District 21, Village Reach Agreement on Crossing Guards

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There will be crossing guards in place near four District 21 schools Monday when classes resume.

The village of Buffalo Grove and Community Consolidated School District 21 came to an agreement Thursday night over who will pay for the crossing guards at three intersections in Buffalo Grove. The village was poised to pull crossing guards from the intersections after village manager Dane Bragg said the school district failed to pay its part for the program.

• READ MORE: Parents Outraged Over Decision to Pull Crossing Guards

Moving forward, the school district and the village will pay 50 percent of the direct costs of the crossing guards salary for an interim period of two months, according to a joint statement from the school district and the village, which was released Friday.

Safety was the main reason for reinstating the crossing guards, according to the joint statment.

Both of our organizations have received a number of calls and emails from residents who are concerned for the safe passage of their children as they walk to and from school when classes begin on Monday. We, the Village of Buffalo Grove and Community Consolidated School District 21, share in that concern and agree that the safety and security of our children is of utmost importance.

The crossing guards will again be in place at the following intersections:

• Arlington Heights Road and Bernard Drive, near Cooper Middle School and Longfellow School;
• Raupp Boulevard and Golfview Terrace, near Joyce Kilmer Elementary School;
• Anthony Road and Cambridge Drive, near Booth Takington Elementary School.

Prior to Thursday’s joint statement, school officials said the village and District 21 never agreed to share the costs for the crossing guard program. The village has been billing the school district for half of the direct costs for the guards since the 2013-14 school year and contends the school district owes them over $24,000. But without an official agreement, school officials said it did not feel obligated to pay up.

“It would be like if I sent my Visa bill to my neighbor and assumed they would pay for it,” Kara Beach, communications specialist for District 21, told Patch on Thursday.

In a letter to the school district this month, the village said it would pull crossing guards from the three intersections if District 21 did not pay up. Bragg told Patch Thursday the village had reached out to the school district on several occasions but had not heard back.

“The first official communication was this year,” said Bragg, who added the district sent an e-mail and then a written response. “In both pieces, they told us they wanted to continue the program but they didn’t want to pay for it.”

Several District 21 parents took to Facebook to express their outrage over the decision to pull crossing guards.

ou are not committed to resolving this,” wrote one parent on the District 21 Facebook page. “You have known about this for two years and you just notified the district now. Shame on you. Take ownership for your actions.”

Moving forward, the school district and village plan to work on an intergovernmental agreement that will be brought before the village and school boards in the future regarding the crossing guard program.

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