Dear Cresskill Board of Education, 

The class of 2027 is writing to respectfully request the installation of a student ID scanner at the B-Wing entrance of Cresskill High School.

We are grateful for the opportunity to park in the designated junior lot area on the left of the school. However, the current system creates several challenges for us. The lot itself is limited in space, and as the year progresses and more and more get their licenses, it gets even tighter. Thus, most of the 120- something juniors need to park up the road, which adds another 3-4 minutes to the already 6-minute walk (and yes, I’ve timed it). 

According to junior Victoria Costa, “As more and more get their licenses, half of us can’t even park in the lot anymore. I’ve had to park on Mezzine and the walk ends up being way longer than you might think.” 

When the weather gets rough—and you all know how bipolar New Jersey weather can be—the walk is even more treacherous because the grass turns all muddy, swampy, and cold. Junior Ido Levy shared, “When it rains or snows, due to our school’s location, the walk gets really bad because the whole path gets all muddy and slippery. So on top of that long walk already cutting our lunch, now we have to walk carefully.” 

In addition, the time we spend walking to and from the front entrance impacts us throughout the school day. With an already limited lunch period, the additional travel time cuts our lunch significantly down to about 20 minutes of actual eating time because we need to account for walking and securing parking. 

This issue goes beyond just the junior class; it’s for everyone who comes from there in the mornings or walks home during lunch. It’ll save everyone so much time and so much hardship. 

“By the time we walk to and from the junior lot, after the parking struggles, we have barely any time to actually eat so lunch is just rushed for all of us, “ explained junior Shiri Barkan. 

Staff members are present throughout the building during our lunch period, supervising regardless. Given that it would be only a percentage of the student class, one staff member should be assigned to monitor the area during arrival and lunch periods. 

We understand that school safety is the number-one priority. Thus, we believe that adding another scanner would improve efficiency and safety without compromising these standards. Students would no longer recklessly exit the lot, cutting down potential accidents, and being more practical for all students involved overall. Our request is not to replace current systems, but to improve them in a way that benefits the students as well. 

Thank you for your time and consideration, 

Sincerely, Class of 2027.