Vern Streightiff has been making the streets safe for children since 1993, when he started as a substitute in the crossing guard program.

Thursday, March 16, 2000

Vern Streightiff has been making the streets safe for children since 1993, when he started as a substitute in the crossing guard program. He’s been the regular crossing guard at the corner of 12th Street SW and Third Avenue for nearly four years now.

He read in Wednesday’s paper that Police Chief Paul Philipp would like to discuss some changes to the program with the school district. Although discussions have yet to begin, down the road it may mean Streightiff answers to someone in the school district instead of the police chief, or it may mean he’s out of a job.

"I would hate to see them discontinue the program," the crossing guard said. "I can’t see leaving the kids to cross by themselves alone. They’ll push it, try to run between cars. This is a busy intersection, especially about the time they’re going to school."

Streightiff’s face is one familiar to many, not just the children he shepherds across the road, but also to the people who pass him on the way to work every weekday morning and, especially, the parents who trust him with their small children.

Jim Taylor is one of those parents; he stops just to say how wonderful he thinks Streightiff and his fellow crossing guards are.

"They’re the best volunteers ever," Taylor, who has a 9-year-old and 11-year-old twins, said of the crossing guards. "They’re willing to be out here all the time. How he (Streightiff) does it sometimes in the cold weather is incredible."

Taylor called them volunteers. That isn’t strictly true. Streightiff said he makes a little more than $3,000 a year for his troubles. Multiply that by four and that is the budget for the regular crossing guards, mostly paid by the city of Austin. He thought the $2,000 paid by the district last year probably went to the substitutes and administrative costs.

Streightiff spends a little more than two hours a day on the job: 45 minutes each before and after school and over the lunch hour. He estimated that he sees a total of about 35 kids a day when the weather is warm, and fewer when it gets cold or rainy. Being a crossing guard isn’t without its dangers, and Streightiff said he waits until there’s a break in traffic to step out – although it’s tough sometimes when the kids are getting edgy.

That’s why he thinks there must be a human touch at the intersection, the combination of eager children and fast-moving traffic.

"These cars don’t stop," he said, "and they’re going awfully fast. I don’t feel comfortable stepping out unless they’re at least a block away. Then they have to stop."