Pentucket Regional School District supplies parking spots to students with their license through a system which is often misunderstood.  

Seniors are prioritized over other students when looking for parking spots and to pick their spots, Pentucket uses a first come first serve system. Then, if needed, the remaining spots are given to juniors in a lottery. Principal Seymour explains the lottery as, “Just simply a fair way to deal with 50 students who want to park but only 40 spaces.” Fortunately, this year the lottery was not needed because everyone who wanted a spot got one. The people that did not get a spot got put on the waiting list.

To get a parking spot, you must have your license and pay $180. This dollar a day fee is to help offset costs related to the parking spot. This includes repainting the parking lines and numbers, plowing, and sanding fees. This does not necessarily cover the entire cost of parking spot maintenance, but it helps to a degree. Once spots are given to all of the students with their license, students getting their license later in the year can try to secure a spot.  

There are approximately 300 parking spots in the high school lot, and about half the spots are given to students and the other half are given to staff.  

One of the problems the school faces is when people park where they are not supposed to. If a student was to park on Farm Lane, they can not technically be penalized by the school, but only by the town of West Newbury, as it is public property. Some people also park in other students’ spots. This problem will be dealt with on an individual basis and if the person fails to correct his behavior, it could result in a ticket or even being towed.

Pentucket Regional School’s system of giving out parking spots may seem arbitrary from a distance, but there is a method behind the madness.