Joliet considers pay hike to get more school crossing guards

The school year is starting, and Joliet needs crossing guards.

The City Council will vote Tuesday on a 15% pay hike hoping to attract more people to the positions.

Crossing guards for Joliet schools are employed by the city and overseen by the police department.

City officials say they need two more guards to have enough to be confident that all crossings will be covered each school day.

Guards make $32 a day for working two shifts – morning when school starts and afternoon when school lets out.

The pay has stayed the same since 2015.

Police Sgt. Hollis Weller, who oversees the crossing guard program, made a case for the raises earlier this month at a meeting of the council’s Public Safety Committee.

“There are no benefits,” he told the committee. “There’s no paid time off. If you don’t show up, you don’t get paid.”

Weller said there were 26 guards but he needed more backups for days when some can’t work. And, he worried about being able to recruit more when senior guards decide to retire.

Committee members supported the raise with one suggesting it’s not enough.

“Even with that increase, that is very little money,” council member Suzanna Ibarra said at the Aug. 6 committee meeting. “To me, that is a huge commitment when you know you have to be there every school day.”

At a City Council workshop meeting on Monday, council member Larry Hug also questioned whether a 15% raise was high enough.

City Manager Beth Beatty said the city could consider a bigger hike later if the 15% pay hike did not bring in the number of applicants needed to fully staff the program.

While the Public Safety Committee voted 3-0 to recommend the pay hike, Chairman Joe Clement suggested the schools should help pay for it.

“I’d love to sit down with the schools, and maybe we would split the difference.” he said at the committee meeting.

Joliet provides crossing guards for schools in Joliet Grade School District 86, Plainfield School District 202 schools that are in the city of Joliet, and Diocese of Joliet schools that are in the city.

Joliet grade schools start classes on Wednesday. The school year in the Plainfield district started last week.