Last Wednesday my husband and I attended Back-to-School Night at Simi High and were quickly penalized, as were many other parents, for doing so.

You see, available parking was woefully inadequate, and parents, already pressed to meet a 6 and 6:30 p.m. start time, took to parking at the end of rows and along curbs usually deemed for drop-offs only.

Representative of a criminal element? I think not. That concerned and involved parents attending a school-sponsored function were gleefully ticketed for doing so infuriates me. Where is the logic in that?

While obvious parking rules have their place, and things like fire lanes must exist, this was event parking, and it needed to be treated as such.

For a special police “Parking Task Force,” as it were, to find nothing better to do than see dollar signs and collect revenue at a back-to-school event utterly dishonored its citizens.

Maybe supporting such worthy community attendance by masterminding and directing event parking would have been a more practical and thoughtful approach. Just a thought.

It is more than common sense that certain school occasions necessitate certain accommodations. For instance, at Valley View Middle School the P.E. field is opened for like events, and attendants direct traffic flow. Or shall that become the next police ticket writing gold mine, facing off against renegade grass-parkers?

I’ve also attended track meets at Royal High where parking extends to the dirt and curbs. Are these money-making opportunities for the city? Of course not. To know better than that is Police Work 101.

Besides, if certain parking permits, changes or accommodations are in order, I expect our school district, high school and police force to make such arrangements. Let’s show a little more respect for respectable citizens attending respectable events.

Still steamed and bothered at such dismissive police actions, we will pay our ticket. But do I believe it was ethical ticket writing going on? I most certainly do not. Sharon Morrissette Simi Valley