Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — City Council held firm during their Sept. 9 session, refusing to reconsider their earlier decision to eliminate crossing guards in the Star City. Council previously this summer had made the decision to do away with four crossing guard positions, following a study of how many students actually used the services at the four locations: one on North St., two on Griffin St., one between Zippel Elementary School and the Presque Isle High School and the other to the south of the high school; and the fourth at the entrance of Pine Street Elementary School. City officials found the results of the study showed a minimal number of pre-high school students walked to school and those that did had other options for getting to school available to them and therefore the guard positions could be eliminated, saving the city over $18,000.
“The City Council had already adopted the 2009 budget when it recognized a shortfall of just over $412,000. The Council will address additional shortfalls in October, due to a drop in revenue,” said City Manager Tom Stevens. “The decision was made to eliminate crossing guards, based partly on the fact things change over time and buses are readily available. They provide a very good alternative. It’s a very good policy SAD 1 has (bus service for all students). By eliminating the crossing guard positions, it creates a savings of over $18,000.”
Councilor G. Melvin Hovey was the first to offer his opinion.
“I’m not interested in reconsidering it. It’s important for the public to understand what’s before us is a budget crisis that will affect city taxes,” said Hovey, noting Presque Isle was one of the highest-taxed cities in the state. “We had an increase of 1.3 mils in July. We’ve given Tom direction to hold the budget, so there won’t be any increases in taxes. If he’s going to do that, there have to be cuts somewhere.”
Chief Naldo Gangon, Presque Isle Police Department, advised Council his department hadn’t received any complaints about the lack of crossing guards.
Lara Cannon, a local citizen, addressed Council, expressing her concern for children’s safety and recalling how her brother died from injuries sustained when he was struck by a car.
“I understand budget cuts but think this is a very small amount to pay to protect children. I wouldn’t mind my tax dollars being spent to protect a child,” said Cannon. “My brother was only 5 years old. That was 20 years ago but there’s still a lot of pain.”
Cathy Beaulieu, owner of Wilder’s Jewelry Store, has voiced concern over pedestrian safety for several years and continued to do so before Council.
“The pedestrian bumpings are up (referring to two recent cases in which pedestrians were struck by cars in the community); this is not the time to take our defense line in front of the schools away. If the PIPD hasn’t been approached, I’ve been approached. I’ve talked with the PTO, parents at the school in the morning, teachers. To suggest dropping kids two feet from school at a time when we’re trying to promote physical fitness. Pedestrian safety is a major concern. As the DRC rep and a mother, this is appalling,” said Beaulieu.
Hovey asked why it was a city issue and not the school’s responsibility.
“What’s wrong with having custodians as crossing guards?” asked Hovey.
Councilor Walt Elish told of serving as a crossing guard when he was in 5th grade.
“My daughter is in 5th grade, weighs 50 pound, give her a vest and a stick to cross — she’s half the height of SUVs (hoods),” Beaulieu countered.
Councilor Jennifer Trombley, mom to an 8-year-old, said as a single parent she has no choice but to see her daughter gets on the bus or take her to school if she misses the bus.
“I get out and walk her across. I think Pine St. could use an overhaul to create parking on the south side of the street to eliminate the need to cross children,” said Trombley.
“I think there’s a solution out there that we can find to put the two together and save the $19,000 and also have crossing guards,” said Councilor Don Gardner.
Councilor Ron McPherson said he’d researched online and the references to crossing guards he found all were provided by the schools.
“Schools could provide crossing guards. They can contract with the city for our costs or our department (PIPD) can train them. This doesn’t rest with the city. This lies with SAD 1,” said Stevens. “We can either contract with SAD 1 or train their crossing guards. It could be implemented immediately.”
Eva Kirk, a local resident, said she or her husband drive their daughter to school every day but she’s still concerned about safety.
“My husband’s often come home praising the crossing guard, saying ‘I might have hit someone’ if the guard hadn’t been there. If you know my husband, he barely moves when he drives,” said Kirk. “I’ve driven off before to look back and see my daughter in the road. My daughter’s 11. She’s come chasing after my car because she forgot something or wanted a longer hug. High school kids rush out of school saying ‘We’re out of here,’ so what would a 5, 6 or 7 year old do?”
Hovey said the police already have enough on their plate already.
“The PD is over its head in real tough situations. I don’t see it as a PIPD responsibility. I see it as a school responsibility. I see lots of alternatives that could be done that are very economical. The last report from the PIPD listed five pages of serious problems the city has on its plate. I don’t think crossing guards is a city responsibility,” Hovey said. “If parents and the school thinks a crossing guard is necessary, then they should address that.”
City Attorney Hugo Olore indicated the city has no responsibility to provide crossing guards.
Stevens noted that despite SAD 1’s School Board expressing concern over the city’s decision to eliminate the service, no one from SAD 1 was present at Council.
“We have provided SAD 1 some alternatives. One is bussing students to school, two is if they believe the service is valuable, they could do it themselves and the PD could train. Third, they could contract with us to provide the service,” said Stevens. “We have provided some good alternatives to SAD 1, if, in fact, they find that it’s a necessary service.”
