Who foots the bill for student safety?

WEST JORDAN — First, there's the stretch of road with no sidewalk. Along that footpath, there's a large, unfenced irrigation ditch. Past that is a light-rail construction area — and next spring, a TRAX train will pass through the crosswalk every 15 minutes.

Those are some of the hazards LeeAnn Bitner's ninth-grade daughter will face if she has to walk to West Jordan Middle School, at 7550 S. 1700 West, now that her bus route has been eliminated.

The Jordan School District has cut most of the funding for its hazardous bus routes for the 2010-11 school year, which leaves kids walking to school through potentially dangerous areas. The district has offered the bus routes for years, even though state law doesn't require it to provide transportation to kids who live in proximity to the school and could feasibly walk.

Facing a $29 million budget gap in June meant cutting extras, however, and over the next two years, all of the busing for hazardous routes will be axed, district officials say.

School starts Aug. 26, but the question of who will ensure the children make it through these hazardous areas to school safely has generated some conflict.

Dangerous routes with heavy traffic or ongoing construction seem to fall into no-man's land. If it's not in a school zone, cities don't have to provide crossing guards. And if the hazardous area is near the school, the district doesn't have to bus students.

West Jordan officials have reluctantly decided to foot the bill for crossing guards in areas of their city where the bus routes are being eliminated, paying $15,000 for crossing guards in some of the hazardous routes. Other cities in the district, including South Jordan, Riverton, Bluffdale and Herriman, also are putting money toward crossing guards to fill the gap.

"I don't believe it is our responsibility to fund the crossing guards," West Jordan Mayor Melissa Johnson said.

However, the school district isn't in a position to take on the additional expense, Johnson said, and "it all comes out of the same people's pockets."

Axing bus routes

The Jordan School District eliminated 75 percent of its hazardous routes for the upcoming school year and plans to ax the remaining 25 percent the following year. The decision to cut the routes is purely budgetary and is a means of saving the district $1.2 million, according to district officials.

The state requires cities to provide crossing guards but just for elementary school students — and only near school zones.