By Uy Pham
Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) slurried and repainted its school parking lot during spring break as part of various campus beautification projects, while also covering seniors’ art in their painted parking spots.
The project involved slurring the parking lot with a new layer of asphalt as well as repainting the various lines and arrows throughout the parking lot. According to Principal Paul Lopez, the school had wanted to complete this project for several years.
This school year marked the first time when FVHS permitted seniors to purchase a reserved parking space for the entire school year and decorate it with their own artwork, provided they followed certain regulations for school appropriateness and maintenance. However, with the completion of the resurfacing project, the artwork has been covered up with new asphalt.
“It was totally my decision. We needed to move forward with a project to cover up the spaces. The school district — all they do is schedule,” Lopez said. “The problem with scheduling is that if they get us in for spring break, we couldn’t wait for the summer. Contractors have timelines, and there are a lot of other schools.”
According to its Chief Operating Officer Teagan Ickes, Senior Commission, the club sponsoring the painted parking spots, only found out about the renovations on Friday before break began. On social media, the Senior Commission proposed alternatives, such as fundraising to delay the project, but the contractors were already scheduled for Wednesday.
Lopez did admit that communication between the administration and Senior Commission could have been improved.
“The Class of 2025 has been incredible in their fundraising efforts, and nobody wanted to hurt our students. We only [received confirmation] a few weeks before,” Lopez said. “Money wasn’t the issue, but there are six high schools in our district that need their parking lots done. … Anytime you can get reslurrying done in a timely manner, you have to push forward with the project.”
FVHS currently has no plans to offer refunds for students who purchased a painted parking spot.
Senior Asif Sahib, who purchased one of those spots, arrived for track practice over spring break and found access to the painted spots blocked off for the slurrying. His spot’s design included his name in a thick font and meaningful dates and iconography for his friends.
“I got the spot because I wanted to protect my vehicle … I know exactly who’s right besides me, but the main reason was because I have my own spot painted and specially designed, and I paid extra to do so,” Sahib said.
“The school should have a way to compensate us … There was a hope for many who had a painted spot to come there around graduation and take before and after senior pictures. We paid $120, and we spent our own time,” Sahib said. “The fact that [the designs] were removed that fast, and we weren’t given any warnings, was really upsetting.”
Lopez confirmed the formerly painted spots are still reserved for those seniors. If a spot is occupied by another car during school hours, seniors who purchased a painted spot should reach out to the Supervision Office.
“I tried to park in my spot, but someone parked in there right before first period started, during the school day,” Sahib said. “That same day, I spoke to [Supervision] and they said they’re working on it. I felt like there should be something to mark that it’s my parking spot and others can’t park there.”
According to Assistant Principal of Supervision Elliot Skolnick, the current plan is to mark each of the previously painted spots with a number. Each number will correspond to a student, allowing school staff to match a particular spot to the student. FVHS is in the process of obtaining the number stencils and mapping out the painting project.
Since the artwork has been covered with new asphalt, seniors are also no longer responsible for recovering their parking spot at the end of the year; previously, the students needed to repaint the parking lot at the end of the school year as part of the agreement for purchasing the spot.
“Students here did a really responsible and good job compared to what I’ve seen in other schools,” Lopez said. “It was amazing to see what the product was … Unfortunately, for the Class of 2025, the [painted spots] were taken away a little bit early, but with the reslurrying we have a blank canvas that’s really nice [for future classes].”
With the parking lot renovations completed, Lopez points to the opportunity to now complete other campus beautification projects that the school wishes to do. The parking lot behind the school still needs to be completed, along with moving the sidewalk on the south entrance to facilitate where students actually enter.
The Senior Commission hopes to continue preparing to celebrate the Class of 2025 heading into their final 30 days of high school.
“I, like many seniors with painted spots, was sad that the spots were not able to last the entire year. But I am still glad I purchased a spot. Unfortunately, when creating new traditions like this one, there will always be problems that arise,” Ickes said. “Senior Commission is dedicated to making the Class of 2025’s senior year unforgettable … but we also need to understand that the improvement of our school is very important and now seniors for future years will be able to create lasting memories in brand new spots.”
