Committee moves forward with plan to outsource crossing guard services, flags 2027 budget increase

The Budget and Finance Committee reviewed a request from the Ephrata Area School District and the Ephrata Police Department to outsource school crossing guard services and reached a consensus to pursue contracting the service. Staff told committee members that vacant crossing guard positions left sufficient funds in the 2026 budget to cover any additional cost for the remainder of 2026, so the operational change will not require unbudgeted expenditures this year.