LABELLE — The Hendry County School District approved an interlocal agreement to use county right-of-way on a portion of Cowboy Way for student parking at LaBelle High School during their Sept. 20 meeting.

“When you build a school for 900 students and you put 1,480 students in it, a lot of things happen,” said Superintendent of Schools Michael Swindle. He said it means there isn’t enough room in the cafeteria and the gym is not large enough for the whole school to attend assemblies. It also means there is not enough room for parking for the students who want to drive.

He said everything from the chain link fence to Cowboy Lane is county property. The county will grant the school district the use of the property for student parking. The agreement includes putting in a culvert.

Board Member Paul Samerdyke said there is also a logjam of traffic at the school due to the traffic pattern used by students dropping off and picking up students as well as the school buses. He said when drivers leaving the school try to turn left, it backs up the school buses and cars behind them.

Swindle said school district staff is working on a traffic survey to alleviate this problem at several schools.