In late June, as part of wide-ranging budget cuts to address a roughly $19 million general fund deficit, the Orange City Council nixed a program that provided crossing guards at 14 Orange Unified schools.
Now that school has resumed, parents are upset, saying the cuts jeopardize child safety and contradict the council’s proclaimed safety-first priority.
Providing the part-time crossing guards costs the city roughly $425,000 a year, according to a staff report. Lt. Phil McMullin of the Orange Police Department, which managed the program, said despite full-fledged efforts to recruit crossing guards, the city has struggled to keep the programmed staffed. Crossing guards are paid between minimum wage and $19 per hour and are expected to work discontinuous hours in the mornings and afternoons of school days.
More than a dozen Orange Unified parents asked the City Council at a meeting this week to bring back the program.
Greg Goodlander, the Orange teacher’s union president, said the council’s decision is putting students at risk.
“It is a question of public safety akin to supporting the police force,” he said. “The responsibility of providing the safety of students on public city streets belongs to the city of Orange, not the school district.”
Multiple council members expressed interest in revisiting the program at their next meeting in September.
Related Articles
Buena Park sober home suit: Fighting got so bad, ‘I thought they were going to kill someone’
No Treats in the Streets this year in Orange; fall festival canceled due to budget cuts
Four incumbents on Orange City Council face no challengers in November’s election
Some supervisors call Andrew Do’s proximity to Viet America Society controversy a distraction
OC Board of Supervisor Andrew Do expected to miss meeting Aug. 27, could be taken off assignments
Leave a Reply