Have you ever wanted covered parking at school? Imagine leaving and hopping into a nice cool car. Well, luckily for us Cougars, covered parking will be coming soon!

The covered parking will actually be new solar panels for the school. These solar panels will produce 60 percent of the school’s electricity right away, and after 20 years the solar panels will have produced up to 80 percent. This is all part of a bigger project to make Sahuaro a green campus.

This new green project is being initiated by Mr. Estrella, Sahuaro’s principal. He has already installed a new lighting system that is cost-effective and green, as well as new waterless urinals in the boys bathroom. Mr. Estrella has stated that he plans to put in new water fountains in the hallways and a new heating and cooling system that will save money and reduce our carbon footprint in the future.

The solar panels are set to go into the student parking lot and the Vicksburg teacher parking lot. In the student parking lot, there will be six rows of panels, the two rows closest to the front gate being slightly shorter. In the Vicksburg parking lot, there will be three short rows for the entire lot. All of the panels will include LED lights, so both parking lots will be well lit at night. With all of these being installed, there will be some construction during the year.

There is no set start date as of yet; the TUSD Board must first approve the construction, but it is planned to begin this school year. It is going to be done in phases, so the parking lot will still be usable, just with fewer spaces available. The best way to find out which parts of the parking lot are closed off is through Parentlink, daily announcements, the Sahuaro website, and, of course, The Paper Cut.