MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- Each year, Basin seniors flock to their respective high schools to paint their parking spaces in unique and colorful ways; it’s just one way that area seniors celebrate their last year of high school.

“It’s very individualized, a chance to express themselves and have a little spot to call their own,” said Legacy senior Alyson Jaspe. Jaspe was out painting her parking spot on Monday.

However, the fun tradition was made a little more frustrating last weekend, when investigators said at least two people damaged parking spots at Midland High School and Midland Legacy; vandals allegedly threw paint on the quirky spaces, obliterating the artistic designs.

“My friend…she spent so long just for it to de destroyed in two seconds. They (the suspects) did it the night she finished, and she was out here for three days working on it,” Jaspe said of her friend who devoted her time to making sure her senior brother had a spot to call his own.

“They put a lot of time and work into these, it’s just really sad,” said Legacy senior, Lexi Mazarakes, who was also out working on her parking space before the new year, which begins this week.

Monica Mixer visited Legacy High on Monday to paint a spot for another senior. She said she was disappointed when she heard that some of the spaces had been damaged.

“It was awful to hear about it and terrible to see what happened to people’s spaces after they worked really hard and spent all that time and money on their spot. It was just really sad to see,” Mixer said.

But that isn’t stopping these seniors from fixing the damage, and they aren’t letting the crime dampen their spirits as they head into the new school year.

“It’s really nice to see the community come together to fix these,” Jaspe said. 

Midland ISD said many of the damaged parking spaces have already been repaired.

The District released the following statement about the incident, “MISD will seek disciplinary and criminal charges as appropriate upon completion of the investigation. We would like to extend our deepest apologies to the students of the Class of 2024 who were affected by this, many of whom have already repainted the design in their designated parking space.”

MISD also released a video Monday of two people suspected of the crime and is asking for help from the community to identify those involved. If you recognize the people involved, or know anything about the crime, please call Crime Stoppers at 432-694-TIPS.