Withdrawn to Cut Police Budget, Crossing Guards Swiftly and Temporarily Reassigned to 11 Schools Following Accident
One-Year Extension Pushed Using Carryover Funds… County Board of Supervisors to Vote Next Week
County: “Schools Must Share Budget Burden” vs. School Board: “Traffic Safety Is Inherent Police Duty”
Fairfax County, Virginia, has come under scrutiny for its belated response after removing crossing guards from high schools to cut costs, only to hastily reinstate them on a temporary basis following a pedestrian accident involving a student. A blame game over safety responsibilities is also escalating between county administrative officials and school board authorities.
On the 8th, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors temporarily redeployed crossing guards to 11 high schools in the district immediately after a student was struck by a vehicle near South Lakes High School. The county has proposed utilizing carryover funding from the prior fiscal cycle to maintain crossing guards at high schools throughout the 2026–27 school year, with a final vote scheduled for next week.
The controversy originated last spring with sudden budget cuts by the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD). Complying with county-mandated budget reduction guidelines, the police department completely eliminated funding for high school crossing guards, citing that "accident data around high schools is low, and traffic control duties impede officers from responding to emergency calls." The fact that Fairfax was the only jurisdiction among neighboring localities deploying crossing guards around high schools also served as justification for the cut.
However, as public outrage erupted after an accident occurred shortly after the new school year began, county officials rushed to tap emergency funds to bring the crossing guards back. Natalie Draisin, North America Director of the global road safety organization FIA Foundation, offered sharp criticism: “A very urgent discussion is underway, but it is already one step too late. Rather than standing by until an accident happens, it should have been prevented. The longer the response is delayed, the greater the risk to human lives.”
A game of finger-pointing between the Board of Supervisors and the School Board over the costs of redeploying crossing guards is also intensifying.
Jeff McKay, Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, pointed out, “We need to work with the school division to explore options such as utilizing school security personnel or School Resource Officers (SROs) for arrival and dismissal traffic control. While the school division invests aggressively in expanding internal educational programs, it made no effort to adjust its budget priorities when the crossing guard reductions were being discussed.”
In response, Fairfax County School Board member Melanie Meren pushed back, stating, “The core mission of the school division is to provide public education, not traffic signal control or traffic management on public roads. Traffic control is unequivocally the public safety domain of the police and local government, and the county government is attempting to shift a long-held responsibility onto the school board.”
The presence of crossing guards along high school commute routes is expected to be determined by the outcome of next week’s Board of Supervisors vote on the carryover budget. However, amid high inflation and ongoing budget constraints, the financial and administrative turf war between county administrators and school authorities appears unlikely to subside anytime soon.