Los Angeles City Council seeks $3.3 million to maintain school crossing guards

The Los Angeles City Council approved a motion on Wednesday, March 5, to seek $3.3 million to maintain the current staffing levels of crossing guards for the remainder of the 2024-25 school year.

In a 14-0 vote, council members directed the city administrative officer to identify funding sources that would ensure crossing guards remain posted around hundreds of Los Angeles Unified School District sites.

Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez was absent during the vote.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) hires and deploys crossing guards to help students and families traveling to and from school. LADOT employs 518 workers with an average daily deployment of 480 crossing guards at 432 schools.

In the fiscal year 2024-25 adopted budget, Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council approved more than $10 million for this service, similar to past years, according to the motion by council members Heather Hutt and Tim McOsker.

But an increase in wages and bonuses for crossing guards has created a $3.3 million shortfall through the end of the spring semester. LADOT said that funding will be fully spent in March, and if the shortfall isn’t filled it will require changes to hiring and deployment.

The city implemented several measures last year in a bid to bolster public safety for students. LADOT installed “quick build” street safety projects at more than 180 intersections around 40 schools, adding 250 speed humps near 92 schools where speeding was an issue.

Officials also hired more than 500 crossing guards, which was described at the time as the “widest deployment” of crossing guards in more than a decade.

A high-profile crash near Hancock Park Elementary School also led to significant safety efforts. A woman was struck and killed by a vehicle and her 6-year-old daughter was critically injured as they walked to school.