TUPELO — Sitting in a blazing hot parking lot Monday afternoon, Saltillo High School senior Sadie Baxter meticulously painted a disco ball on what will be her parking spot for the upcoming school year.
Despite the heat bearing down on her, Baxter said she’s more excited than ever for the coming year, which begins Friday.
For the last six years, senior students at Saltillo High School have had the option to personalize their parking spaces with custom paintings they either create themselves or with help, according to Saltillo High School Principal Casey Dye.
“It allows them to express their creativity and individuality,” he said, adding that because the students get to do their paintings shortly before school starts, it is a good way for them to get back into the swing of things following summer.
This idea was originally concocted by students and approved by the administration. This year, students had an array of ideas, including pop culture references, such as SpongeBob, the Minions, and a Monopoly board; school pride, puns, smiley faces, a piece of lined paper, or jersey numbers.
It costs students $10 to rent a parking space for the year, but for an additional $50, they may paint the spot. The money, Dye said, funds student activities. He noted the school previously used the funds to buy caps and gowns for students who needed them and gift cards and flowers for families going through tragedies during the school year.
The money, Dye said, always goes back to the students.
“We can’t use that money for anything other than things that students need,” Dye said.
Baxter and her friend Madiec have adjacent spots, so they combined their spaces. Their spot has the phrase “one last disco” sprawled across it with bright colors and disco balls.
Baxter said she took some time to walk around the lot to look at the other spaces on Sunday. She’s proud of her classmates’ work.
“It is so cute,” she said about the parking lot paintings. “It’s just so bright.”
Across the lot, Allison Fortson and her mother, Sharon Betts, were painting hers and her brother’s parking spot a bright blue. She said when finished, it will be a painting of “The Lorax,” the title character from the beloved Dr. Seuss story.
Fortson said she was excited to get to take part in the tradition; her mother added that they began talking about their options during her junior year.
“I’m having fun,” she said. “It’s really hot.”
While this is the beginning of the school year, this will be both Fortson and Baxter’s last year at Saltillo High School, which Fortson dubbed bittersweet. As for the faculty, Dye said the tradition gets better year over year.
“(Students) tend to take care of things a little better when they have some stake in it. It is part of their senior year … and they look forward to it,” Dye said.
