Trustees, staff weigh crossing‑guard coverage for growing middle‑school cohort

Trustees alerted staff to a cluster of roughly 22 children who will walk to middle school from a neighborhood that requires crossing wide intersections. The group asked whether the village could provide an additional crossing guard or other aid for the first days of school.

Police staff warned that the department is short 1.5 crossing‑guard posts and noted an upcoming retirement that will add to the vacancy. They described recruitment challenges for the short, split‑shift hours and said the village has posted openings on the website and social media. An official offered a pragmatic approach: provide officer coverage for special circumstances and assemble a study group to explore sustainable staffing solutions.

Trustees said the intersection at Manville and Bedford is wide and lacks sidewalk continuity on one side, increasing crossing difficulty, and asked staff to consider temporary measures during rollout of new routes. Staff said they would convene a study group and explore options, recognizing that a permanently staffed crossing guard may be difficult to sustain without steady applicants.