At Mesa High School we pride ourselves as inclusive and welcoming to everybody. We have traditions that follow each alumni for the rest of our lives, and connect us with people from our community, state, and country. However, sometimes Mesa High can create policies that exclude its students from this inclusivity. 

Fellow students, you may have had the unfortunate tale happen to you where you got a parking violation for not having a parking pass. You may have gotten it worse and had your car booted for not having it. This petition was created in order to do away with the fee for getting this pass and allow students to freely park within the schools parking lot. There are a few reasons why you should support this goal and help our school realize how much this parking pass actually affects its students. 

First, it is important to realize that the uncertain times we are in have left many students and parents anxious about their finances. To one the $25 dollar fee for a pass may be a simple payment, but to another it may be the difference between not eating or being able to support their families. 

Second, it is silly to enforce a parking pass for a school year that only has 4 months remaining.

Third, with the increased funding the school gets from the state, waiving a payment for the pass should not be an issue. We can see an example of this with the free breakfast/lunch extension through the rest of the year.

Fourth, faculty and staff have mentioned multiple times the fact that approximately 60-70% of our students are on free or reduced lunch. It seems backwards to require extra payments for students and families who struggle to pay for food. 

Fifth, with the uncertainty of the school schedule. There may still be a chance that we go back to modified or remote. It is not just to require students to pay for the pass only to not need it anymore due to a change in the school schedule.

Fellow students and peers, together we can create change in our school that will affect us and the future students of Mesa High. We can incite a new direction of inclusion for our campus that allows students to park without the worry of getting booted or having to be anxious about paying for a pass. We need to petition our school to at least waive the requirement for this school year, but advocate for the complete removal of this fee. We cannot settle for less. Sign this petition and be the change you want to see.