On the first day of class Tuesday, Mischelle Edgar took a day off from work to walk her two third-graders to school.

And she did it not for fun but for their safety, Edgar told city council Tuesday evening.

Edgar and other concerned Austin parents have been petitioning the council to bring back funds for adult crossing guards, of which there were none on the streets for the first day of school.

After some discussion, the council voted to fund the guards for a month as the city — along with the school board and police department — look at long-term staffing and funding options.

The guards used to receive roughly $13,000 in funding, with $2,000 of that coming from the school board and the rest from council.

The city council decided to cut funding in 2009 and 2010, noting that other nearby cities, like Albert Lea and Owatonna, do not pay for guards from city funds.

Parents like Danielle Nesvold, however, just want to see the guards out there, no matter how they’re funded.

“Having a crossing guard gives us a lot of reassurance,” she told the council.

Bob Johnson, who has been a guard for about 10 years, also said he needs to be out there.

“It’s very dangerous, especially for (younger kids),” he said. “I feel my job is very important.”

Council members generally agreed that the guards are very important — the question now is who should pay.

Councilman Dick Pacholl said child safety is one of the “most important” things to him, but added that he was disappointed the school board hasn’t taken up more responsibility.

That could happen soon, as the school board, city and police department agreed Tuesday that they should meet and hammer out long-term details of the plan.

In addition to who should pay for guards, the meeting could focus on adding guards to new intersections — something Police Chief Paul Philipp said would only make sense in evaluating the program.

Four locations — Fourth Street and Seventh Avenue northwest, 12th Street and Third Avenue southwest, Oakland Avenue and 15th Street, and 12th Street and 19th Avenue southwest — traditionally received coverage.

“We’re talking about $11,000 for four locations,” Philipp said. “Is that a good use of (city funds)?”

New superintendent David Krenz said he would work to create a system that all the sides can agree to and one that keeps kids safe.

“The conversation we started (Tuesday) will go a long way,” he said.

And it certainly already has — Johnson and fellow crossing guard Ben Bednar said after the meeting that they’d be out there Wednesday, and Philipp said Wednesday morning that all four intersections were manned.

“We’re very happy they’re working quickly to change things,” Nesvold said.