At the end of the 2016-2017 school year, Pinecrest High School announced that rising seniors may paint their parking space for the low price of $100.  This was quite exciting news, the school was abuzz with talk of what students were going to paint on their parking spot. Once the 2017-2018 school year began, students were greeted with the same dull pavement. What went wrong?

 

One problem with the “Park and Paint” project was the astounding lack of information. The posters around school that were put up abruptly at the end of the year were rather generic. Senior Jackie Drummond had “no idea” where the money went to, and guesses “it just went towards the school.” Kind of vague, no? Only after purposely researching more about the event did a vague answer appear. “10% of all proceeds will go back to the Senior Class to offset event costs throughout the year!!!” is what was printed on the top of an advertisement. Only ten percent? Where was the rest of it going? Seeing as it was hosted by the Pinecrest Athletics Club (PAC), we can only assume it went to our school’s athletic department. After asking multiple administrators and the school’s treasurer, it was confirmed that the rest of the money went to the PAC. However, only $400 was made, a profit much lower than expected.

 

On the subject of money, another deterrent was the cost of painting. For a parking permit, Pinecrest charges $75. The cost to paint your space was $100, but that’s not all. Those who decided to participate had to bring or purchase their own painting supplies. For some, this would have cost more than $175. Perhaps a lower cost would allow more students to participate.

 

Money isn’t everything though. Katie Warren, another senior at PHS, said “It’s cool and all to make it your own, but that’s going to be someone else’s spot next year and I’m not sure what I would really do.”

 

With these issues highlighted, will the school resolve them and try again? Would it be more successful, or is the “Park and Paint” project a lost cause? It’s only the beginning of the year, so we’ll just have to wait and see.