Township to Employ 4 Temporary Crossing Guards for Ebeling, Beck

For at least the first few months of the 2011-12 school year, and elementary schools will have crossing guards.

With the support of the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office and township board, Macomb Township Supervisor Mark Grabow recommended that two crossing guards be put in place for each school until the schools’ previously scheduled SEMCOG/Wayne State safety programs have been successfully completed.

“My biggest concern is the safety of the children,” Grabow said. “We want to teach them and educate them and that is why my recommendation and the sheriff’s recommendation (asked the) board, ‘Will you give us two crossing guards at each school so we can train these kids in the process?’”

The process, of course, being the introduction of a safety program, created by Wayne State and endorsed by SEMCOG, to every elementary school in the township. 

“It is imperative that we have parent and educator participation in order to make this training a successful endeavor for everyone,” Grabow said.

The training, to be lead by police officers, will consist of general assemblies that include videos, slideshows and demonstrations. The first round of training will be videotaped and teachers will be asked to review the program with each new class.

However, until the initial training process is deemed “successfully completed” by SEMCOG and Wayne State’s re-evaluation team, crossing guards will remain at the schools.

This temporary status of the crossing guards is still a concern for Ebeling PTA President Gracie Battani, but the Macomb Township resident is adopting a positive outlook on the recommendation.

“We’re happy for now,” she said. “It gets us started with the school year and it covers our two critical points and then as we go forward, we will have to work on where that training is going to begin and end.”

In Battani’s mind the training is a “great addition,” but it is “not the solution” that will solve all issues going forward. 

The cost of the temporary crossing guards has yet to be determined, as Grabow said it all depends on how long it takes to educate students to the standards set by SEMCOG and Wayne State.

Although the current recommendation should keep crossing guards in place for a least three months, Grabow repeated his plea to parents and other residents for recommendations on how to deal with this issue in the future.

“I have not had anyone come forward with any recommendation except for the fact that we need to pay for it,” he said. “If the township is willing to educate, then everyone needs to step up also. We are bringing in some of the best capable programs that we can. I can’t continue to expend the taxpayers’ dollars over here.”

Where Will Crossing Guards Be Placed?

As the recommendation only allows for two crossing guards at each school, Grabow is relying on the schools themselves to determine the locations of the guards.

At Ebeling, crossing guards will remain at Tilch and Haverhill and Tilch and Goldridge. However, the Beck locations have yet to be determined.

Substitutes for the guards will also be employed until the guards themselves are removed.

What Is The Township’s Legal Responsibility?

In explaining the reasoning behind the recommendation, Grabow also attempted to clarify the township’s legal responsibility on the issue, a position that has been widely debated.

“Nowhere in the law does it mandate that a person be there (at either Beck or Ebeling crossing zones),” Grabow said. “A crossing is based on what the perception of the law is, if it is marked, identified and clear, there is nothing that ever stipulated in the law that there has to be a physical body out there doing the stop thing.”

While Michigan law stipulates that local law enforcement agencies are responsible for school crossing guards, the roads that require crossing guards are also defined as county highways–a definition that does not include the roads surrounding Beck and Ebeling.

In addition, because no record can be found that Utica Community Schools followed the law in establishing those crossing guard zones, there is no legal precedent mandating those zones be manned by crossing guards.

For a timeline of events leading up to the present decision, click .