Fairfax Restores Crossing Guards At 10 High Schools

Updated 4:30 p.m.

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Fairfax County supervisors voted Tuesday to restore crossing guards at 10 high schools, approving $707,908 in recurring funding after weeks of pressure from students, parents and School Board members over the removal of the guards.

The funding will pay for 11 Fairfax County Police Department merit positions. Police officers will continue providing temporary coverage at the affected school crossings until the positions are filled.

The money was included in the county's fiscal 2026 carryover package, which the Board of Supervisors approved without opposition Tuesday afternoon.

Board Chairman Jeff McKay included the crossing guard funding in his motion to approve the carryover package following a lengthy public hearing in which School Board members, students, parents and other residents urged supervisors to make the restoration permanent.

The vote followed a series of crashes involving Fairfax County Public Schools students since the beginning of the school year, including an Aug. 31 crash in which a 16-year-old student walking to South Lakes High School in Reston was struck by a vehicle.

The student suffered minor injuries. Police later charged the driver with failure to stop before entering a highway.

Fairfax County temporarily returned crossing guards and police officers to affected high school locations following the South Lakes crash.

Student Crashes Intensified Pressure For Guards

The crossing guard debate became more urgent Sept. 9 when a 13-year-old Frost Middle School student riding a bicycle home from school was struck and killed by a truck in Fairfax City.

Other FCPS students also have been involved in vehicle crashes since classes began, including incidents near Woodson and Lake Braddock high schools.

Hunter Mill District School Board Member Melanie Meren, who helped lead the push to restore high school crossing guards after the South Lakes crash, was among several School Board members who testified before supervisors Tuesday.

"Carryover money must fund high school crossing guards," Meren told the board.

Meren criticized the original decision to remove the guards and rejected the idea that school system employees should take over responsibility for crossings on public roads.

"No, FCPS employees are not responsible for public road safety," she said.

Meren previously organized a rally outside the Fairfax County Government Center where students and parents demanded that the guards be restored.

South Lakes students also testified Monday about conditions outside their school without a crossing guard.

Senior Sarah Russell described an incident in which a vehicle nearly struck her and her sister while they were crossing South Lakes Drive.

"We as students, we know how to cross these roads," Russell told supervisors. "Drivers act entirely irrationally."

Her sister, South Lakes freshman Julia Russell, told supervisors that drivers often fail to stop even when pedestrian safety lights are flashing.

"We do know how to cross the road," she said. "Drivers do not know how to stop."

The funding approved Tuesday is recurring rather than a one-time allocation for the remainder of the school year, providing money for the 11 crossing guard positions in the county budget.

Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity said he had significant concerns about other parts of the carryover package but would support it because restoring the crossing guards was important.

"My position on crossing guards has been clear since 2025 when it was first proposed," Herrity said. "It shouldn't have been on the table."

The carryover package then passed without opposition.

Supervisors Approve School Safety Task Force

Earlier Tuesday, supervisors also approved a separate proposal by McKay, Vice Chair Kathy Smith (Sully) and Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman to establish a joint task force with the Fairfax County School Board on pedestrian and traffic safety around schools.

The task force will examine issues beyond crossing guards, including pedestrian, bicycle and scooter safety, road design, deployment of public safety personnel, funding and cost-sharing, education campaigns and potential changes to state law.

It also is expected to work with the Virginia Department of Transportation, Fairfax County Department of Transportation and members of the county's General Assembly delegation.

McKay said the beginning of the 2026-27 school year exposed gaps in coordination, information and infrastructure between the county and school system.

"This is simply to set up the task force to improve communication," McKay said.

The chairman said the group should work quickly enough for recommendations to be considered during development of the next county budget.

Bierman had effectively previewed Tuesday afternoon's crossing guard vote during the earlier task force discussion.

"I think spoiler alert, folks: you're going to get the crossing guards back," Bierman said, drawing applause from people in the boardroom.

Braddock District Supervisor Rachna Sizemore Heizer similarly said the guards would be restored while emphasizing that crossing guards alone would not resolve the county's broader pedestrian safety problems.

McKay named Smith and Bierman as the Board of Supervisors representatives on the task force and asked School Board Chair Robyn Lady to appoint two School Board members.

The carryover package also includes nearly $9 million more for pedestrian and bicycle improvements, advancing the county toward a six-year, $100 million pedestrian safety commitment approved in 2021.