Tulsa Public Schools, City Council Continue Talks On Paying For Crossing Guards

By Emory Bryan, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- In Tulsa, the city pays for school crossing guards and the Tulsa Public School district wants them to keep paying, but is offering their own officers to help, which could bring in some money for the city.

Tulsa's school crossing guards have an excellent record of safety, but the cost has put their jobs in jeopardy. They're potentially on the chopping block in the next school year. 

The city spends $650,000 each school year to safeguard children at 81 locations.

"To me, that's one of the most important things we can do as a city," said Jack Henderson, Tulsa City Councilor.

As city hall scrutinizes every expense, city councilors hope to save the crossing guards.

"If there's any intention from the administration to send the council a budget to cut, just eliminate crossing guards, I think it's going to be met with resounding opposition," said GT Bynum, Tulsa City Councilor.

The council called in representatives from Tulsa, Jenks, Union and Broken Arrow schools to talk about the cost and benefits.

"We would like to have crossing guards at every one of our elementary schools and we don't have that now," said Drew Diamond, Union Public Schools.

The city is pursuing federal grants, but might also try to offset the cost with more traffic tickets around schools. That's an idea from Tulsa Public Schools, which wants campus officers to have authority to write parking and traffic tickets -- something they can't currently do.

"If the crossing guard had a problem with a driver who tried to run them over, we could help with that, someone who didn't obey, instead of calling the Tulsa Police Department, we could take care of that immediately," said Chief Gary Rudick, Tulsa Public Schools Police.

Councilor Bynum, who as an elementary student volunteered as a crossing guard, believes the ticketing idea could help.

"That could free up some funding or create some funding that could offset the cost of the crossing guards," said Bynum.

One thing the district is absolutely against is using volunteers or children as once was the practice.

Read some other ideas from schools that get children safely through school zones without guards.

School Crossing Guard Fact Sheet

Inventory Of School Crossing Guard Locations