Letter to the Editor: District 21 Should Pay for Crossing Guards

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Dear Editor,

I am writing to you as a parent of a child who attends school in District 21. I am extremely concerned about the D21 board vote (on Thursday, October 15, 2015) against paying the Village of Buffalo Grove for two years of crossing guard services, which adds up to more than $24,000, and is apparently disputed by the School District. Meanwhile, the School Board tabled the issue of agreeing to an intergovernmental agreement with the Village of Buffalo to move forward in regards to providing crossing guards for D21 students for this school year.

I find it hypocritical to vote on one of the issues, then kick the can on the other issue because not all board members were in attendance. Why wait on a vote (when there was a quorum) that concerns the safety of D21 students crossing the streets to get to school? I find this lack of responsibility embarrassing, negligent and with complete disregard. The District 21 board was elected to conduct the business of the School District. The responsibility of the School District to provide for student safety, is the business of the district, and should be paramount in board decision making.

Due to this nearly three year issue, I have researched the school code. State statute specifies school districts provide bus service for students who live a certain distance away from schools they attend; though the District 21 school board doesn’t believe, by its actions in refusing to pay for the service thus far, they have any responsibility to provide for the safe passage of students who live shorter distances away from the schools they attend. The Illinois School Code even goes so far as to address what funds school districts can utilize to cover these safety costs. Yet, the school board keeps their heads in the sand by sticking with the mindset that the school district has no responsibility in all if this.

I am baffled as to how the school district has a $3 million surplus in their budget; yet they pontificate in public meetings how financially strapped they are. I don’t begrudge D21 purchasing new brick signs at all of the middle schools (which I venture to guess cost $20,000-$30,000); but, they cannot justify the roughly $12,000 a year in cost-sharing with the Village of Buffalo Grove to provide for the District’s fair share in paying for crossing guard services. This share represents approximately one-third of the entire cost. The remaining two-thirds is provided for by the Village of Buffalo Grove.

In closing, I believe the smart choice here for District 21 would have been to pay for the crossing guard services that have been provided since the 2013-2014 school year. When this issue blew up in the media in August of 2015, it was a result of the School District shining a light on it and making it a public spectacle, which is evidenced by a pre-recorded call sent to District 21 parents and Social Media posts that failed to mention the District’s lack in paying for crossing guard services up until that point. Instead, District 21 has been quoted in the media as saying “they want the crossing guard service, but don’t want to pay for it.”

I’m sure many of us who work for a living would enjoy being able to utilize a product or service, but choose not to pay for it. Average people do not have this choice, and neither should District 21. Meanwhile, two other school districts have received the same services and continually paid for it, which displays their responsibility to their students’ safety.

I am embarrassed for the lack of leadership and poor representation of our community through the District 21 board and its recent decisions regarding student safety through not paying for their fair share in providing crossing guards.

Sincerely,

Mike Terson

District 21 Parent

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Read More on Patch

• Dispute Over Crossing Guards Rages Days Before School Starts for District 21
• District 21, Village Reach Agreement on Crossing Guard Issue