Crossing guards are returning to the 11 Fairfax County high schools that had them last school year while discussions about future crossing guard coverage continue, a school system spokesperson told WTOP.
The decision was made Tuesday, hours after a car struck a 16-year-old boy on his way to South Lakes High School in Reston, Virginia. During dismissal Tuesday, a crossing guard appeared at the school to direct traffic and help kids cross the road.
The Fairfax County Police Department said officers responded to the school just before 8 a.m. due to reports of a teenager who had been hit by a car. He was treated for minor injuries at a hospital.
According to police, the student was not in a crosswalk at the time. He was hit at an entrance that never had a crossing guard assigned to it.
Before the final bell of the day, longtime crossing guard Anne Rodriguez got the call from her sergeant, asking her to return to her old post.
“They had said that we weren’t doing high school, but he said he needed me as soon as possible, and I said I’d be here,” Rodriguez said.
She said traffic around the school can make things dangerous for students getting to and from school.
“The people dropping off the kids, the new kids driving, it’s a mess, and the kids trying to cross,” Rodriguez said.
She said even when warning lights are flashing at the crosswalk near the school, some drivers do not stop.
“Sometimes when I’m in the street, they still don’t stop,” Rodriguez said.
When the decision was made to cut crossing guards at high schools last year, Rodriguez, who has helped kids get safely to school for 22 years, was worried a student could get hurt.
“That was my first concern, was ‘Oh my goodness, it’s just an accident ready to happen,'” she said.
Rodriguez told WTOP she was informed South Lakes would once again be her permanent post.
After the crash Tuesday, Fairfax County Public Schools issued a statement saying it was grateful the student’s injuries were not serious and calling the collision “a reminder of the critical importance of having crossing guards and other traffic and pedestrian safety measures at our high schools.”
The crash has reignited a dispute that has simmered since the Board of Supervisors approved a budget that eliminated crossing guards at Fairfax County high schools.
The school system said it has asked Fairfax County to restore funding for crossing guards at high schools with the greatest safety concerns, including South Lakes.
Hunter Mill District School Board member Melanie Meren, who has been a vocal critic of the cuts, said she has spent every day of the school year observing traffic conditions around South Lakes.
“We knew this was going to be dangerous. Anyone who’s been here knows,” Meren said.
Meren, who witnessed the aftermath of the crash, acknowledged it did not happen where a crossing guard had previously been stationed. but argued crossing guards influence traffic conditions beyond a single crossing.
Rodriguez expressed a similar view.
“It does help because when I stop the traffic. When I stop the traffic, it slows them down. They’ve got to get their speed back up before they get down there,” she said.
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn also called for crossing guards to be restored.
“While this is not the intersection where a school crossing guard was previously posted, this incident highlights that our school safety programs should not be the target of discretionary cuts,” Alcorn said in a statement.
WTOP reached out to Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay’s office for comment but has not yet heard back.
While the crash remains under investigation, police said the driver who stayed on the scene was cited for failing to stop before entering a highway.
A proposal to review school crossings and consider restoring funding for crossing guards at high-risk locations is expected to be discussed at the next Board of Supervisors meeting Sept. 15.
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