To the Editor:
I am writing to express concern about the lack of enforcement of parking stickers at Amity Regional High School. This may seem like a minor issue. However, the message it sends to students is anything but small.
Parking stickers ($100 per car per sticker) are assigned by color and designated parking areas and are a clearly stated rule which is supposed to be monitored by school staff who presumably are overseen by administration. When students see that this rule is routinely ignored without consequence, they learn an unfortunate lesson: rules don’t matter if no one enforces them. Students and parents routinely bring photo evidence to school of rule breaking to no avail or are told by staff to simply not expect a spot despite it being paid for and assigned. How is this normalized behavior?
Schools are not just places for academic learning; they are where young people learn responsibility, accountability and respect for shared standards. Selective or nonexistent enforcement undermines those lessons. It normalizes the idea that compliance is optional.
If we want students to take school policies – and eventually laws and civic responsibilities – seriously, enforcement must be consistent. Otherwise, we should be honest and admit the rules don’t actually matter.
I urge the enforcement of the parking sticker policy as written or reconsider it entirely. What we should not do is continue sending students the message that rules exist only on paper.
Stacy Deurquiza
Orange