Me, my wife, and many, many parents in the community strongly oppose the city’s decision to cut crossing guards.

It strikes me as extremely interesting that apparently this city is so mismanaged that all other cities in the district are able to pay for crossing guards, but Orange cannot.

I wonder — at what recent election did we get things so wrong?

Brett and Jannah Arnold

Dear Mayor Dan Slater and City Council Members,
I am a resident of District 1 and my freshman child attends Orange High School. Due to our work schedules, she walks to and from school each day. This past weekend she told me how scared she was each day to cross Chapman. It is pure recklessness that the City has chosen to cut our crossing guards. We all know how distracted drivers are these days and it will be an absolute tragedy when one of our kids and their families God forbid end up paying the ultimate price for the decision that you've made. Other than trying to push this City expense back on to the School District, what other options has the City come up with? Perhaps Police Department volunteers or cadets can take on these duties? Or perhaps it becomes a rotating City duty amongst several different Departments and employees. I understand that budget cuts are necessary and that tough times call for doing more with less, but at what cost? The cost of a life or of someone being injured? The City looks absolutely foolish for approving staff increases in the middle of everything that is happening right now. I implore you to reconsider reimplementing the crossing guard immediately and doing the right thing for our kids and families. Thank you.

Dear Mayor Slater and City Council-members,
As an Orange resident, I’ve been closely following the ongoing budget crisis and have seen the tough choices you have had to make. From the beginning on the discussion, all of the members of the City Council have made it clear that public safety is a priority. As a resident, and proud McPherson mom, I’m disappointed that such an important part of the City’s public safety infrastructure was cut. Thousands of students just started school last week with no crossing guards, and the impacts are already being felt. Please reconsider this cut, and reinstate crossing guards, which help assure the safety of the children of Orange.

Thank you,
Ashley Toomey

Well, well, well. Dan and Clan are at it again. Imagine sitting in the closed door session listening to them discuss how to address the budget issue. Suddenly a light bulb goes on and they decide they should cut the crossing guards across OUSD. This is so beyond reckless and endangers 10’s of thousands students across the city. I wonder how many of their kids walk to school…… my guess none. So if their kid is not endangered…. No crossing guards….. no problem. The council argues this move will save $450k. Wait for it…. Wait for it….. they at the same time are proposing raises of $366k to Senior City Management for the rational “To provide for a safe community” 😂. You can’t make this up. In most cities and counties they would call this corruption, but in Orange they just do it in plain sight. “Hey let’s fire all the crossing guards and pay ourselves $366k in raises”. The absolute callouses and baffonery of the council is beyond any reasoning I can come up with. You want to know the real reason why the crossing guards got cut? In their quest to get a sales tax passed they will continue to cut to most high profile, most visible place they can and then they will say “Look if you pass the sales tax all of this comes back”. So they will continue to cut the most visible services, safety of the community be dammed so they can get the tax increase to fix the budget, rather than doing it the hard way. May I also mention that the top 20 earning city employees took home over $1M in overtime pay. That is on top of their salaries. Not making this up. Go to transparent California.com to see for yourself. Keep up the great work Dan and Clan you are doing an extraordinary job for the city and those that put you in those seats. Bravo council Bravo!!🎉

Dear Honorable Mayor and City Council Members,

I am an Orange resident, OUSD Mother, and Business Owner in the City of Orange. I am outraged at the decision to stop providing crossing guards for our children on their way to and from OUSD schools. The choice of our city council to prioritize other budget items at the expense of the safety of children and families is unacceptable and must be remedied without delay, and before the loss of life costs the city many millions more in liability. As a mother who lost her son to a preventable injury, I cannot fully express to you the deep grief and sorrow a family endures when they must bury a child. There is simply no dollar value that can be put on safety of our families on their way to school. OUSD should not and cannot bear the burden of this cost or responsibility. It is the responsibility of the municipality to ensure the safety of their population on their own city streets. I urge you to drive past schools such as La Veta Elementary or Jordan Elementary where families are crossing busy streets without stop signs to slow traffic that is moving at speeds of at least 30 miles per hour. Hewes street is particularly dangerous as the slope causes a blind spot from northbound traffic. I implore you all to take the serious issue up tonight and do not delay action on replacing these crossing guards.
Sincerely,
Julie Lopiccolo

Dear Mayor Dan Slater and Orange City Council,

My name is Penny Laris, and I am a resident of District 6 in the city of Orange. I am writing to express my family’s strong opposition to the proposed development of the Orange Heights neighborhood by the Irvine Company. The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for this project is outdated, and the disruption to this wildlife corridor will be devastating.

This project threatens to take away the unique experience of living in nature that sets our city apart from its neighbors. Because my compact home does not have a yard—or really any outdoor space—for my young children to play in, we rely on the nearby trails in and around Irvine Park and Peter's Canyon for them to explore the outdoors weekly. These natural spaces provide many young families like mine with the opportunity to learn about the wildlife in our community, which was a major reason my husband and I chose to lay down our roots in East Orange. My son, who is a Cub Scout from Pack 1475 in our Orange community, is absolutely heartbroken to learn that the plants and animals we often see in this area—like bobcats, roadrunners, deer, woodpeckers, snakes, and wildflowers—will soon be losing their habitat.

I urge you to halt the development of Orange Heights, not only for the sake of our current residents—both human and wildlife—but also for the future generations of Orange residents who count on the decisions we make today to ensure they also have this precious land to enjoy.

I am writing to express my shock and dismay with how our City has handled our budget issues. In order to help remedy our budget issues, you have decided to cut Crossing Guards from outside our OUSD schools. This was done abruptly right before the school year started, and with no real long-term solutions put in place to protect our precious children. I have 3 children within 3 different schools in Orange; Chapman Hills, which is in a residential neighborhood and honestly is in a pretty safe area; Santiago Charter Middle School, who definitely needs crossing guards but has their principal and teachers out there after school, directing traffic; and then there is La Veta Elementary, which is on a fairly busy 4 lane street with no stop sign or traffic light in front of the school. Every school is not created equal, and I urge you to do some research on traffic patterns surrounding some of our more vulnerable school locations. I do not think that reinstating Treats in the Streets or approving salary increases for City employees is nearly as important as keeping our kids safe on their way to learn. This should be the FIRST priority, NOT the first thing that is cut. I urge you to consider looking at this issue a bit deeper and possibly finding long term solutions for some of these schools (Stop signs, flashing lights in the crosswalk, traffic light)- Additional police is appreciated, but it's not going to stop someone that has already hit someone in a crosswalk. We have had too many close calls for me to not speak up. My son and I shouldn't not be terrified when crossing the street to go to his school that someone won't stop.

Please reconsider and let's find a better solution for our community,

Miriam Guerrero
Parent to children from Chapman Hills Elementary,
La Veta Elementary, and Santiago Charter Middle School/
Lifetime Orange resident/ OUSD graduate

Dear Mayor and City Council Members,

I am writing to express my deep disappointment in the decision to cease funding for crossing guards throughout our city, particularly at the critical crossing near La Veta Elementary School. This decision has created an immediate safety hazard for our students, who now have to navigate crossing a busy four-lane road where vehicles often travel at high speeds.

In just the first few days without a crossing guard, we have already witnessed several close calls that could have resulted in serious injury or worse. The current situation is unacceptable and requires urgent action to ensure the safety of our children.

If reinstating funding for crossing guards is not possible, I strongly urge the council to consider more permanent solutions, such as installing a traffic light that can be activated by pedestrians or embedding flashing lights in the street itself. These measures would provide a safer environment for our students and peace of mind for parents and the community.

I'd like to commend council members Ana Gutierrez and Denis Bilodeau for voting against these cuts. I urge the rest of our council members and our mayor to prioritize the safety of our children and take swift action to address this issue. Many communities in California are facing similar budget shortfalls. Our neighboring cities continue provide crossing guards to ensure student safety. Find better ways to save money.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

Dawn Aguila, La Veta Parent and Orange Resident

Council member, I am writing as a concern member of the public. The proposed Orange Heights development will be a tragic loss for all citizens, families, and wildlife in Orange County. Already the Irvine Company has erected a fence on the outskirts of Irvine Regional Park in the name of improvements. This first action towards the disastrous development has already limited the outdoor hiking opportunities utilized by the citizens from all over Orange County. More importantly it has limited the movement of wildlife that have always called this area home. In LA they’re building wildlife corridors. In Orange the Irvine Company is developing the only habitat some wildlife has left. Show the Irvine Company the people of Orange value outdoor access and wildlife. Please, stop the Irvine Company from developing Orange Heights. Thank you.