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Massena Central to split cost of crossing guards with village

Posted 1/11/25

MASSENA -- The village of Massena and Massena Central School District have agreed to a deal that will continue to provide for six crossing guards but the cost has shifted slightly.

Under the new …

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Massena Central to split cost of crossing guards with village

Posted

MASSENA -- The village of Massena and Massena Central School District have agreed to a deal that will continue to provide for six crossing guards but the cost has shifted slightly.

Under the new deal, which runs until May 31 of this year, the school district will cover the cost of three guards.

The village was previously on the hook for the cost of all six crossing guards as they were considered village employees, officials said last month.

Why the change? It comes down to budget constraints, according to village Mayor Greg Paquin.

Paquin told the village board of trustees that village officials had originally told school district officials of the village's intention to scale back to just three crossing guards due to budget constraints.

An alternative was offered, with village officials agreeing to keep the figure at six total crossing guards if the district agreed to split the expense.

Paquin said the potential cuts would have impacted the district's three elementary schools primarily – Nightengale Elementary, Jefferson Elementary and Madison Elementary.

At a recent school board meeting Massena Central Superintendent Ron Burke told board members the agreement to split the cost of crossing guards has been in place "for about a year now."

"Then, last year may have been the first year of that agreement where we reimbursed the village for the other three,” Burke said.

That contract expired last June, prompting the village to seek an update to the agreement.

The new deal will see the district spend $1,300 more to cover the additional costs associated with the positions.

The agreement was first struck in 2023 after village officials had informed the district of the planned cuts and coincides with the village's fiscal year, which runs from June 1 through May 31, officials said.