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CLEVELAND (WJW) – The FOX 8 I-Team has found how often many kids won’t see a crossing guard while walking to school, and video we captured shows the potential danger.
We found a significant shortage of school crossing guards in Cleveland.
This comes as we’ve seen kids and crossing guards recently hit by drivers in a number of Northeast Ohio towns.
The I-Team discovered the city of Cleveland has nearly 350 crossing guard positions. More than a third are unfilled.
Our cameras captured heavy traffic rolling by one school with elementary kids at the curb anxious to walk home.
We also watched as a child walked backward into an intersection with traffic.
We also met Dee Street on the east side picking up her grandson from Mary B. Martin School.
“It’s important,” Street said. “It’s unsafe because they have to go through neighborhoods. There’s no crossing guards, there’s no police and there’s no security.”
Outside R.G. Jones School, we saw kids charge into the street just as a van came to a stop.
The I-Team reviewed the list of crossing guard positions listed as vacant. We saw addresses on the east side and west side.
As we put a spotlight on Cleveland streets, consider what has happened lately around Northeast Ohio.
In Westlake, a car hit a crossing guard, and that guard later died. In Ravenna, a driver hit and injured a crossing guard. In Rocky River, two kids have been hit while going to or from school.
In Cleveland, police oversee crossing guards.
“We still continue to recruit and hope to fill those positions,” Sgt. Freddy Diaz told us.
Meanwhile, police said they’re doing an analysis to make sure the most dangerous spots have crossing guards.
“Officers from our community relations bureau go to these locations to identify if a crossing guard is really needed there or not. It is definitely an ongoing work in progress,” Diaz added.
It’s not the first we’ve ever heard of this. Even in years past, the I-Team has exposed Cleveland crossing guard shortages.
The city pays crossing guards $20.50 a day for a total of about an hour and a half of work. But, crossing guards can also get city health benefits.
“This is definitely a job that should be attracting folks in the community. Folks in the neighborhood,” Diaz said.
Police said you also can’t just look at the number of crossing guards. Neighborhoods change, and many kids may not walk to certain schools.
Police add that they’re still hiring a few guards at a time.
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Ed Gallek
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