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LA seeks $3.3 million to maintain school crossing guards

By CNS Staff
Published  March 5, 2025 2:48pm PST
LAUSD
FOX 11

The Brief

    • The LA City Council is seeking $3.3 million to fund crossing guards for the remainder of the school year.
    • The city administrative office is now tasked with identifying additional sources of funding.
    • An increase in wages and bonuses created a $3.3 million shortfall through the end of the spring semester.

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles City Council approved a motion Wednesday seeking $3.3 million to maintain current staffing levels of crossing guards for the remainder of the 2024-25 school year.

What we know:

In a 14-0 vote, council members directed the city administrative officer to identify funding sources that would ensure crossing guards remain posted around hundreds of LAUSD sites.

Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez was absent during the vote.

The Department of Transportation hires and deploys crossing guards to help students and families traveling to and from school. LADOT currently employs 518 of these workers with an average daily deployment of 480 at 432 schools.

Funding needed 

By the numbers:

In the fiscal year 2024-25 adopted budget, Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council approved more than $10 million for this endeavor -- a similar amount to past years, according to the motion introduced by council members Heather Hutt and Tim McOsker.

But an increase in wages and bonuses for crossing guards has created a $3.3 million shortfall through the end of the spring semester. LADOT has said that funding will be fully spent in March, and if the shortfall isn't filled it will require changes to hiring and deployment.

Increasing public safety 

The city implemented several measures last year in a bid to bolster public safety for students. LADOT installed "quick build" street safety projects at more than 180 intersections around 40 schools, adding 250 speed humps near 92 schools where speeding is a known issue.

Officials also hired more than 500 crossing guards, which was described at the time as the "widest deployment" of crossing guards in over a decade.

A high-profile crash near Hancock Park Elementary School in April 2023 also led to significant safety efforts. A woman was struck and killed by a vehicle and her 6-year-old daughter was critically injured as they walked to school.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Mother killed, child hospitalized after car crashes into Mid-Wilshire building near school

The Source 

  • Information for this story came from City News Service and the Los Angeles City Council. 

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