Crossing Guard Costs Disputed by City, District

A dispute over sharing costs for school crossing guards is heating up already strained relations between the city and the Orange Unified School District.

The dispute started last month, when city officials notified the district of a 1993 change in the state Education Code that appeared to relieve cities of responsibility for providing crossing guards. They proposed an even split of the $300,000 annual cost for the city’s 47 guards.

“The city is still looking at this thing in a cooperative way,” said Hamid Bahadori, the city’s traffic engineer. “The idea was to engage in discussions to at least look at the feasibility of sharing costs. We do not want to reduce service. . . . We hope we are not forced into making a financial decision.”

The proposal infuriated school board President Bill Lewis, who said he was already fed up with the city for cutting development fees that pay for new schools.

“It would be easier to work with the city if they hadn’t declared war with us over developer fees,” said Lewis, who added that he might put the issue on the board’s July 30 agenda.

District administrators said they could find only two small districts in the county that share the cost of crossing guards.

The district’s opposition to the proposal is shared by at least one city official.

Councilman Michael Alvarez, who is challenging Joanne Coontz for the mayor’s seat this year, said he was also angry after a joint meeting between the city and the school district last week.

“I just think it’s dead wrong,” he said.