Parking is a privilege for students in high schools.

Parking spots on school campus generally come with a cost — up to more than $100 — and a list of regulations. But officials say, it’s generally all good. They don’t see a lot of parking lot problems.

At Butler High School, for example, students pay $25 a year for a permit and must provide information about their car, license and insurance before being granted a parking permit.

Brian Slamecka, assistant superintendant of secondary schools, said there are 500 full-time parking passes and 30 day passes available.

The permits are awarded first-come, first-served to qualified students. For most of the school year some of the passes are still available. Slamecka said as the year goes on, more students get their licenses and the lot fills up.

Buying a permit still is not a guarantee to a year-long pass at any of the districts contacted for this report. School officials can revoke parking permits temporarily or permanently for irresponsible behavior, including speeding, reckless driving or other traffic violations.

“Cruising around the campus,” for example, is identified as a no-no in the Butler school board’s written policy.

Butler, like many schools, uses a tiered guide to what punishment a student could face for violating the policy. A first violation deemed minor such as forgetting to display a permit will merit a warning only. But repeated violations or offenses deemed major, like pulling out in front of a school bus, can lead to more sever punishment including the loss of the permit for the year, suspension from school or the towing of the vehicle.

But most officials say parking lot trouble is rare.

Linda Andreassi, spokeswoman for the Seneca Valley School District, said, “Our students are very orderly, and truly they do an excellent job of following the rules. I think the students like their parking privileges so they don’t abuse them.”

In addition to the standard application items, Seneca Valley High School drivers also must submit to a drug test. Students who test positive lose the privilege of parking on campus, but Andreassi said that rarely happens.

“It’s not an issue,” she said.

Also at Seneca, where permits cost $120 a year or $60 a semester, drivers also may be “ticketed” $5 or $10 for infractions ranging from parking in the wrong lot to parking without a permit or with a permit that has been suspended.

Any student who accumulates more than $50 in parking fines or outstanding debt is subject to forfeiture of his permit and having his car towed from campus at his own expense. Money from the fines goes into a fund for parking-related costs, including lot maintenance,

Seneca’s 120-acre campus has more than ample parking for students, teachers and visitors, Andreassi said. The district annually sells about 500 student permits, and it has never had to turn down a qualified applicant.

At Freeport, students who identify a reason to drive to school, such as an after school job, get priority on the parking permit list.

“And we start with (approving the) seniors and work our way down the grades,” said Mike Kleckner, dean of students at Freeport High School.

Freeport has 170 student parking spaces, and generally there are always some available.

Interested student drivers must get their parents’ signature and provide the school with information about their car and insurance. They might need additional signatures. For example, if they need to drive for work, they must get their employer’s signature. If they’re driving to participate in a sport, they need a coach’s signature.

Passes are sold for $30 per sports season: fall, winter and spring.

Permitted drivers receive a tag they must display on their mirrors. Teachers monitor the parking lot during the day. And students can have their parking privileges suspended or taken away for a number of reasons.

For example, Kleckner said, if a student driver starts having a number of morning tardies, his pass could be suspended to stress the importance of arriving on time.

But like the other school officials, Kleckner said parking lot problems are minimal.

“Our students are pretty good,” he said, noting the most prevalent issue generally is that students forgetting to display their parking permits.