Fairfax County officials are poised to walk back their elimination of high school crossing guards, while pushing for additional measures to improve safety around schools.
At the Board of Supervisors meeting tomorrow (Tuesday), county staff will recommend providing $707,908 to restore 11 crossing guard positions affected by the fiscal year 2027 budget adopted in May, according to a memo that Deputy County Executive Tom Arnold sent to board members last Friday (Sept. 11).
Proposed as part of the county’s annual carryover review, which reallocates unspent money from the previous fiscal year, the funding would support coverage of 11 crossings at 10 high schools: Annandale, Centreville, Chantilly, Edison, McLean, Oakton, South County, South Lakes, West Springfield and West Potomac.
While the memo doesn’t specify which school will have two covered crossing, the Fairfax County Police Department confirmed to FFXnow that it will be South Lakes High School in Reston. A crash that injured a 16-year-old student there on Sept. 1 prompted police to temporarily restore service at all 10 schools the following day.
“FCPD will maintain temporary coverage of these crossings while efforts are made to reconnect with and rehire former crossing guards who previously served at these locations,” Arnold wrote in the memo. “… Where former crossing guards are unavailable or choose not to return, FCPD will recruit, hire, and train new crossing guards or utilize contracted resources as necessary to ensure continuity of coverage.”
In addition, the police department will provide crossing guard training to Fairfax County Public Schools staff so the school system can “supplement any crossings they desire,” Arnold said.
The reversal acknowledges a public outcry over the crossing guards’ removal that has grown since the new school year started on Aug. 24.
Over the past couple of weeks, at least five students have been struck by drivers while walking, bicycling or riding a scooter, including the South Lakes student and a 13-year-old Frost Middle School student who was killed in a crash on Pickett Road in Fairfax City on Sept. 9.
Most recently, an 11th-grade student at Lake Braddock Secondary School was struck while riding a bicycle last Thursday afternoon (Sept. 10), according to Hunter Mill District School Board Representative Melanie Meren. Secondary schools weren’t affected by the crossing guard changes.
The FCPD confirmed the crash to FFXnow:
On September 10 at approximately 2:55 p.m. officers responded to the intersection of Burke Rd and Burke Lake Dr for a report of a crash involving a juvenile pedestrian rider on a bicycle. The juvenile sustained minor injuries and was not transported. The driver remained on scene and cooperated with officers.
While not all of the crashes occurred at a school, they have intensified calls for action from parents concerned about their kids’ ability to safely travel to and from school.
The recommended funding would exceed the $400,000 that county supervisors Pat Herrity (Springfield), Rodney Lusk (Franconia) and Walter Alcorn (Hunter Mill) proposed on Aug. 25 as a placeholder in the fiscal year 2026 carryover package.
In response to that directive, which was supported by the full Board of Supervisors, County Executive Bryan Hill’s office worked with the FCPD and FCPS to evaluate traffic and safety conditions at all of the sites where crossing guards were removed this school year.
Enacted to alleviate budget and police staffing challenges, the $1.89 million cut in the FY 2027 budget eliminated 13 full-time crossing guard positions and reflected a shift to contractors, instead of uniformed police officers, to fill vacancies at elementary and middle school locations.
Last school year, only one high school had level two crossing guards with the authority to direct traffic, county staff told the Board of Supervisors at a Budget Policy Committee meeting on Sept. 1. The others had level one guards who can stop traffic but can’t actively manage the flow of vehicles.
At that meeting, Hill told the board that approximately $900,000 would be needed to restore all of the affected crossings, either with police staff or contractors.
However, staff have now determined that coverage of 11 crossings “can be accomplished” with 11 full-time positions instead of the 13 that were originally eliminated, Arnold said in his memo.
Surveys of the affected sites didn’t find any locations where directing traffic is necessary to ensure students can safely cross, and no immediate safety concerns were identified “beyond the number of students and vehicles,” the memo says, noting that the primary role of crossing guards is to provide safe passage for pedestrians, not to alleviate traffic congestion.
According to the memo, all of the evaluated schools struggled with congestion due to the volume of student drivers and kiss-and-ride operations — a concern also raised by a Safe Routes to Schools report delivered to the Fairfax County School Board last week.
“In almost all evaluations, numerous instances were noted of students being dropped off at locations other than the designated Kiss and Ride area, resulting in students crossing at unmarked locations and being put at risk,” Arnold wrote. “The primary contributors to congestion and safety concerns are student drop-offs and student drivers.”
The review also found “significant day-to-day variations” in traffic conditions at high schools, where there are more frequent events than at elementary and middle schools.
In addition to recommending the crossing guard restoration, county staff proposed several possible roadway and signage improvements, though no funding is currently on the table:
- Installation of rectangular rapid flashing beacons at all high school crossing locations
- The addition of a HAWK pedestrian beacon or traffic signal at West Springfield High School, where parents organized a flagging operation as a stop-gap measure after crossing guards were removed
- Additional crosswalks at McLean, Oakton and South Lakes high schools
Based on feedback from school security offices, staff are also suggesting that the county consider:
- Dedicated crosswalk lighting — some crossings occur when it’s still dark outside in winter months (All HS)
- Illuminated overhead pedestrian crossing signs (Centreville HS)
- Radar speed feedback signs (All HS)
- Restricting parking at corners near crosswalks (All HS)
- Turn restrictions during specific times (e.g., no left turn 06:30-08:30) (West Springfield HS)
- Raised crosswalks (Annandale HS)
- Pedestrian fencing when appropriate (Chantilly HS). Channel students from Library overflow to the crosswalk
Finally, FCPS should evaluate the utilization of school buses, which are both safer for transporting students and helpful for reducing congestion since more people riding the bus means fewer student drivers and parent pick-ups and drop-offs, Arnold’s memo says.
While it remains to be seen how the full board will vote on the carryover package, Alcorn said in a statement to FFXnow that he was “very happy” to see Arnold’s recommendations.
“I support restoring funding to the South Lakes High School crossing guard position and welcome review of an additional crosswalk at South Lakes High School as suggested in the memo too, along with other safety improvements at every high school,” Alcorn said. “A more comprehensive approach to school transportation safety is also needed. Getting kids to school more safely is one of my priorities — and we must find a way to pay for it.”
With county leaders expecting another tight budget season, discussions about how to fund crossing guard services and other improvements long term will likely continue over the coming months.
While the FY 2027 budget increased by $79 million over the final FY 2026 budget, Arnold noted in his memo that the county has implemented “significant” funding reductions and eliminated dozens of positions over the past three years, affecting some public safety services, community centers, Fairfax Connector bus service, school programs and more.
At the same time, the Board of Supervisors has prioritized mitigating the impact of rising taxes on residents, approving a quarter-cent cut to the real estate tax rate this year.
As budget discussions ramp up, the county board will need to consider the impacts of past reductions and determine “whether community expectations, operational demands, and safety considerations warrant the restoration of selected programs or positions,” Arnold wrote in his memo.
“The crossing guard program serves as one example of how budget reductions can create unintended service impacts that may require future reinvestment,” Arnold said. “A broader review will help ensure the County continues to balance fiscal stewardship with the level of service our residents expect and deserve.”
