Crosswalk death prompts debate over middle schools

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Monday, Oct. 24, 2005 | 7:41 a.m.

When 11-year-old Amanda Aragon was run over by a motorist as she used a crosswalk to make her way to Sawyer Middle School, her death renewed debate over the policy of not providing crossing guards at middle schools.

The police departments in the valley say they don't have enough money for all of the crossing guards desired at all of the elementary schools, never mind middle schools.

And just finding crossing guards willing to work the streets surrounding Clark County's middle schools might be more difficult than securing the funding to pay them, said Helen Lawhon, coordinator of Metro's crossing guards.

Most crossing guards are retirees, and "the middle school children tend to be a little more aggressive and their language is very coarse. Some of the guards have actually said they're afraid of them," Lawhon said Tuesday. "At middle school their whole attitude changes. They're all grown up and don't believe they have to listen to anybody."

That doesn't mean Lawhon wouldn't like to see crossing guards assigned to middle schools.

"If we had the money I'd be glad to do it," Lawhon said. "We'd have to consider whether our younger guards would be the best fit for those spots."

Metro does offer a do-it-yourself kit to middle school principals, which includes equipment and training for volunteer crossing guards. Lawhon said a handful of campuses have taken advantage of the offer with the PTA providing the volunteers. So far 12 middle schools have inquired about the training, according to records kept by Lawhon's office. Only three, Bailey and Mack middle schools and Faith Lutheran Junior High School, have active volunteer crossing guard programs.

Last year Moana Fisher, fed up with drivers speeding unchecked around Bob Miller Middle School in Green Valley, organized her own volunteer crossing guard patrol that was not endorsed by either the school or police. Her two children have since been rezoned into Del Webb Middle School where the traffic problems are even worse, Fisher said.

She now makes her children ride the bus to school so they don't have to cross several busy streets between the parents' drop-off zone and the campus.

"They complain about it, but I told them, 'Too bad, it's safer,' " Fisher said. "The bus takes them right up to the (school) door."

Fisher contends that there are middle schools in the valley that need crossing guards more than elementary schools. Parents are more likely to escort the younger children leaving the older ones to fend for themselves, she said.

Erin Breen, director of the Safe Community Partnership, said she understands that Metro's funding is stretched. But it's now the community's responsibility to come up with a solution, Breen said.

"We've created the pedestrian environment we have because we don't yield to people when they do the right thing and use crosswalks, so they stop doing the right thing and go with the path of least resistance," Breen said.

One answer would be to make 15 mph the uniform speed limit in all school zones, Breen said. In some neighborhoods, including the area where Monday's incident occurred, the speed limit drops from 35 mph to 25 mph only when warning lights are flashing.

"When you are hit by a car doing 15 miles per hour, 85 percent of the time you will live," Breen said. "There is no reason for the speed limit in any school zone to be 25 miles per hour."

The biggest offenders in school zones are the parents themselves, Breen said.

"When tragedies like this happen we're sending the message that it's not safe for kids to walk to school and that means more traffic and speeding problems," Breen said.

Emily Richmond can be reached at (702) 259-8829 or by e-mail at emily@lasvegassun.com.