Students are excited to now be able to go to their cars as soon as the last bell rings.

This new change makes it much more convenient for students to get to work, practice and other commitments.

Many students find the new policy very beneficial, including student driver and senior Rachel Pugaczewski.

“The new release time makes it easier for me to work since I live about 15 minutes away from the school,” Pugaczewski said. “Also, whenever I have swim practice after school, it gives me more time to get to the
YMCA and get ready.”

Overall, the policy change seems to make life easier for the students. According to Assistant Principal James Hollinger at a faculty meeting, the change was made to be able to better place the staff in rotating duties around the school.

However, there are still a few questions as to why it was changed in the first place since the old method seemed to be working just fine, but junior Gabby Maiorano thinks she knows why the rule changed.
“I think the policy was changed so the parking lot would be less crowded at the end of the day,” said Maiorano. “They probably realized kids had other places to be after school and that they needed the extra time.”

Although no reason was ever given to students as to why they decided to change the policy, it is safe to say that it seems to have been a popular decision. The new release time makes the parking lot less crowded, but there still seems to be a few concerns as to how safe the parking lot actually is.

Science teacher Brian Wingert has a few concerns about the new release time.

 “I’m concerned that if the students are let go at the same time as the buses, they will try to race against the buses,” said Wingert. “The students might cause accidents if they’re all racing to get home.”

However, there were many safety procedures that the school went through before making this decision to ensure that these situations would never arise. 

Principal Dr. Molin recites all of the processes the school went through before making this decision.

“We worked with officer Mendez to set the rules for the new release time,” said Molin. “We also got the approval of the bus company. The idea is that the new release time will keep the students from speeding to get to their after school activities.”

Therefore, all possible concerns that may have arisen were already taken care of before they decided to make the change.

There are many ways that the student body could work together to make sure that the parking lot can be a safe place.

Student driver Michella Salvitti agrees and has a few ideas about what the students could do to help.

“The students can make it a better place by being aware of the other drivers,” said Salvitti. “Also, a lot of people ignore the stop sign which is very unsafe.”

All in all, the new release time seems to really benefit the student body as a whole. From the opinions of the students, it looks to have been a wise decision that makes everyone’s life easier.