Valley Stream seniors want student lots open

The Valley Stream Central High School Board of Education was asked to revisit its 2009 decision that closed the student parking lots in the district during school hours, prohibiting students from taking their cars out to lunch if they choose to park on school grounds.

Brian Sinko, president of the Central High School Student Council, spoke at the Feb. 14 Board of Education meeting and asked board members if they would reconsider their position on the senior parking policy.

“Although you have said time and time again that you would like to give us the opportunity to act as adults to demonstrate our maturity as we prepare to leave for college, you are also mindful of the behavior of the students that have come before us,” Sinko said. “In our view, this would be an excellent opportunity to allow us to step up and take responsibility.”

Sinko proposed the idea of opening the senior lots at each of the three high schools for a one-month trial period to see how the students take to the responsibility. “I believe students will be much more careful and conservative in their actions in order to retain that privilege,” he said.

The issue of students driving recklessly to rush back to school has long been a concern for the board, according to President Jeanne Greco Jacobs. When an “Inside Edition” segment aired in March 2009, the issue become “glaring,” she noted.

The segment examined the risks of students driving during the school day, and North High School students were among those profiled on the show. Some were shown speeding off campus, running stop signs and driving recklessly.

“These kids were not operating their vehicles in a safe manner,” Greco Jacobs said, “rushing for the 42 minutes to get somewhere for lunch and rushing back. Even though they were parked on school grounds, they were still rushing.”

In his address to the board, Sinko said that students park off school grounds in order to have access to their cars, which prompts lateness when returning from lunch. “Opening the senior lot will cut down on the stress of finding a parking space within reasonable distance from the school,” he said.

A senior at Central, Matt Infield, agrees with Sinko and said, “It’s kind of ironic because the school has put a big emphasis on lateness this year and by keeping the lot closed it’s creating more lateness.”

Infield was a junior when the parking policy went into action. He said he parks on Kent Road, a few blocks north near Memorial Junior High School, in order to have access to his car.

“I feel like we should be trusted with the responsibility to have the lot open to us,” Infield said, “and if you think about it, we’ve been rushing from Kent Road all year and parallel parking and there have been no incidents. I feel like the lot would be a safer situation than going to Kent.”

Sinko said if more students parked in the senior lots, where there is adequate room to park, there would be less cars dented or scraped. “We understand the reasons behind your decision to close the senior parking lots throughout the district,” Sinko said. “We also believe that we should be judged on our own merits and given the opportunity to prove ourselves to be responsible individuals.”

The board’s decision is based on student safety, Greco Jacobs said. “There have been so many incidents on Long Island where kids at lunch time have gotten into fatal accidents,” she said. “You increase the risk of that happening and basically there are enough stores within walking distance to the school that the board felt that the kids would have access to go outside to go to lunch, but didn’t necessarily have to take their cars.”

The district has an open campus policy for students in grades 10-12.

The board responded warmly to Sinko’s speech, but has not discussed his proposal at this time, according to Greco Jacobs. “When we next meet we’ll have a discussion as to whether anyone wants to revisit the parking policy,” she said. “If the majority of the board decides they want to revisit it, we will. Otherwise it will remain as is.”