At the beginning of this school year, the junior class was informed by assistant principal Martin Enriquez of a future construction project for a new science building that will occupy the location of the junior parking area or “Freshman Field” as it is frequently called.
Many juniors are concerned and angry about where they will be able to park once construction begins. Not only will the junior class be affected, but so will potential visitors for sporting events.
Parking in the city limits of Carmel is difficult and generally restricted to no more than 90 minutes, and parking at the baseball field is somewhat dangerous because it is so near Highway 1. Because there is no signal for stopping traffic at the turn for Mosolf Field, entering and exiting could be a problem.
Acknowledging these issues, Principal Rick Lopez says the administration plans on enlarging the main parking lot.
Remodeling the main lot to allow for more parking spaces is a good idea because juniors won’t have to worry about where to park and the administration would be able to follow up with their plans to build a new science wing.
After talking to various administrators, it is clear to me that this choice saves the school the most money and aligns most closely with their goals for a large and high-tech science wing.
Two earlier plans for building the new science wing weren’t carried out because of various budget constraints. One plan was to completely remodel Rooms 41 and 42, but this was too expensive.
The other proposed location for the new science building was where the portables used to be on the hill by the pool; however, this was struck down due to similar money problems.
Even though the juniors may have to suffer for a period of time, getting a new science wing and a bigger main parking lot helps both them and the school.
-Katty Mendez