Crossing guards at our OUSD schools are paramount to our students and families safety. Crossing guards are the responsibility of the city to ensure their roads are safe for OUSD students. The city must provide crossing guards- not the district.
As a parent of two young children attending public school in the Orange Unified School District, I am deeply concerned about the recent decision to remove crossing guards from our city streets. This change directly impacts the safety of our children as they navigate busy intersections on their way to and from school each day.
Public safety, especially the safety of our youngest residents, should remain a top priority. Crossing guards play a crucial role in ensuring that our children can cross streets safely, and their absence creates unnecessary risks for both pedestrians and drivers.
I also find it troubling that the responsibility of providing crossing guards is being pushed onto OUSD. OUSD Funding should be going to our teachers, students, curriculum, supplies and safety within the areas that the school can control. The school does not control traffic lights, cross walks, or speed limits that impact where and when crossing guards are necessary This is clearly a city responsibility, as it involves managing city streets and traffic, something the school district is neither equipped nor insured to handle. The city has always maintained crossing guard services, and thus has the necessary skillset and training required to provide this service to residents.
I urge the city council to reconsider the allocation of funds and prioritize the safety of our children over proposed raises for senior management to be consistent with how other districts in Orange County are funded for crossing guards. This small sacrifice could make a significant difference in the lives of many families in our community. If an accident were to occur, not only would that devastate families in Orange, but also could result in expensive lawsuits to the city for not providing proper traffic control. The unnecessary risk of life and funding to pay claims associated with potential injuries through failing to provide crossing guards seems to outweigh any benefit of eliminating this service.
Thank you for your attention to this critical issue. This is an election year, and it is more important than ever to demonstrate to parents in Orange County that the City Council is serving our community's interests.
Mayor Slater and Members of the Orange City Council: My name is Nicole Barlow. I am an Orange resident and parent to a La Veta Elementary fifth grader. I'm commenting today to oppose a tragedy waiting to happen -- the City Council's reckless decision to cancel contracts for school crossing guards district-wide. While you continue to fund non-critical city events like the Street Fair and Treats in the Streets, you've cut budget for critical child safety. In the process, you've put thousands of students in serious and immediate danger, right at the start of the school year, with zero foresight or investigation. Let me tell you what kids as young as 5 face at La Veta Elementary alone. Our school is parallel to a busy, four lane street. This thoroughfare does not have a stoplight, only a barely-there crosswalk with lights that aren't visible during daylight hours. I have already witnessed multiple children and guardians rush across it unattended, dodging cars. Let's be clear: this is dangerous and unacceptable. And this decision by the City Council will result in an injury, or worse. Let's also be clear that it is unacceptable for OUSD to be the ONLY district in Orange County to NOT have crossing guards provided by our city. Stop putting the burden of your financial crisis on innocent kids and their families and our already overburdened public schools. Instead, do the responsible thing and reverse this decision, fun our much-needed crossing guards, and keep Orange a safe place. Thank you.
I strongly oppose cutting crossing guards at the schools in the City of Orange for exactly the same reasons as all of the others who have voiced their opinions in the comments below.
I hope this is not the City’s way of trying to find a sponsor to fill in the funding gap for this critical public safety service.
Sincerely,
Orange resident of over 30 years, OUSD parent, and taxpayer
Please reconsider the elimination of funding for school crossing guards. Funding candy as an alternative budget expense is a seriously misplaced priority. Surely there are other areas you can trim the budget without impacting the safety of our children. Community safety should be non-negotiable in the budget.
Sincerely,
Orange resident and taxpayer
Our children's safety should be top priority. Crossing guards are a necessity and with our budget, it should not be what is cut.
• OUSD protects children in the areas they are equipped to do so. This is not their job. This is a city function.
• OUSD doesn’t have liability insurance for this. It’s simply not done.
• Teachers/principals cannot be expected to take on this task in addition to their other duties at the same time. Why isn’t anyone asking OPD to “volunteer”??? this aligns much more with their training…
• Every other district in Orange County doesn’t have to pay for the crossing guards
• OUSD doesn’t get to decide the speed limit, crosswalk layout, painting, lighting, stopsign or signal installation, etc. Why would they monitor someone else’s area?
• Pedestrians are not the only ones protected. Crossing guards also keep traffic flowing and provide a central point for when cars should proceed (or not)
• OUSD providing this service would be
• It would take the district the better part of a year to create a recruiting process, find crossing guards, train and get them ready to be out there making sure pedestrians are safe. If we were to outsource this the estimated cost would be a million dollars a year. So over the decade we could choose to modernize an elementary school OR hire crossing guards in one of the seven cities we exist within.
• OUSD doesn’t need to be the ONLY school district in Orange County paying to monitor city streets.
• It doesn’t make any sense. OUSD isn’t responsible for street conditions, they don’t set the speed limit, control police patrols, determine who gets a light or a stop-sign. Because that’s the duty of the city.
• This doesn’t only impact students who attend schools within the city. If OUSD has to pay for crossing guards the financial impact will be significant. The equivalent of one elementary school modernization will be spent every 5 years.
• City of Orange has to make cuts to balance their budget, why are you leaving kids out of your public safety analysis?
• Because OUSD has been prudent with our funds and dealt with pension funding in a timely manner, doesn’t mean we owe the city of Orange to help them out of their budgetary crisis to the financial and educational detriment of all OUSD students.
I was wondering where the crossing guards went. Let's game this out for your political career-
- You vote to fire the crossing guards to save money.
- You vote to fund salary increases for top tier management.
- Some kid gets hit by a car.
- The death/injury is on you, and the public will make sure everyone knows.
- Your political career is over.
It's very likely that the lack of crossing guards will directly result in a child's injury or death. That will be directly associated with how you handle this issue.
The decision you should make is phenomenally clear cut and easy. The risk to children, and by proxy, your career is so incredibly high. You should also consider what kind of lies you're going to have to tell yourself just to get out of bed in the morning.
Pedestrians are not the only ones protected by a crossing guard. Crossing guards also keep traffic flowing and provide a central point for when cars should proceed (or not). Traffic is insane. This decision will cost lives.
I am opposed to cutting funding for our school crossing guards. We are spending $84,000 for Treats in the Streets for kids. Let's analyze that, giving them candy instead of crossing guards... it doesn't sound responsible. In fact, it sounds embarrassing!
Crossing guards are not a luxury item within a city council’s budget. They are a necessary service for the public safety of our most vulnerable group, children. Please re-evaluate your priorities and make the right decision with regards to this budget decision. Raises get deferred for much less important initiatives all the time and community events, while valuable, can be skipped. Do better, the community is watching.
- OUSD parent and tax payer
As an Orange resident and OUSD parent, I strongly ask you to reconsider cutting crossing guards at our public schools. The safety of our students should be the number one priority when deciding a city’s budget. I find it embarrassing for the City of Orange that we can’t figure out how to fund this essential program. To put the responsibility on the school district and/or community members when other OC districts do not have this responsibility and these are city streets is completely unreasonable.
Crossing guards are not only beneficial to public school children, they assist with the flow of traffic and help motorists drive through high traffic areas in a safe manner. They benefit ALL Orange residents. If our city doesn’t have the funds to keep this imperative program in effect, then we are failing our community.
I am worried about the safety of the children that are walking to school without crossing guards. Why is OUSD require to pay for crossing guards when every other school district does not. Teachers/ staff should not be expected to take on the task in addition to their duties. City of Orange has to make cuts to their budget but protecting children is our utmost responsibility. Please reconsider your position.
Drivers are careless and reckless. You only need to spend 10 minutes at a busy intersection (such as Handy and Collins) to witness first hand people running stop signs, distracted by their phones, and cutting off the pedestrian right of way.
Crossing guards provide a critical check against these drivers who otherwise wouldn’t notice a small child who may not have the situational awareness necessary to avoid a critically dangerous situation.
Moreover it is saddening that the crossing guard that I have seen every school morning for years and with whom we mutually greet each other with a wave is no longer stationed at his corner.
As an Orange resident I pass 3 OUSD schools every morning on my way to work. One of these schools (Prospect Elementary) is across the street from my home. El Modena High School is just down the street and that brings a lot of young, newly licensed drivers. Mix that with a lot of pedestrian traffic on school days and you have a recipe for disaster. This school is in dire need of a crossing guard.
McPherson does not have the added element of newly licensed drivers headed to high school. But they do have a 4 way stop that young children must navigate. Have you seen how impatient commuters get when they get stuck in a school drop off line? Without a crossing guard it is only a matter of time before someone gets hit.
Finally, La Veta Elementary is located on a long stretch of road where many drivers like to drive too fast. Drivers do not follow the rules for lower speeds in school zones. Again, our children need the added safety of a school crossing guard.
I’m going to guess that every school has a specific set of circumstances that potentially put our children at risk. Why do we need to wait for a tragic accident to happen before we do something about it?
Why should any city officials get raises when there is a crucial need for this money somewhere else? Why is Treats in the Streets being considered before children’s safety? I urge you to bring our crossing guards back for the safety of our children.
Thank you, Jennifer Surges
Fund the school crossing guard program for the 2024-2025 school year by deferring the proposed pay raise for senior officials. If there is a financial deficit due to poor leadership, that same leadership should not receive a raise while our smallest citizens are put in harms’ way.
* OUSD protects children in the areas they are equipped to do so. This is not their job. This is a city function.
*OUSD doesn’t have liability insurance for this.
*Teachers/principals cannot be expected to take on this task in addition to their other duties at the same time. Why isn’t anyone asking OPD to “volunteer”??? this aligns much more with their training…
*Every other district in Orange County doesn’t have to pay for the crossing guards
*OUSD doesn’t get to decide the speed limit, crosswalk layout, painting, lighting, stopsign or signal installation, etc. Why would they monitor someone else’s area?
*Pedestrians are not the only ones protected. Crossing guards also keep traffic flowing and provide a central point for when cars should proceed (or not)
*OUSD providing this service would would take the district the better part of a year to create a recruiting process, find crossing guards, train and get them ready to be out there making sure pedestrians are safe. If we were to outsource this the estimated cost would be a million dollars a year. So over the decade we could choose to modernize an elementary school OR hire crossing guards in one of the seven cities we exist within.
*OUSD doesn’t need to be the ONLY school district in Orange County paying to monitor city streets.
It doesn’t make any sense. OUSD isn’t responsible for street conditions, they don’t set the speed limit, control police patrols, determine who gets a light or a stop-sign. Because that’s the duty of the city.
This doesn’t only impact students who attend schools within the city. If OUSD has to pay for crossing guards the financial impact will be significant. The equivalent of one elementary school modernization will be spent every 5 years.
City of Orange has to make cuts to balance their budget, why are you leaving kids out of your public safety analysis?
Because OUSD has been prudent with our funds and dealt with pension funding in a timely manner, doesn’t mean we owe the city of Orange to help them out of their budgetary crisis to the financial and educational detriment of all OUSD students.
I oppose cutting funding for crossing guards. This program can be fully funded under federal funding for safe to schools. It is very important for protecting children who walk to school and works to slow traffic around the schools. This funding is only available to the city. The city is responsible for safety on our streets. Find a better way to balance the budget than jeopardizing student safety. Florice Hoffman Orange resident
I strongly as you to reconsider your intention to cut the employment of crossing guards. There are many people especially in the morning who drive fast even through school zones. Crossing guards ensure that these drivers slow down and become aware of the pedestrians. Every other district in Orange County doesn’t have to pay for the crossing guards. It is not a school district’s responsibility because it is city property. It would be better for you to delay other expenses in order to balance the city budget like your proposed raise for senior city management.
I find it irresponsible and unconscionable to eliminate Crossing Guards at our public schools. This is not the right way to save city money. Please find a way to reinstate and fund the Crossing Guards.
Dear Mayor Slater and Orange City Council members,
My name is Danielle King, a resident of Villa Park but a former Orange resident and current business owner in Orange, as well as a parent in OUSD.
I strongly urge you to not cut the budget for crossing guards for the schools in the city of Orange. This is city property and children should not be the ones who suffer (or get injured or worse) due to budget cuts. Even more egregious is there is also an agenda item to increase city sernior management salaries by $366k, which is a large part of the $425k the crossing guard program costs. Why is it that government employees get raises on the back of denying our children critical safety measures? I understand our wages aren't going as far as they did 4 years ago, but we're all feeling the squeeze. I also understand the importance of having reserves, but with $51 MILLION in reserves as of last June, shouldn't our kids' safety be prioritized and worth <1% of that if that is what it takes to keep the crossing guard program in place if raises are needed?
Please re-consider this cut. One bad incident at an unguarded city crosswalk and that $425k will seem cheap compared to the ensuing lawsuit that would most likely be filed.
Thank you all for your time and diligence. I know this is a tough budgeting year and cuts must be made, I just don't agree that it should be at the cost of protecting children's lives.
Crossing guards at our OUSD schools are paramount to our students and families safety. Crossing guards are the responsibility of the city to ensure their roads are safe for OUSD students. The city must provide crossing guards- not the district.
Dear City Council Members,
As a parent of two young children attending public school in the Orange Unified School District, I am deeply concerned about the recent decision to remove crossing guards from our city streets. This change directly impacts the safety of our children as they navigate busy intersections on their way to and from school each day.
Public safety, especially the safety of our youngest residents, should remain a top priority. Crossing guards play a crucial role in ensuring that our children can cross streets safely, and their absence creates unnecessary risks for both pedestrians and drivers.
I also find it troubling that the responsibility of providing crossing guards is being pushed onto OUSD. OUSD Funding should be going to our teachers, students, curriculum, supplies and safety within the areas that the school can control. The school does not control traffic lights, cross walks, or speed limits that impact where and when crossing guards are necessary This is clearly a city responsibility, as it involves managing city streets and traffic, something the school district is neither equipped nor insured to handle. The city has always maintained crossing guard services, and thus has the necessary skillset and training required to provide this service to residents.
I urge the city council to reconsider the allocation of funds and prioritize the safety of our children over proposed raises for senior management to be consistent with how other districts in Orange County are funded for crossing guards. This small sacrifice could make a significant difference in the lives of many families in our community. If an accident were to occur, not only would that devastate families in Orange, but also could result in expensive lawsuits to the city for not providing proper traffic control. The unnecessary risk of life and funding to pay claims associated with potential injuries through failing to provide crossing guards seems to outweigh any benefit of eliminating this service.
Thank you for your attention to this critical issue. This is an election year, and it is more important than ever to demonstrate to parents in Orange County that the City Council is serving our community's interests.
Mayor Slater and Members of the Orange City Council: My name is Nicole Barlow. I am an Orange resident and parent to a La Veta Elementary fifth grader. I'm commenting today to oppose a tragedy waiting to happen -- the City Council's reckless decision to cancel contracts for school crossing guards district-wide. While you continue to fund non-critical city events like the Street Fair and Treats in the Streets, you've cut budget for critical child safety. In the process, you've put thousands of students in serious and immediate danger, right at the start of the school year, with zero foresight or investigation. Let me tell you what kids as young as 5 face at La Veta Elementary alone. Our school is parallel to a busy, four lane street. This thoroughfare does not have a stoplight, only a barely-there crosswalk with lights that aren't visible during daylight hours. I have already witnessed multiple children and guardians rush across it unattended, dodging cars. Let's be clear: this is dangerous and unacceptable. And this decision by the City Council will result in an injury, or worse. Let's also be clear that it is unacceptable for OUSD to be the ONLY district in Orange County to NOT have crossing guards provided by our city. Stop putting the burden of your financial crisis on innocent kids and their families and our already overburdened public schools. Instead, do the responsible thing and reverse this decision, fun our much-needed crossing guards, and keep Orange a safe place. Thank you.
This is an accident waiting to happen.
I strongly oppose cutting crossing guards at the schools in the City of Orange for exactly the same reasons as all of the others who have voiced their opinions in the comments below.
I hope this is not the City’s way of trying to find a sponsor to fill in the funding gap for this critical public safety service.
Sincerely,
Orange resident of over 30 years, OUSD parent, and taxpayer
Please reconsider the elimination of funding for school crossing guards. Funding candy as an alternative budget expense is a seriously misplaced priority. Surely there are other areas you can trim the budget without impacting the safety of our children. Community safety should be non-negotiable in the budget.
Sincerely,
Orange resident and taxpayer
Our children's safety should be top priority. Crossing guards are a necessity and with our budget, it should not be what is cut.
• OUSD protects children in the areas they are equipped to do so. This is not their job. This is a city function.
• OUSD doesn’t have liability insurance for this. It’s simply not done.
• Teachers/principals cannot be expected to take on this task in addition to their other duties at the same time. Why isn’t anyone asking OPD to “volunteer”??? this aligns much more with their training…
• Every other district in Orange County doesn’t have to pay for the crossing guards
• OUSD doesn’t get to decide the speed limit, crosswalk layout, painting, lighting, stopsign or signal installation, etc. Why would they monitor someone else’s area?
• Pedestrians are not the only ones protected. Crossing guards also keep traffic flowing and provide a central point for when cars should proceed (or not)
• OUSD providing this service would be
• It would take the district the better part of a year to create a recruiting process, find crossing guards, train and get them ready to be out there making sure pedestrians are safe. If we were to outsource this the estimated cost would be a million dollars a year. So over the decade we could choose to modernize an elementary school OR hire crossing guards in one of the seven cities we exist within.
• OUSD doesn’t need to be the ONLY school district in Orange County paying to monitor city streets.
• It doesn’t make any sense. OUSD isn’t responsible for street conditions, they don’t set the speed limit, control police patrols, determine who gets a light or a stop-sign. Because that’s the duty of the city.
• This doesn’t only impact students who attend schools within the city. If OUSD has to pay for crossing guards the financial impact will be significant. The equivalent of one elementary school modernization will be spent every 5 years.
• City of Orange has to make cuts to balance their budget, why are you leaving kids out of your public safety analysis?
• Because OUSD has been prudent with our funds and dealt with pension funding in a timely manner, doesn’t mean we owe the city of Orange to help them out of their budgetary crisis to the financial and educational detriment of all OUSD students.
Orange Resident of over 30 years
I was wondering where the crossing guards went. Let's game this out for your political career-
- You vote to fire the crossing guards to save money.
- You vote to fund salary increases for top tier management.
- Some kid gets hit by a car.
- The death/injury is on you, and the public will make sure everyone knows.
- Your political career is over.
It's very likely that the lack of crossing guards will directly result in a child's injury or death. That will be directly associated with how you handle this issue.
The decision you should make is phenomenally clear cut and easy. The risk to children, and by proxy, your career is so incredibly high. You should also consider what kind of lies you're going to have to tell yourself just to get out of bed in the morning.
Pedestrians are not the only ones protected by a crossing guard. Crossing guards also keep traffic flowing and provide a central point for when cars should proceed (or not). Traffic is insane. This decision will cost lives.
I am opposed to cutting funding for our school crossing guards. We are spending $84,000 for Treats in the Streets for kids. Let's analyze that, giving them candy instead of crossing guards... it doesn't sound responsible. In fact, it sounds embarrassing!
Crossing guards are not a luxury item within a city council’s budget. They are a necessary service for the public safety of our most vulnerable group, children. Please re-evaluate your priorities and make the right decision with regards to this budget decision. Raises get deferred for much less important initiatives all the time and community events, while valuable, can be skipped. Do better, the community is watching.
- OUSD parent and tax payer
Dear Orange City Council,
As an Orange resident and OUSD parent, I strongly ask you to reconsider cutting crossing guards at our public schools. The safety of our students should be the number one priority when deciding a city’s budget. I find it embarrassing for the City of Orange that we can’t figure out how to fund this essential program. To put the responsibility on the school district and/or community members when other OC districts do not have this responsibility and these are city streets is completely unreasonable.
Crossing guards are not only beneficial to public school children, they assist with the flow of traffic and help motorists drive through high traffic areas in a safe manner. They benefit ALL Orange residents. If our city doesn’t have the funds to keep this imperative program in effect, then we are failing our community.
Bring back the crossing guards. OUSD protects children in the areas they are equipped to do so. This is not their job. This is a city function.
I am worried about the safety of the children that are walking to school without crossing guards. Why is OUSD require to pay for crossing guards when every other school district does not. Teachers/ staff should not be expected to take on the task in addition to their duties. City of Orange has to make cuts to their budget but protecting children is our utmost responsibility. Please reconsider your position.
To Whom It May Concern:
Drivers are careless and reckless. You only need to spend 10 minutes at a busy intersection (such as Handy and Collins) to witness first hand people running stop signs, distracted by their phones, and cutting off the pedestrian right of way.
Crossing guards provide a critical check against these drivers who otherwise wouldn’t notice a small child who may not have the situational awareness necessary to avoid a critically dangerous situation.
Moreover it is saddening that the crossing guard that I have seen every school morning for years and with whom we mutually greet each other with a wave is no longer stationed at his corner.
This is irresponsible.
André J. Ausseresses
City of Orange Resident
As an Orange resident I pass 3 OUSD schools every morning on my way to work. One of these schools (Prospect Elementary) is across the street from my home. El Modena High School is just down the street and that brings a lot of young, newly licensed drivers. Mix that with a lot of pedestrian traffic on school days and you have a recipe for disaster. This school is in dire need of a crossing guard.
McPherson does not have the added element of newly licensed drivers headed to high school. But they do have a 4 way stop that young children must navigate. Have you seen how impatient commuters get when they get stuck in a school drop off line? Without a crossing guard it is only a matter of time before someone gets hit.
Finally, La Veta Elementary is located on a long stretch of road where many drivers like to drive too fast. Drivers do not follow the rules for lower speeds in school zones. Again, our children need the added safety of a school crossing guard.
I’m going to guess that every school has a specific set of circumstances that potentially put our children at risk. Why do we need to wait for a tragic accident to happen before we do something about it?
Why should any city officials get raises when there is a crucial need for this money somewhere else? Why is Treats in the Streets being considered before children’s safety? I urge you to bring our crossing guards back for the safety of our children.
Thank you, Jennifer Surges
Fund the school crossing guard program for the 2024-2025 school year by deferring the proposed pay raise for senior officials. If there is a financial deficit due to poor leadership, that same leadership should not receive a raise while our smallest citizens are put in harms’ way.
* OUSD protects children in the areas they are equipped to do so. This is not their job. This is a city function.
*OUSD doesn’t have liability insurance for this.
*Teachers/principals cannot be expected to take on this task in addition to their other duties at the same time. Why isn’t anyone asking OPD to “volunteer”??? this aligns much more with their training…
*Every other district in Orange County doesn’t have to pay for the crossing guards
*OUSD doesn’t get to decide the speed limit, crosswalk layout, painting, lighting, stopsign or signal installation, etc. Why would they monitor someone else’s area?
*Pedestrians are not the only ones protected. Crossing guards also keep traffic flowing and provide a central point for when cars should proceed (or not)
*OUSD providing this service would would take the district the better part of a year to create a recruiting process, find crossing guards, train and get them ready to be out there making sure pedestrians are safe. If we were to outsource this the estimated cost would be a million dollars a year. So over the decade we could choose to modernize an elementary school OR hire crossing guards in one of the seven cities we exist within.
*OUSD doesn’t need to be the ONLY school district in Orange County paying to monitor city streets.
It doesn’t make any sense. OUSD isn’t responsible for street conditions, they don’t set the speed limit, control police patrols, determine who gets a light or a stop-sign. Because that’s the duty of the city.
This doesn’t only impact students who attend schools within the city. If OUSD has to pay for crossing guards the financial impact will be significant. The equivalent of one elementary school modernization will be spent every 5 years.
City of Orange has to make cuts to balance their budget, why are you leaving kids out of your public safety analysis?
Because OUSD has been prudent with our funds and dealt with pension funding in a timely manner, doesn’t mean we owe the city of Orange to help them out of their budgetary crisis to the financial and educational detriment of all OUSD students.
I oppose cutting funding for crossing guards. This program can be fully funded under federal funding for safe to schools. It is very important for protecting children who walk to school and works to slow traffic around the schools. This funding is only available to the city. The city is responsible for safety on our streets. Find a better way to balance the budget than jeopardizing student safety. Florice Hoffman Orange resident
Dear Mayor Slater and Orange City Council,
I strongly as you to reconsider your intention to cut the employment of crossing guards. There are many people especially in the morning who drive fast even through school zones. Crossing guards ensure that these drivers slow down and become aware of the pedestrians. Every other district in Orange County doesn’t have to pay for the crossing guards. It is not a school district’s responsibility because it is city property. It would be better for you to delay other expenses in order to balance the city budget like your proposed raise for senior city management.
Sincerely,
Yvonne Abril
Concerned Orange resident
I find it irresponsible and unconscionable to eliminate Crossing Guards at our public schools. This is not the right way to save city money. Please find a way to reinstate and fund the Crossing Guards.
Dear Mayor Slater and Orange City Council members,
My name is Danielle King, a resident of Villa Park but a former Orange resident and current business owner in Orange, as well as a parent in OUSD.
I strongly urge you to not cut the budget for crossing guards for the schools in the city of Orange. This is city property and children should not be the ones who suffer (or get injured or worse) due to budget cuts. Even more egregious is there is also an agenda item to increase city sernior management salaries by $366k, which is a large part of the $425k the crossing guard program costs. Why is it that government employees get raises on the back of denying our children critical safety measures? I understand our wages aren't going as far as they did 4 years ago, but we're all feeling the squeeze. I also understand the importance of having reserves, but with $51 MILLION in reserves as of last June, shouldn't our kids' safety be prioritized and worth <1% of that if that is what it takes to keep the crossing guard program in place if raises are needed?
Please re-consider this cut. One bad incident at an unguarded city crosswalk and that $425k will seem cheap compared to the ensuing lawsuit that would most likely be filed.
Thank you all for your time and diligence. I know this is a tough budgeting year and cuts must be made, I just don't agree that it should be at the cost of protecting children's lives.
Thank you for your time.