Cypress to Contract Out for Crossing Guards

Despite Councilman Tom Carroll’s argument against the plan, the City Council voted this week to contract with a private firm for school crossing guards.

Until now, the Police Department has administered the crossing-guards program, hiring civilians and monitoring their performance at school crossings.

But Chief Daryl Wicker said the program has become a personnel drain for his department.

“Timekeeping and payroll responsibilities continue to consume staff time, and recruiting, hiring and background requirements have made the crossing-guard function more and more time-consuming,” Wicker said.

Wicker said the city budgeted $107,231 for crossing guards in fiscal 1995-96. For the current fiscal year, he projected that a private contract would cost about $126,000.

Carroll, who cast the lone dissenting vote, said that the move was not economically justified, given that it will actually cost the city more.

Wicker said that the money spent for crossing guards in the past fiscal year did not include the expense of payroll administration, which would push the total higher than $126,000.

“The cost savings is not large, but there will be some,” Wicker said.

Wicker said the private firm that wins the contract will be required to keep all of the city’s current crossing guards. The pay rate also will remain the same, he said.

The contract will be awarded before schools open for fall classes, officials said.