LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The City of Las Vegas says it's starting the process of bringing crossing guards to more schools for the upcoming 2025-26 school year.
At Wednesday's Las Vegas City Council meeting, funding was approved to expand the city's crossing guard program to all 16 middle schools in its jurisdiction as well as three high schools.
WATCH: CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES CROSSING GUARDS FUNDING
Previously, the city only staffed crossing guards at elementary schools. However, unprecedented community concerns about traffic safety around schools — especially after the death of Arbor View High School Senior McKenzie Scott in May — have elevated the calls to add crossing guards to middle and high schools all across the valley, not just in Las Vegas.
Decisions on crossing guards are up to individual jurisdictions and not up to the Clark County School District or Las Vegas Metropolitan Police.
Last year, Clark County expanded its crossing guard program to include middle schools in addition to elementary schools in unincorporated Clark County, and the cities of North Las Vegas and Henderson followed suit.
Data from Clark County shows expanding crossing guards to middle schools has been successful. At a press conference last month, Commissioner Michael Naft said crashes involving middle school students in unincorporated Clark County went down 69%.
How expanding crossing guards in the City of Las Vegas will impact the data remains to be seen. However, a pilot program that added crossing guards to Gibson Middle School and Cimarron-Memorial High School for the 2024-25 school year showed positive results. The city says drivers and pedestrians followed traffic laws better and felt more comfortable when crossing guards were present.
As Channel 13 reported last month, the City of Las Vegas budgets $2.87 million per year for crossing guards, and that's just to cover elementary schools — 287 crossing guards at 72 elementary schools, to be exact.
Watch a breakdown of the results of the crossing guard pilot program and hear from parents about what they want to see at local schools:
In a Wednesday news release, a city spokesperson said adding crossing guards to middle schools and three high schools will cost the city an additional $415,000 per year.
That funding was approved at Wednesday's city council meeting, and the city says the process of hiring the additional crossing guards is now moving forward, although it'll likely take some time, and they're not expected to be in place for the start of the school year on Monday.
The city says staffing crossing guards at three high schools for this school year will be a continuation of the pilot program, adding crossing guards to Arbor View and Palo Verde High Schools, in addition to Cimarron.
"Depending on what we learn from the continuing high school pilot, the city council could look at adding crossing guards to all high schools in its jurisdiction in the future," city spokesperson Jace Radke told Channel 13 in an email.
Other jurisdictions around the valley, including Henderson, North Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County, currently do not staff crossing guards at high schools.
Channel 13 asked Commissioner Naft last month if the county was considering adding crossing guards to high schools. He said everything is on the table when it comes to protecting Clark County students.
"Well, we're just a year into the middle school crossing guard program, and we know it's been incredibly effective. For context, it took about 10 years of advocacy and data collection to get to that point," Naft said at the time. "I think we also have to look at what those engineering improvements can be, what the education for both high schoolers and their families and guardians that take them and drop them off can be. All of that plays a role in keeping everybody safe."
The addition of crossing guards to Arbor View High School is notable, as it's something parents and students have loudly advocated for for months.
Hear from parents and students demanding change to improve road safety near schools:
That's after student McKenzie Scott was struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver while she was walking in a marked crosswalk during the last week of school.
Arbor View parents organized in the wake of the deadly crash and created WalkSafelyLV, a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for road safety improvements around Arbor View and other schools in the valley.
Parents with WalkSafelyLV served as volunteer crossing guards before and after school through the end of the past school year, which they say made a big difference. They are planning to do the same thing heading into the new school year.
The city installed new safety upgrades — new signage, pedestrian-activated flashers and a repainted sidewalk — around Arbor View in the middle of July, based on the results of a traffic study conducted following Scott's death.
Parents were excited about the changes, calling them a step in the right direction, but still advocated for the addition of crossing guards not just at Arbor View, but at all high schools in the valley.
After Wednesday's announcement, that's one step closer to reality.
WalkSafelyLV founder and Arbor View mom Krista Holloway sent Channel 13 this statement in response to Wednesday's news:
"I am so incredibly excited we are getting an official crossing guard. My heart is so happy. I am so proud of WalkSafelyLV for working so hard to bring awareness for our students' safety. This moment means so much. after months of raising awareness, countless emails, meetings and community support, it's truly amazing to see the city step up and respond to the needs of our students and families. To CCSD and the city of Las Vegas, thank you for hearing us and taking action to protect our kids. This is a huge win for student safety—and a reminder that when a community comes together, change is possible."
