Pause On Vienna Crossing Guard Elimination Sought By Supervisor

VIENNA, VA — After Town of Vienna officials sounded the alarm on the potential elimination of crossing guard coverage by Fairfax County Police, the county supervisor is asking for alternatives to the plan.

Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, who represents the Town of Vienna on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, presented a board matter requesting Fairfax County Police pause the proposed crossing guard elimination. Instead, he called for an update to the Board of Supervisors on the crossing guard program from Fairfax County Police and alternatives to eliminating crossing guard coverage for the board's Safety and Security Committee Meeting to discuss.

"Without question, school crossings in Vienna must remain staffed and guarded. I look forward to hearing alternatives from the Fairfax County Police Department and having a discussion with my colleagues on the Board," said Alcorn. "We need to find a more efficient way to ensure our children remain protected while making police officers available to respond to emergencies."

Patch first reported the crossing guard coverage issue when it came up at a Vienna Town Council meeting. Fairfax County Police informed Vienna Police in December that it would no longer staff nine Vienna locations at the start of the 2024-2025 school year. This includes two crossing guard locations at Cunningham Park Elementary, two at Louise Archer Elementary, two at Marshall Road Elementary, two at Vienna Elementary and one at Thoreau Middle School.

The change also eliminates Fairfax County Police coverage of one location in Herndon and one on Fort Belvoir, but Herndon and Fort Belvoir agreed to cover their crossings. The county has pointed to budget and crossing guard staffing challenges as reasons for the changes.

Fairfax County Police have been in discussions with Vienna Police about transitioning the crossing guard staffing responsibility. However, Vienna's police chief indicated it didn't have the staffing to cover school crossings and would impact officers responding to other calls — the same challenge Fairfax County Police is facing by using patrol officers.

There are 170 school crossing locations in Fairfax County, and Fairfax County Police have 53 of 72 crossing guard positions currently filed, Alcorn's board matter said. Crossing guards typically cover two to three crossings each day.

"When crossing guards are not available, police officers are pulled away from patrol responsibilities to handle the crossing," the board matter stated. "Due to the number of crossings that are required to be covered each day, dozens of police officers are called upon daily to cover school crossings. During the time deployed at school crossings, FCPD police officers are not available to respond to calls for service or emergencies."

According to the board matter, Fairfax County Police does not plan to change Vienna's crossing guard coverage, at least until it can update the board on the crossing guard program and provide alternatives to consider. Those alternatives could include crossing guard recruitment and retention strategies.