Crossing guard Greg Haas stands outside Neil C Twitchell Elementary in Henderson Friday, Feb. 16, 2024.
Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024 | 2 a.m.
The Clark County Commission is expanding crosswalk guard services to 23 public middle schools in the county’s unincorporated areas.
Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved an amendment to its contract with All City Management Services Inc., an independent contractor that had provided services for crossing guards at elementary schools in unincorporated areas. Expansion of the services is intended to provide the same level of security for middle-school students and decrease the likelihood of injuries.
The amended contract calls for adding 84 new crossing guards across the 23 middle schools, which were selected based on location, volume and proximity to arterial roads and main thoroughfares, said Commissioner Michael Naft, who helped spearhead the effort.
“This is just another case where we’re making every attempt possible to follow the data,” Naft said during the meeting. “And what the data has told us is (that) middle-schoolers are extremely vulnerable for a variety of reasons. They’re vulnerable, disproportionately more than our other schools.”
The expansion of services comes as pedestrian fatalities in the Las Vegas Valley are increasing — as of Feb. 20, 27 people have died in traffic-related incidents in Metro Police’s jurisdiction this year. Of those, 15 were pedestrians, over double the amount by this time last year. More than 80 Clark County School District students have been struck by vehicles since the school year started, including 11 at Gunderson Middle School.
Gunderson, in the Mountain’s Edge community in southwest Las Vegas, is slated to get four crosswalk guards to patrol at two crossings near the school, according to the amended contract.
More than a dozen members of local group Stop Road Crashes, clad in matching yellow shirts and handing out informational brochures, came out in support of the amendment and spoke during the meeting. The organization, which was created in 2023, is largely comprised of concerned parents and community members who have lost loved ones to traffic incidents.
“Even if it was just five of us here, we need to get the word out,” said Tina LaVoie, chairman of Stop Road Crashes.
Among the speakers was Suzan Smith, a Las Vegas school teacher whose 12-year-old son, Jonny Smith, was killed in 2019 while crossing the road when a driver going 25 mph over the speed limit hit him.
“Jonny had his whole life ahead of him,” Smith said through tears. “His family feels the pain of an empty chair.”
After the meeting, SRC members, joined by Clark County School District police representatives and Naft, held a news conference outside of the commission chambers.
Naft has been working on the issue for almost two years with the help of community members, including Erin Breen, director of the Road Equity Alliance Project.
The amended contract will also require crossing guards to report incidents that occur on or near the crosswalk, data that Naft said was important in allowing the county to better track the safety issues.
“This is so long overdue,” Breen said during the meeting. “This is something we’ve been working on for at least 15 years, so this is a monumental day for me.”
The contract with CCSD’s current crossing guard provider was also extended until 2025, after which the county will either renew the contract or look for new providers, Naft said. All City will begin hiring the new guards immediately, at a rate of $16 per hour, according to a news release.
Regardless of who the county contracts with, Naft said crossing guards at middle schools would be the new expectation.
“I’m optimistic this will be an opportunity to honor Jonny’s legacy,” Commissioner Justin Jones said during the meeting.
