if they can’t get to their jobs because they don’t have a car … well …”

Not to mention, Weinmann added, that with some of these students now forced onto buses, the buses are going to be very overcrowded.

However nice it is to have more parking, Weinmann said the gravel parking lot is not going to work for most of the students.

“Putting kids in a parking lot without any parking lines is a really bad idea," she said. "They’re not good drivers at that age. A lot have only had their licenses for a while and they drive like idiots.”

She’s seen kids looping around the normal parking lots and said she’s surprised there hasn’t been an accident yet.

“There needs to be some sort of supervision," she said. "There are police, but they’re out on the main roads. Can’t anyone help supervise to make sure the kids get in and out?”

The construction comes as each high school is adding on additions rather than build a third high school in the district. East will be able to accommodate 3,195 students after the additions—almost an extra 1,000 students.

Craig said some of the new additions will include more parking as well as more classrooms, especially in the science wing, and the art wing is getting a revamp. The weight and fitness centers are being expanded, and the main office is growing, among many other projects. The construction is expected to take about a year and a half.

“The reason we’re starting now is we’re trying to get this done in a timely fashion,” said Craig. “We know it’s an inconvenience, but everyone is inconvenienced.”

Over at Oswego High School, there are parking spots being lost but Principal Mike Wayne told students on Thursday that although it will be tight, everyone should still be able to find a parking spot.

Both schools are encouraging students to take the shuttle buses that run for classes during the day rather than their cars. 

Patton has been trying to reach someone in the district to discuss her son’s situation.

“I’ve left several voicemails but haven’t heard anything back," she said. "Tomorrow I’m going to start sending out emails and hope someone responds.”