Lindenhurst school crossing posts won't be cut, despite guard shortage, Suffolk officials say

Suffolk County officials acknowledged a shortage of school crossing guards but said no crossing posts will be eliminated, after a "miscommunication" led the Lindenhurst district to inform students and parents earlier this week that some intersections would not be covered.

"There was some miscommunication in the email that went out to the school districts from the police," county Legis. Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst), the minority leader, said in a Newsday interview Tuesday. "It could have been worded better. But one thing is perfectly clear. … We're not eliminating any one of the crossing guard posts."

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone reiterated that position Tuesday, noting that no existing posts are being eliminated.

"There is a shortage of crossing guards. So they've been backfilled by officers when that is the case," Bellone said. "That is something that we're aware of and are working on. But there aren't any posts that are not going to be filled."

The reaction from county officials came a day after Lindenhurst schools Superintendent Daniel Giordano wrote in a letter that most high school posts as well as those that are too far away from schools, or had significantly reduced student volume, were to be eliminated Nov. 15.

"They have explained that by doing so, it will allow the precinct to ensure sufficient post coverage at the elementary and middle school levels," the superintendent wrote, referring to the department’s First Precinct.

Police said they are reviewing crossing posts but "no crossing has been eliminated."

"There is no significance to November 15," police said in an emailed statement Tuesday. "No crossings will be eliminated on that date."

Lindenhurst school district officials did not respond to a request for an interview Tuesday. Police did not respond to a Newsday request to comment on what the legislator characterized as "miscommunication."

The police department, which employs crossing guards as civilian workers, is urging people to apply.

The county has 471 posts and is about 60 workers short, according to the Suffolk Association of Municipal Employees, which represents crossing guards.

As of this summer, there were 487 working guards, including 433 permanent workers and 54 substitutes, the union numbers showed.

The vacancies used to be in the "single digits and not every day," said Daniel Levler, president of the Suffolk Association of Municipal Employees. "Now we are double digits every day."

Levler said the union is in talks with the county administration toward a solution because plugging officers into crossing guard posts takes them away from responding to emergencies or patrolling for public safety.

"Not an efficient use of taxpayer resources," he said.

It is unclear how much of a role, if any, the pandemic played in the guard shortage, as it did in other labor shortages, including in the school bus driver industry.

Union officials point to the nature of the crossing guard job — low pay, scattered hours and no benefits for certain workers — as part of the difficulty of attracting and retaining workers.

"This is a very unique job," Levler said. "Two hours in the morning, two hours in the afternoon, low pay that's annualized so your actual paycheck stays low. And the only trade-off there, really, is full-time health coverage. So it's not an ideal job for everyone."

In Suffolk, starting pay for crossing guards is $14.07, an hourly rate that will rise to $15 on Jan. 1. Permanent positions offer health benefits when the guard works 17.5 hours a week. Substitutes, however, do not get health benefits.

In Nassau, starting hourly pay is $28 for full-time guards (those who work 20 hours a week) and $25 for part-time workers (those who work up to 17 hours a week), said Det. Lt. Richard LeBrun, a spokesman for the Nassau Police Department, in text messages.

LeBrun said Nassau police have 419 guards and 398 crossings. Each crossing may have one guard or more, depending on the intersection.

LeBrun said the department is always hiring, but he didn’t respond to questions on the number of vacancies and whether hiring was for part-time positions only.

"It's hard to keep someone in a part-time job in this economy making up to 17 hours a week and $25 an hour," said Ron Gurrieri, president of Nassau's CSEA Local 830.

Gurrieri said he doesn’t know the extent of the staffing shortage in Nassau but that vacancies exist. "When we still have cops doing crossings, you know, obviously there’s still vacancies," he said.

County Executive Laura Curran’s office did not respond Tuesday to questions on vacancies.

The guard shortage, however, may be limited to certain school districts.

There does not currently appear to be a crossing guard shortage in school districts islandwide, according to Tonie McDonald, president of the Nassau County Council of School Superintendents, and Yiendhy Farrelly, president of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association.

McCaffrey said Suffolk County will ramp up recruiting efforts.

"It's a three-pronged effort to make sure immediately, we're filling these posts," the legislator said. "Secondly, we're going to hire. Third, we are going to take a long-term review of how many posts we need and when we need them."