Worthington City Council is holding firm to its resolve to not fund school crossing guards beginning next September, but that does not mean that children will have to fend for themselves as they cross busy streets near their schools.

 

In fact, city manager Matt Greeson and Superintendent of Schools Melissa Conrath were to meet on Tuesday to discuss how the crossing guard program will be funded beginning next school year, council members told a crowd attending its meeting on Monday night.

Parents who attended to Worthington Board of Education meeting were told the same thing, according to district spokesperson Vicki Gnezda.

"Melissa said the issue of safety is important to everyone and she and Matt would come up with a solution," Gnezda said.

Parents attended both meetings after reading that council last week voted to discontinue funding the crossing guard program. The guards will continue to be paid through the end of this school year, but council made clear that it did not intend to continue to carry the burden next year.

The city pays $51,246 a year and the schools contribute $7,500 to employ five crossing guards at the Worthington elementary schools located within the city of Worthington.

The district pays for guards at schools located outside city limits.

Worthington is one of three central Ohio municipalities that pay for crossing guards. The others are Grandview Heights and Hilliard.

The parents who addressed council on Monday said they want the city to continue to pay for the guards.

"This is a critical public safety issue," Blandford Avenue resident Scott Holmes said.

He said council's decision leaves the crossing guard program "flying without a net," and could result in a "game of who blinks first" in August.

Several parents formed an ad hoc committee and have met several times in the past week, he said.

"We are absolutely unanimous that council maintains that funding," he said.

Council member Dave Norstrom said it was not council's intent to eliminate crossing guards, which is why the district was notified well in advance.

"They have nine months to develop a plan to fund these guards," he said.

Council has discussed ending its funding of crossing guards for several years.

"Unless a deadline is set, nothing happens," said council member Dave Foust.

None of the four council members who voted to end the funding last week agreed to re-introduce the motion, leaving the decision intact as a policy decision in the budget.

"If we need to restore funding next September, we can consider it then," Norstrom said.

The budget, minus funding for crossing guards for the last three months of the year, was approved 6-1. Michael Duffey voted "no."

The final general fund expenditure was $21,963,589.

That figure could change, especially after firefighter salary increases are included. The contract between the city and its firefighters' union expires Dec. 31, and negotiations are ongoing.

Expenditures in 2009 are estimated at $21,940,330. The ending balance will be approximately $2.5-million.

To deal with the dwindling balance, council on Monday approved an ordinance that will allocate 6.4 percent of the city's income tax collections to a general fund reserve account. When the fund reaches $1.5-million - probably in about 16 months - the percentage will revert back into deposit into the capital improvements fund.

cbrooks@thisweeknews.com