Wheeling, school board compromise on crossing guard costs

The Wheeling Township Elementary District 21 school board Thursday agreed to split the cost of crossing guard services at five intersections with the village of Wheeling.

The intergovernmental agreement calls for the district to reimburse the village for half the cost of crossing guards, or an estimated $35,000 annually, starting in the 2016-2017 school year. The village currently provides crossing guards at eight crossings at no cost to the district.

Superintendent Kate Hyland and Wheeling Village Manager Jon Sfondilis spent a few months hashing out the agreement, which still must be ratified by Wheeling.

"Everybody was pleased with the compromise," said school board member Arlen Gould.

Sfondilis said in March that village officials decided to seek a cost-sharing deal toward the end of last year.

"Both sides believe crossing guards are the responsibility of the other party, so the fair thing is to partner and share the cost," he said.

In the course of the discussions, the village studied usage patterns and decided currently guards are needed at only five of the eight intersections, Hyland said. The village will continue to monitor usage and decide on where guards are needed, keeping in close communication with the school district, she said.

Another initial goal of the village was to split liability costs, but that concerned the school board, she said. The agreement calls for employment of crossing guards to be outsourced, so that an outside company assumes liability issues, she said. The village would hire the company.

The crossing guards currently are trained by the police department, and are paid for a minimum of three hours of work five days a week.

The difference from last year when months of negotiations failed to produce a similar agreement with Buffalo Grove was that village's insistence that it be paid for past services, Gould said.

Buffalo Grove said it had notified the district of its move to a cost-sharing system two years earlier and that two other districts were honoring the request for payment. However, District 21 officials said they never agreed to the change.

Buffalo Grove stopped providing crossing guards after winter break. In response, District 21 gave students who attend Longfellow Elementary School and live west of Arlington Heights Road the option of riding a bus.

Gould said his personal hope would be that now that an agreement has been reached with Wheeling, it might be possible to make a fresh start on negotiations with Buffalo Grove.