Evanston’s crossing guards are a beloved part of the Evanston community; however, they are facing a new threat. District 65’s budget has decreased year by year, and in 2022, the Evanston City Council and Evanston/Skokie School District 65 decided to transfer the financial duties of the crossing guard program due to financial issues. This means the city’s portion of the costs decreases each year, while the school district’s portion increases.
District 65 has needed to reorganize its budget to deal with the decreased budget, including reform of the transportation policy. Due to this reorganization, there will be a reduction in the number of crossing guards from 50 to 25 by the fall of 2027. This is not without pushback, as District 65 families are concerned about the safety of their kids due to fewer crossing guards while crossing streets and walking around the community in general.
“Taking these crossing guards away could hurt students who grew up with these guards, while also hurting their safety,” stated Vivian Gomberg, a sophomore at ETHS who used to go to Willard Elementary. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Families around Kingsley Elementary School and Haven Middle School are especially concerned about the potential cuts. Both schools are along the very busy Green Bay Road, and families are simply not comfortable with their children crossing the road without a guard.
“As someone who, for both elementary school and middle school, walked to school and had to cross Green Bay almost every day, I can’t express how much less stressful it was when I knew there was someone to help me cross such a busy street,” explained ETHS sophomore Naomi Nels. “Green Bay Road is a super busy road, and I don’t think my parents would have let me and my siblings walk to school alone if those crossing guards had not been there.”
“It’s great knowing there’s almost always someone there to help me cross safely,” said Haven 8th grader Klara Nels. “I think taking away crossing guards would worry parents, especially for children who need to cross busy roads on their way to or from school, where accidents could happen.”
Families aren’t alone in the fight to keep crossing guards. Administrators, despite not having many other options to address the budget issues, are trying their best to keep crossing guards in their communities.
“I really don’t think anything could fill the void of having a crossing guard, a real person there to make your day better in different ways,” said Willard administrator Yvonne Boone. “Although due to the budget, there isn’t much we can do, this does not regard the fact that we will continue to fight to keep our crossing guards safe and here to support our community.”
ETHS is not facing the same budget issues as District 65, and Superintendent Marcus Campbell has ensured that its crossing guards will continue to keep the streets safe for Wildkits and the surrounding community.
“ETHS would never consider cutting crossing guards,” stated Campbell. “It would be out of the question, and if ETHS ended up in the same position District 65 is going through, they would do everything in their power to keep crossing guards at ETHS for students’ sake.”
District 65’s budget crisis is continuing to evolve, and a lot is up in the air for Evanston’s families. However, no matter what happens, Evanston’s crossing guards will continue to give back to the community.
This is a stressful time for district 65 but with the love the community has for their crossing guards it is not surprising that they will fight as hard as they can to keep them.
