Kids can expect crossing-guard shortage

Friday, Aug. 20, 1999 | 4:42 a.m.

Despite successful recruitment efforts in the wake of reports of a shortage of school crossing guards, there will be 30 fewer Metro Police civilian workers than needed at crosswalks when schools open Monday.

"We had real good response, especially from seniors and young housewives with school-aged children, but it takes time to train them before we assign them to corners," said Burt Rempe, a district supervisor for Metro crossing guards.

"We will be about 30 short on opening day, but we expect all crosswalks to be covered within two weeks."

Last week, the shortage was 61 after 189 crossing guards had been hired. A total of 250 are needed.

Last year for Day 1, Metro was short by 26 qualified people to fill the familiar red vests weekdays from 8:30-9:05 a.m. and 3:15-3:45 p.m.

As that dubious record is about to be broken for a second-straight year, Metro's three civilian district supervisors and six field supervisors are preparing to work corners on Monday. Available guards also will be shuffled to cover the more potentially dangerous crosswalks in highly traveled areas.

"If there is no crossing guard in a particular area, parents may want to walk their children at least to an area within sight of the school," Rempe said.

"But we also are asking parents to walk the routes their children will be taking to school and use the crosswalks. If a parent jaywalks as a shortcut, the child will see it and think it is OK for him to do that as well. That leads to accidents."

Rempe said no serious accident has ever occurred at a corner where a Metro crossing guard has been stationed.

"We teach the children not to ride their bikes, not to bounce balls and not to run while crossing," Rempe said. "And they are taught to always wait on the curb until the guard signals them to go."

Children from Paul E. Culley Elementary School on Wednesday demonstrated for the news media the proper way to cross under the supervision of guards at the corner of North Jones and Carmen Boulevards.

During the demonstration, in which the blinking yellow school zone light was in operation, uniformed Metro Police motorcycle officers with radar guns stopped at least two motorists who sped by, ignoring the signal, the children and the crossing guards.

Metro Police Lt. Rick Alba said that while off-duty Metro Police will not be brought in to beef up traffic patrols during the first school week, there will be a heightened awareness among on-duty officers to watch out for those who violate the 15 mph school zones.

The crossing guard job pays $7.74-an-hour to start -- up 44 cents from last year -- with each guard getting credited for two hours per day, even though they technically are on the clock just 65 minutes a day.

Rookie guards are paid $154.80 every two weeks. There is a 2 percent raise per year. But Rempe said money is not the motivating factor for many who do this type of work.

"Although some of them certainly can use the check, the vast majority do it for civic pride -- it's a chance to help out," he said. "Most of our guards are grandparents who want to make sure children get to school and home safely.

The Clark County School District provides bus service only for children who live 2 miles or more away from their assigned school. The rest -- roughly 60 percent of students -- walk to and from school or travel in private transportation.

Crossing guards are employed only at elementary schools.

Guards must be at least 18 and have their own transportation to get to and from the job sites. A guard is required to wear a police-issued vest, red hat and ID badge. Each guard also carries a small stop sign and a police-issued cellular phone to use in emergency situations.