SOUTH MILWAUKEE — The sign outside of South Milwaukee Middle School and High School reads "school zone, slow down and yield to pedestrians.”
"People drive busy and we just have a lot of families dropping off,” South Milwaukee Superintendent, Diedre Roemer said.
That's why there is a need for more crossing guards near all six schools in the district. The district and the South Milwaukee Police Department have posted on social media looking for crossing guards.
"We work really closely with the south Milwaukee police department who are amazing partners in our work and they have a few crossing guards and now we'd like to add a few more,” Roemer explained.
Watch: South Milwaukee parents emphasize the need for more crossing guards
The district is paying $12 an hour for it’s crossing guards. That is funded from the referendum that passed in April.
"That was one of the reasons that we came out to vote,” South Milwaukee parent, Rachelle Hoehnen said.
Safety is top of mind for Hoehnen. She is a mom of four kids in the district. Two of her kids walk to school every day.
TMJ4’s Megan Lee asked Hoehnen how important crossing guards are. She said, “really important.”
According to a traffic study that the district had done, the crosswalks on 15th Avenue require some special attention. The parents Lee spoke with would agree with that.
"We've seen so many accidents there, there's unsafe behavior that we were like this is really important for the school district,” Hoehnen said.
More crossing guards would make Alaynah Thompson feel better as her son is starting kindergarten in just a few days.
"Sometimes kids this age like to just bolt across,” Thompson explained.
Lee asked the Superintendent what will happen if there aren’t enough crossing guards by Tuesday.
Roemer said, “we have staff that go out as I shared, I sometimes will jump out here and do traffic duty in the morning as well. So, our principals come out, we have paraprofessionals that come out, but that takes them away from some of their other duties."
If you want to apply to the district, call 414-766-5011
If you want to apply through the SMPD, contact Officer Jake Horsley at 414-768-8060
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