The New Ulm High School grabbed a new look outside in the parking lot this year. They implemented a parking pass for students and a new place for everyone to park but many students don’t know the reason behind it.

There are multiple reasons the school has made this change. The main reason is Mr.Bergman and other staff in the office have a better look at the front parking lot through the windows to see what’s going on in the parking lot. “Being able to see more makes it easier to deal with the issues that occur,” head school secretary Erin Jensen said.

Last year there were multiple incidents of reckless driving by the students that were reported by other students. With that being said the issue couldn’t be resolved with no one being able to supervise the parking lot like they can now. With more supervision, the safety of students is better ensured.

Another reason for this change is students cutting in front of the buses which made them behind schedule. Students were not respecting the bus drivers and not moving out of their way. This led to bus drivers being behind schedule in dropping off students. The busses being behind schedule for their routes made parents concerned for their children’s safety. To fix this the school limited the student spots in the back parking lot to only 60 spaces giving the buses more room.

Lastly, they kept students who have after-school activities in mind and wanted to give them an opportunity to park closer to the fields and locker room area. Their solution was to sell parking passes for $25 a semester. This idea was brought up by Erin Jensen and it was followed through. Students who have busy schedules and longer days at school with sports or other things took advantage of the parking pass and have enjoyed it so far.

It’s been two months into the year and there have only been positive results to this change. The biggest result is it has helped the buses and has kept them on schedule. “Students driving has improved but students could still slow down when driving out of the parking lot,” Erin Jensen said.

The school believes it will keep the change for the future years