Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Bill Medeiros of Saratoga has been a crossing guard for nearly five years. He says the threat of shutting the service down is not new.

City Council looks at dropping resource officer, crossing guards

By Torre Peña

The city's latest round of budget negotiations, aimed at chopping spending by 20 percent to account for the loss of the utility users tax, targets education. The council is looking at significantly cutting its financial commitment to the school resource officer position and school crossing guards and is asking schools to take up the slack.

Serving five districts and two private schools, the school resource officer program is costing the city $92,000 this year. Los Gatos- Saratoga Union High School Superintendent Tod Likins said that the program is highly valued and the school officer is an integral part of the campus.

"I find it appalling when a city doesn't tax itself to provide police services," Likins said.

Although Saratoga's resource officer, Sgt. Ted Atlas, spends time among elementary schools, he said a majority of his energy is spent at Redwood Middle School and Saratoga and Prospect high schools. Atlas explained that he spends time with troubled teens and addresses campus safety issues. Some of his preventive programs focus on alcohol-related issues.

With their own tight budgets to juggle, school boards have little money of their own to splash around.

"It seems to me that this is a citywide responsibility," Likins said. However, he added that since the resource officer is valued, the district would consider contributing to keep the program.

The council spent $26,985 for crossing guards in five Saratoga locations this year.

Blue Hills and Marshall Lane elementary schools have crossing guards, and Redwood has two crossing guards near Redwood at the heavily trafficked intersections of Saratoga and Fruitvale avenues and Fruitvale and Allendale avenues. Saint Andrews and Sacred Heart, two private schools on Saratoga Avenue, also benefit. There is currently no crossing guard working the fifth location at Herriman Drive.

At peak traffic hours, cars clog the intersections around Redwood, and transit buses from around the county roar into West Valley College's terminal across the street.

"From a safety standpoint we definitely need [the guards]," Margie Singleton, Saratoga Union School District's director of human resources, said. "It's a high traffic area."

SUSD board members voiced similar concerns, stating that crossing guards are a public safety issue.

"This is a basic need," board member Cynthia Chang said.

Board member Jill Hunter added that it may be in the district's best interest to offer their help to the city.