We tend to take many things for granted until we can’t. It appears as if we are about to put school crossing guards into this infamous category.

Two districts in our area are dealing with the issue of finding enough crossing guards to keep their students safe. After all, making sure that students can get safely to and from their school building every day is one of the highest priorities for every district.

The fact that Lehighton and Palmerton districts rely on coordination with borough police departments makes any decisions dependent on how they affect one another.

One of the main concerns of the boroughs is that when too many crossing guards call in sick or if they can’t make it to work for other reasons, the responsibility for coverage falls to the communities’ police departments. That, in turn, takes officers away from other pressing police duties.

School officials in each district are brainstorming ways to come up with alternatives that can ultimately solve the problems. The essence of the issue is a simple fact, which was succinctly summarized by Lehighton Police Chief Brian Biechy when he said at a recent borough council meeting that so few people are applying to be a crossing guard these days.

This issue is part of the larger problem many employers are facing: They can’t get enough employees to fill the jobs for which they have openings. We’ve seen it in the restaurant and hospitality industries, warehousing, filling seasonal jobs and many other sectors of the economy.

It’s an employees’ market unlike any in recent memory, and many employees are taking advantage of this manna from heaven by being able to pick and choose and, in many cases, offering themselves to the highest bidder. With a crossing guard job that pays maybe $9.50 an hour to start, there are many alternatives out there with higher compensation for less disruptive work.

At one time, a crossing guard’s position was one of those jobs that attracted retirees, housewives whose children were in school all day and those who used the job as supplemental income. It gave them some additional spending cash, along with the fresh air and the idea that they were contributing a valuable service to the educational community and to society in general.

Make no mistake about it, however, being a crossing guard requires being an early riser, a willingness to be on duty in all kinds of weather and a willingness to break up one’s day because his or her duties bookend the school day.

The Palmerton district must take over the job of providing school crossing guards with the start of the coming school year since Palmerton borough is not renewing its current contract with the district.

Lehighton is considering doing the same. If the district does have to take on this expense, it would be a good idea to know about it now, while its budget is being finalized. School districts must approve their annual budgets for the fiscal year (July 1 to June 30) no later than June 30, which is just a little more than two months away.

In pinpointing the reason why there seems to be a shortage of crossing guards we need look no further than the COVID-19 pandemic. When virtually every area school went to online education, the need for crossing guards dried up almost overnight. This especially hit those guards who are called in on an as-needed basis.

Once their hours dried up, many looked elsewhere for part-time work and in most cases found it, meaning that they weren’t coming back to their crossing guard positions when the schools went back to in-classroom sessions.

Some districts have turned to private companies to provide these services. One of the most prominent is Cross Safe of Charlotte, North Carolina, which says in its advertising materials that it is an “alternative to assigning a sworn police officer or school personnel the responsibility of overseeing the crossing guard program on a day-to-day basis.” These companies provide training and safety standards, including background checks, to ensure that strong candidates are selected.

So, aside from making sure that children are not struck by vehicles, what are some of the main duties of a crossing guard? A well-trained guard will discourage children from unsafe behavior near traffic, including darting into the street without looking, and stopping traffic temporarily whenever the need exists. According to safety protocols, the crossing guard is the first person in the street to stop traffic and the last to leave the street when vehicular traffic resumes. A prime duty of a crossing guard is to report any incidents or conditions that present a potential safety hazard to the school children or the guard.

During my research, I found the demographic profile of a typical crossing guard. There are about 27,000 who fill these positions nationwide. I was surprised to find that three-quarters of them are women. Their average age is 56. The communities with the most crossing guards are New York City and Miami. The average full-time starting salary is $22,000. The average hourly salary is $14.17.

We have often taken school crossing guards for granted, but it’s a sometimes dangerous job that bears a great deal of responsibility.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.