The subject of crossing guards came up again at our last meeting. As you may remember, over the years the City has been helping the San Mateo/Foster City Elementary School District (“District”) fund the crossing guard program at Foster City, Audubon and Brewer Island elementary schools.
In the past, the City of Foster City (“City”) has given $40,000 annually to the District since they have not had enough money to fund the crossing guard program themselves. With budget crises resounding throughout the County and State, the City can no longer help the School District in the same capacity as before. The money is not there!
The City Council had offered $20,000 for this school year with the School District matching the other $20,000 to fund the crossing guards. It seems the School District is unable to match the funds the City is willing to provide. I have suggested a volunteer program, or some attempt to get additional funding from businesses.
Both of these suggestions have been turned down by the School District for reasons such as volunteers are unreliable and businesses have already been tapped for donations. My last suggestion brought up at the meeting seems the simplest and most reasonable.
I asked if there were at least 1,000 families whose children attend any of the above-mentioned schools. The answer was affirmative. Well, if each family donated $20 (twenty) dollars for the school year, we could raise the other $20,000 to match what the City is able to offer and keep the crossing guard program in place as we’ve had it in the past.
We are living in some difficult times. We tend to get so overly emotional and discouraged when something changes abruptly that our ability to come to rational solutions becomes impaired. If we all band together in a spirit of cooperation, we can make things happen.
I hope that our State’s economy will begin to turn around so that we are not dealing with these types of issues. Let’s hope the governor’s promise will hold true for local government in the future. Until then, we all need to work together to the best of our ability.
I look forward to comments on this or any other issue by e-mailing me at lkoelling@fostercity.org.
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