The Evanston City Council Monday is scheduled to approve an intergovernmental agreement under which School District 65 will start running the crossing guard program and gradually assume the program’s cost.
The city has sought for several months to get out of the business of running and paying for the crossing guard program.
Part of the city’s objection to continuing to run the program is that it has to assign parking enforcement officers to fill in for crossing guards when they fail to show up for work — which Parking Manager Mike Rivera says costs the city about $150 an hour in lost revenue from traffic tickets that aren’t issued while the PEOs are filling in as crossing guards.
In December, District 65 officials objected to having to pick up the program’s cost.
The city has noted that Evanston Township High School and one of the city’s private schools are already covering the cost of crossing guards they need.
Under the deal negotiated with school officials, the district will take over the job of administering the crossing guard program effective this fall.
The city will give the district $288,750 for next school year — half the cost of the current program — and then declining subsidies for the next four years, ending in 2026-27 with a payment of $150,000.
The crossing guard program is currently operated for the city by Andy Frain Services.
Welp, there goes a good chunk of the busing savings that were supposed to pay for the 5th Ward school mortgage cost.
I have never seen a PEO sub for a crossing guard, but hey they may do it around ETHS (all of my kids are in elementary and I live near Nichols).
That said, I always thought the district paid them but knowing now, I’d bet this will be an excuse to cry poverty again in asking for more to cover something. Such a mismanaged budget by the school board as is…