CAMARILLO : Volunteers Sought as School Crossing Guards

In the face of the Ventura County supervisors’ decision to cut funding for school crossing guards, the Pleasant Valley Elementary School District board is seeking volunteers to direct traffic for Camarillo Heights School students crossing Mission Drive.

The school board decided Thursday to use volunteers to take turns serving as a crossing guard at Mission Drive and Daphne Street to save the $5,000 salary cost.

Camarillo Heights Principal Jerry Hamor reminded the board that there needs to be a crossing guard at the corner every morning.

“If it’s volunteers, it’s got to be a very coordinated volunteer effort,” he said.

But school officials decided they should try to recruit a crew of reliable volunteers before hiring someone for the position.

As part of their latest round of budget cuts, the county Board of Supervisors recently decided to stop paying for school crossing guards in unincorporated areas of the county.

The city of Camarillo pays the wages of crossing guards in city boundaries, but the corner of Mission and Daphne is just outside the Camarillo boundaries.