Around dismissal time Wednesday afternoon, a crossing guard wearing a Fairfax County police badge, bright vest and whistle assisted students crossing South Lakes Drive in Reston, Virginia.
She was there helping students leaving nearby Langston Hughes Middle School. But by 3 p.m., just a few minutes after South Lakes High School ended the academic day, she had left.
Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors cut funding for high school crossing guards during its budget process late last spring. It marked the latest step in a lengthy debate about the program’s future.
And just days into the new academic year, it’s a decision that school board members, parents and community members suspect might have serious consequences.
“It’s multiple accidents waiting to happen,” said Roberto De Moraes, whose son is a junior at South Lakes High in Reston. “This street, South Lakes Drive, is known. Kids have been killed on the street before.”
The county’s crossing guards fall under the purview of Fairfax County police. Now, it has a contract with All City Management Services. Sworn officers step in when there are vacancies.
Police previously told county officials there haven’t been crashes recorded at high school crossings, and the agency doesn’t have crash or injury data indicating that removing the guards would have a negative impact.
But near South Lakes High School this week, School Board Member Melanie Meren said she witnessed a car abruptly stopping in front of pedestrians. She’s also seen a pattern of cars stopping in a crosswalk that are then unable to turn.
A county bus, she said, has moved through an intersection while a group of students from the other side of the street was crossing.
“Children’s lives are at stake,” Meren said. “I challenge anyone to safely stand on a street corner and watch what is happening at our school intersections. It is harrowing.”
One of the main roads near South Lakes has two lanes of traffic in each direction, with a warning sign and flashing yellow lights if students opt to push the button. When there was a crossing guard present, De Moraes said she’d stop traffic in all directions and allow kids to cross diagonally to save time. Now, some are still doing it anyway.
“They don’t think about the dangers,” De Moraes said. “They don’t cross straight across, push the button, wait and then cross again. And at the same time, you have parents dropping kids off, other students driving that are new drivers, and then commuters and buses, city and school buses.”
Julie Fitzpatrick, who lives near South Lakes, said while she’s become aware the decision to cut high school crossing guards was made earlier this year, “it caught me by surprise on Monday morning when I tried to turn out of here.”
“We really need a crossing guard before someone gets hurt,” Fitzpatrick told WTOP.
During Tuesday’s Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisors Pat Herrity, Rodney Lusk and Walter Alcorn used a board matter to explain that elected officials haven’t yet received information about the way bus and carpool traffic would be navigated without crossing guards.
The board directed County Executive Bryan Hill to identify issues created by the lack of high school crossing guards, “if and how they can be mitigated, and the resources required to address them.”
The matter also calls for a placeholder of $400,000 to be added to the 2026 carryover budget review “to address the issues related to the removal of high school crossing guards for the high schools that need them.”
Fairfax County Public Schools wrote in a statement to WTOP, “We appreciate the vital role crossing guards play in ensuring our students arrive and depart school safely each day. Despite FCPS concerns, as part of last year’s County budgeting process, all high school crossing guards were eliminated starting this school year. Elementary, middle, and secondary schools still have crossing guard support. We encourage students, families, and drivers to use extra caution when traveling to and from school, follow all traffic laws, and remain alert for pedestrians and other vehicles. The welfare of our students, staff, and community remains a top priority.”
In a statement, Jeff McKay, who chairs Fairfax’s Board of Supervisors, told WTOP the decision to remove high school crossing guards “was not made lightly and was informed by data and research, site reviews conducted by the Fairfax County Police Department and coordination with Fairfax County Public Schools on traffic, bus and Kiss and Ride operations.
Prior to this change, Fairfax County was the only jurisdiction in Northern Virginia providing crossing guards at high schools, and it is important to emphasize that there are no reductions to crossing guards serving elementary or middle school students.”
But parents like De Moraes said to “say something like, ‘High school kids are older, they can make safer decisions themselves is not understanding about teenagers and high school kids.”
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
