Struggling Towns Cut Crossing Guards (MA)

September 8, 2010

With cash-strapped cities and towns scouring budgets for expenses to slash, they’ve cut back on everything from teachers to libraries and sports programs, and as school begins this year, parents in some places were dismayed to learn of one of the latest economies.

“How could they cut back on crossing guards?’’ exclaimed Richard Doyle, whose 9-year-old son found no escort to cross the busy street in front of Weymouth’s Frederick Murphy School last week. “What’s more important than the kids getting to school safe?’’

Weymouth, facing continuing pressure to slash costs, this year laid off union police officers who shepherd children at schools across the city. Arlington also eliminated most of its crossing guard positions, causing worried parents to create informal walking groups. Other towns, including Abington and Natick, made smaller crossing guard reductions, and a few additional towns said crossing guard jobs had been on the chopping block before last-minute funding became available.

After a long parade of other cuts in municipal services and schools, many parents saw the elimination of part-time crossing guards as a grim sign of the effect of belt- tightening since the economy went into a tailspin.

“Where’s it going to end?’’ asked Matthew Silva, as he and his wife walked their two girls to school in Weymouth. “It will just be math and science and nothing else.’’

Indeed, there were many signs of new efforts at austerity as the school year began. In Belmont, librarian jobs were cut from the four elementary schools. In Framingham, many parents are up in arms after school officials eliminated free bus service for about 1,000 students.

The Weymouth crossing guard cuts were made by the Police Department, which employed union officers at schools. School officials now say they have found money to hire their own crossing guards and hoped to have them in place soon. But parents remained angry the situation wasn’t resolved over the summer.

“It should have never gotten to this point,’’ said Stephen Hardiman, a 44-year-old father of four. Hardiman lives right down the street from the grade school, and his children usually walk the short distance on their own.

Before Weymouth school officials found money to hire guards, they h ad called on residents to volunteer, and Colleen Kelley, 57, raised her hand. Yesterday, she manned the crosswalk on busy Front Street, wielding a hand-held stop sign to interrupt the flow of traffic.

“I’m just concerned with the safety of the kids,’’ Kelley said. “I really wish they had been able to keep them on, especially at the elementary schools.’’

Kelley tried her best, although she had received only minimal training, and guided a number of families across the busy road, where many drivers sped through the school zone at twice the posted limit. A police officer posted near the school pulled over at least one driver.

Kelley provided a welcoming presence in her bright yellow vest, warmly greeting the children and wishing them a good first day. But down the street, two laid-off guards who had stopped by to see how the crossings were going without them said Kelley’s inexperience was creating a risky situation.

“They are penny-pinching for safety,’’ said Bonnie Hayes, a 67-year-old who has worked for two decades as a traffic supervisor. “Compared to the whole town budget, it’s a hundred-dollar bill. What happens next week when the kids start coming by themselves?’’

Not one child appeared to walk to school alone on the first day of school last week, although many parents said they only came along because it was the first day. The vast majority of children arrived by car.