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player ready...Park Ridge aldermen reconsidered the question of how to pay for school crossing guards at a Feb. 21 Committee of the Whole meeting now that three area private schools have said they will contribute some, but not all, of the money the city requested of them to pay crossing guards.
In February 2022, the city opted to hire crossing guards from a private company, Andy Frain, saying that using police officers for school crossings was too expensive.
The two public school districts, Park Ridge-Niles Community Consolidated School District 64 and Maine Township High School District 207, have both approved intergovernmental agreements to pay for some of that cost: $99,890 and $11,018 respectively for the next two years.
Mary, Seat of Wisdom and St. Paul of the Cross schools have each offered $4,000 for their contributions while St. Andrews Lutheran School has declined participation.
Park Ridge is requesting a total of $157,732 from the three private schools, District 64 and District 207. It will pay $146,715, about half of the overall cost, from its own coffers for upcoming two school years.
The city had asked Mary, Seat of Wisdom, to pay $19,281, St. Paul of the Cross School pay $22,035 and St. Andrews School to pay $5,509 each year for the coming two school years to help the city fund crossing guards. None of the three private schools have historically paid to have guards placed at corners. The public school districts have historically contributed to the cost of crossing guards.
St. Paul of the Cross school board president Siobhan Haugh told the council that “if an offer was not made, that is because they did not have the money to pay for it.”
“We did what we thought we could afford, and we have never contributed before, and so in November, to have a conversation saying ‘you have to pay $22,000’ came out of nowhere for us.”
Haugh also pointed out that she still pays property taxes that help fund the city and the two public school districts’ contribution to the program.
St. Andrews’ Lead Pastor Matt Hoffmann told aldermen point-blank that the school was not able to pay what the city had requested.
“We just don’t have the funds,” he said. “I wish we did… it’s just not that easy and that’s why we’re not able to pay. We care about our kids and whatever you decide is fine, we’ll make sure our kids are safe.”
City Manager Joe Gilmore said staff had brought the matter before aldermen in search of further guidance after receiving responses from the schools and school districts.
“It pretty much revolves around the private schools since the public school approach we previewed came to pass,” he said.
Council members then found themselves debating whose responsibility it was to provide public safety, whether that responsibility differed for public versus private schools and how far they might be willing to go to ensure that the costs of the crossing guards are shared.
Mayor Marty Maloney said he had discussed the issue with a member of District 64’s Board of Education, who took the position that it was the city’s job to fund public safety and concluded it was fair for the city to ask schools and school districts to share the cost of the crossing guard program.
“I’ve been giving that [discussion] a lot of thought,” he said. “If we are responsible for public safety and we don’t charge the schools in a cost-sharing manner… is it fair to pass that along to a resident? I think it is fair that we’re asking for a cost-sharing agreement.”
6th Ward Ald. Rick Biagi said he felt council members needed to decide whether they were willing to take crossing guards away from corners in the event that schools couldn’t or wouldn’t make the requested payment.
“Are we prepared to pull crossing guards if we don’t believe that a school is contributing to the level we want them to be, whatever that level is?” he asked.
5th Ward Ald. Charlie Melidosian said the discussion was “an awkward topic.”
“Everyone wants [the] safety of our community and especially our children, but I question the use of tax dollars, public safety resources on private schools,” he said.
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“I don’t think there’s a good solution,” Melidosian continued. “I just come back to, we’ve got to do it.”
He thanked the school representatives for attending the meeting and telling aldermen what they could or could not afford.
“You showing up tonight is better than just us looking at a memo and saying ‘we decline,'” he said.
Gilmore said staff would bring the issue back to aldermen in two to four weeks for further discussion.