Orange County crossing guard shortage concern for parents

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Some Orange County parents say their children are in danger because crossing guards aren't always in the cross-walk when students go to and from school.

A crossing guard shortage has reached the point where the county commission is getting involved.

A parents of a student at Winegard Elementary School said she complained to school leaders after noticing there was no one to make sure the crosswalk was clear on some mornings.

Traffic runs thick down Vinegard Road, even before it gets choked by the carpool line.

And now parents like Lacye Helton are worried the most dangerous part of their children’s days could be the walk through the crosswalk.

"Safety is a huge thing with me because my daughter is a walker. She's a supervised walker. But there are multiple times where you get to the crossing area and there is no crossing guard,” Helton said.

Helton said it won't be long before her daughter starts making that walk alone, and she's terrified.

"There has been multiple times where cars will just blow by, and not even pay attention to the children,” Helton said.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office said it has 34 openings for crossing guards, and recruiters going door-to-door in the neighborhoods where they're needed.

Orange County Commissioner Scott Boyd plans to raise the issue in front of the mayor and county staff at Tuesday's meeting.

He’s hoping fellow commissioners will agree to take action and get those crosswalks covered.

"We depend on schools to take care of our children because we can't be here with them, and it's not always happening,” Helton said.

School district leaders said the crossing guard shortage is a concern, but they made clear that the issue is out of their hands, since law enforcement is responsible for staffing crosswalks.

Cox Media Group