School crossing guarded after mother pushes officials
Tom Marshall, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Hernando County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Welshans keeps an eye out Tuesday afternoon for Explorer K-8 students needing to cross Northcliffe Boulevard. Deputies are pulling the duty until a permanent crossing guard is hired.
SPRING HILL — There are lots of stories about people who see a problem and do nothing. This is not one of those stories.
This is about someone who spoke up.
Parent Susann Hunter was waiting for her boys outside Explorer K-8 School one day last month, when she noticed something was missing. There was a crosswalk painted onto the busy roadway at Northcliffe Boulevard. But no crossing guard.
"While I was sitting there waiting for my boys, the police, two of them, sped through with their lights on," she said. "It was very dangerous. All the schools in the county have crossing guards but ours."
She called the school and central offices. She called the Sheriff's Office. It was true. No guard had been allocated for the new 2,000-student school. Hunter was irate.
"We've had young children stuck in the middle of the island, waiting for the light to change," she told the School Board at a meeting in late October. "One student, he is on training wheels crossing the street.
"This is a very dangerous situation," she added. "We could be risking the life of a child."
No one disagreed with the need for a guard. But it seemed there was a disagreement over who would pay for it. The Sheriff's Office, which has typically covered the cost of crossing guards, had not budgeted for an extra guard at the new school.
"It is serious," said board member Sandra Nicholson. "But we can't just manufacture crossing guards. We try to work with the sheriff because that is his area."
"They have no additional funding," student services director James Knight told the board. "And we have no money. We have sent a letter to the Sheriff's Office asking them to consider shifting a crossing guard (from another school.)"
The Sheriff's Office said it was aware of the problem.
"We have determined that there are a large number of children crossing at that location," said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Donna Black. "We've been monitoring that."
She said a deputy or public service aide would help oversee the crossings until a guard could be found.
"Anyplace where kids are crossing, that's a concern, especially when it's a designated crossing site," Black added. "One child lost is a tragedy."
Now, after nearly two months, it appears that Hunter's prodding may finally be paying off.
While the Sheriff's Office declined to shift a guard from another school, Knight said, the district has agreed to pay for a guard if the School Board will approve the annual cost. The total bill for one crossing guard?
Out of a $170-million operating budget, the extra safety measure will cost the district about $7,000 per year.
Hunter is still impatient, waiting for a final resolution. Some of the deputies watch the crosswalk with much less enthusiasm than others, she said; a few don't even get out of their cars.
Still, she's happy to know that a squeaky wheel can still make a difference.
"Naturally, I want it yesterday, but at least we're doing something," she said. "Just to protect the kids."
Tom Marshall can be reached at tmarshall@sptimes.com or (352) 848-1431.
[Last modified: Nov 28, 2008 07:29 PM]
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