FAYETTEVILLE -- Hundreds of parking spaces could be added at Fayetteville High School under an array of options presented at Thursday's School Board meeting.
Megan Slocum, associate superintendent for support services, presented five potential ways to alleviate parking and traffic headaches at the high school using land owned by the School District. Adopting all five options would provide 287 more spaces and cost an estimated $1.6 million, she said.
Slocum didn't recommend any option over another. Her goal was to outline the options and get input from the board on how it wishes to proceed.
Board members didn't make any decisions, but asked administrators to come back with some bundles of the options Slocum presented that would provide "the best bang for the buck," as board president Justin Eichmann said. The district also must figure out how much money it can spend on parking lots this year.
The high school has 442 parking spaces for students. It had 525 requests this year for student parking passes, which cost $50 each. This fall the school has 2,581 students.
Slocum presented estimated costs associated with each possible parking lot project. Those costs ranged from $3,200 per space to $10,219 per space.
The cheapest option, as measured by cost per space, would be to add 66 spaces to the parking lot just north of the high school. The fence between the central administration building and the lot would be removed, and the whole lot would be redesigned. The total cost of that project is estimated at $211,200, Slocum said.
She also presented results of a survey the district did on the subject in September, to which there were 1,529 responses from students and parents. Among students, 87 percent said they were interested in getting a parking pass, though only 60 percent of them have a driver's license.
The survey also showed 76 percent of students are concerned with parking. Thirty-three of them indicated they pay between $500 and $1,000 per year for a permit to park on private property.
A parking garage was one of the most popular solutions parents and students suggested for the parking problem, but Slocum said a garage would cost about $27,000 per space.
Slocum said carpooling isn't a good option, because drivers younger than 21 old may drive with only one other passenger who's under 21, according to state law.
Meanwhile, the district has expressed its wishes to neighboring property owners to discuss buying their land for additional parking lots. Superintendent John L Colbert said Thursday the district isn't close to any deals with its neighbors.
Also at Thursday's meeting, the board approved a plan with the Economic Opportunity Agency to bring Head Start to the campus of the Agee Lierly Life Preparation Service Center starting next August.
The agency operates a Head Start location on Wood Avenue, on the east side of town, where it serves 272 students. The center's campus will provide a second Head Start location for families closer to the west side of town. It will accommodate 41 additional students, according to Colbert.
"We think this would be a good approach to increase and improve outcomes among children as they matriculate through the Fayetteville public school system," said Delia Farmer, the agency's executive director.
The district and the agency have agreed to share the cost of renovations necessary at the center to make the classrooms suitable for Head Start. Those renovations will cost about $110,000, Colbert said.
Parking options
Here are the options presented for increasing parking at Fayetteville High School without buying additional property, with estimated costs:
• Option A: Add 63 spaces behind the School District’s central office building. Cost: $346,000. Cost per space: $5,492.
• Option B: Add 27 spaces beside the field house. Cost: $89,249. Cost per space: $3,305.
• Option C: Add 64 spaces on the northwest corner of the high school’s property. Cost: $654,000. Cost per space: $10,219.
• Option D: Add 67 spaces in front of the school. Cost: $309,302. Cost per space: $4,616.
• Option E: Add 66 spaces to the lot behind the school. Cost: $211,200. Cost per space: $3,200.
Source: Fayetteville School District
NW News on 11/16/2018