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Paducah Police Cut School Crossing Guards After Changes In Funding

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Paducah City Police will no longer hire school crossing guards after changes to their annual budget.

The Paducah Police Department is no longer hiring crossing guards for this upcoming school year following a decrease in their annual funding.

The police department said in a release last week the decision is a result of reductions in the city’s 2019 fiscal year budget.

Mayor Brandi Harless said the city’s budgeting process for 2019 revolved around finding additional funds for increased pension obligations. She said in the case of the police department, the city cut their budget based off of “slipping funds”- money that was not used in previous yearly budgets.     

“The police department made the decision that part of their effort to reduce their spending would be to reconstruct their crossing guard program,” Harless said. 

Harless said these crossing guard positions were part-time and often difficult to hire because of their odd hours.

Chief Brandon Barnhill said the safety of children remains of greatest importance and said Paducah Police will continue their watch of school zones during the morning and afternoon hours. Paducah City Schools Superintendent Donald Shively is aware of the change. 

Harless said letting police officers fill the role of crossing guards could be potentially "very beneficial" to the city, but added that if the changes to the program don't work out, adjustments can be made. 

"I say this all the time about city government: we can change this," Harless said. "If it doesn't work, we can try something different- and that's very possible." 

Taylor is a recent Murray State University graduate where she studied journalism and history. When she's not reporting for WKMS, she enjoys creative writing and traveling. She loves writing stories that involve diversity, local culture and history, nature and recreation, art and music, and national or local politics. If you have a news tip or idea, shoot her an email at tinman1@murraystate.edu!
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