Crossing guards to go in Carpentersville?

Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
April 19, 2011

Four crossing guards might lose their jobs in lay-offs in Carpentersville, according to today's paper. Will C'ville balance its budget by saving $100/day at crosswalks?

When I was a kid, my grade school had crossing guards. These "guards" were 5th and 6th Graders. They got a white "Sam Brown-type" belt to wear. I don't remember that they even had Stop paddles. Their job was to stop the kids on the sidewalk, until the cars stopped. Then the "guard" stepped out into the street and held up his arms until the last kid had crossed.

Nobody ever got run over. No kids ran around the guards. And the only cost to the school was for the white "belt" with the red letters that read "School Guard" or something like that.

As I recall, being a crossing guard was a position of honor and trust. The belts are a little different now (I liked the white better), and the cost is higher at $15.00. But why not use student leaders for this job?