Vienna’s leaders are none too happy with the Fairfax County Police Department’s (FCPD) plan to stop staffing nine crossing-guard positions at the town’s schools and have Vienna police take over those duties instead.
While Maj. Dalton Becker, commander of FCPD’s Operations Support Bureau, outlined that scenario in a letter last December to Vienna Police Chief James Morris, the issue is only now becoming a public bone of contention.
County officials in 2023 re-evaluated their crossing-guard program. Among the proposals coming out of the effort is devolving responsibilities to the town governments of Vienna and Herndon (plus the federal installation at Fort Belvoir) for crossings in those jurisdictions.
If that decision holds, Fairfax County police will stop staffing the following locations, which now are handled by crossing guards or county police officers, when schools return to class this fall:
• Cunningham Park Elementary: Kingsley Road and Park Street, S.E., and Park Street and Adahi Road, S.E., both between 8:10 and 8:40 a.m. and from 3:25 p.m. until those intersections are clear.
• Louise Archer Elementary: Nutley Street at its crossings with Orchard and Knoll Streets, N.W., both from 8:45 to 9:15 a.m. and from 4 p.m. until those intersections are clear.
• Marshall Road Elementary: Marshall Road and Delilah Drive, S.W., and Kingsley Road and Ware Street, S.W., both from 8:50 to 9:20 a.m. and from 4:05 p.m. until those intersections are clear.
• Vienna Elementary: Locust Street, S.W., at its intersections with Cottage Street, S.W., and Center Street, S., both from 8:15 to 8:45 a.m. and from 3:30 p.m. until those crossings are clear.
• Thoreau Middle: A crossing of Cedar Lane near the school from 7 to 7:30 a.m. and from 2:10 p.m. until that intersection is clear.
Vienna’s position is that Fairfax County police are responsible for staffing crossing-guard posts at the county’s public schools, Vienna Police Chief James Morris wrote to Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis.
Vienna does not have a crossing-guard program and its police department’s day squad consists of four officers, one or two motorcycle officers and a supervisor, Morris wrote.
“These police officers already have assigned tasks, and staffing nine crossings during two of the busiest calls-for-service times of the day is not a realistic request,” Morris wrote.
Vienna has refused several such previous requests from commanders of the county’s district police stations, and will do so again now, he wrote.
“Vienna residents are full Fairfax County residents and pay full Fairfax County taxes; accordingly, town residents are entitled to all Fairfax County services, including school crossing guards,” Morris wrote. “To selectively target the town of Vienna to withdraw services is not appropriate.”
That position has won backup from the town’s elected leaders. Vienna Town Council member Howard Springsteen agreed with Morris that Vienna was being unfairly targeted and that town police were not staffed sufficiently to take on the crossing-guard duties, which are a county responsibility.
Fairfax County Supervisor Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill) in a March 20 statement suggested that the crossing-guard matter still is just a proposal, and said he had forwarded it to Vienna Mayor Linda Colbert immediately after learning about it in late December.
“I have heard from numerous members of the community about concerns with this proposal, and we are exploring alternatives,” Alcorn said.
Fairfax County police have 72 crossing-guard positions, 53 of which currently are filled. Because each location’s shift lasts only 30 minutes, many of the crossing guards can cover two or three shifts each day.
When crossing guards are not available, county police pull officers off of regular duty to staff those spots.
