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 A 16-year-old student was hit by a car while walking to South Lakes High School today. (Photo: School Board Member Melanie Meren)
Dear Fairfax County community,
I'm writing today because a South Lakes High School student was struck by a car this morning — the incident many of you have been warning about since the school year began. I want to give you the facts, the fuller safety picture behind them, and how you can make your voice heard.
What Happened This Morning
A 16-year-old South Lakes High School student was hit by a vehicle around 7:54 a.m. while walking to school. He was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The driver remained at the scene and was charged with failure to stop before entering a highway; the investigation is ongoing. FCPS responded with a statement noting that "this incident serves as a reminder of the critical importance of having crossing guards and other traffic and pedestrian safety measures at our high schools," and has formally asked the county to restore crossing guards at the high schools with the greatest safety concerns — including South Lakes.
Why This Is Happening Now
For several years, the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) has reported difficulty recruiting and retaining crossing guards, which required patrol officers to cover some school crossings and limited their availability for other calls. The county began using contractors to fill vacancies at elementary and middle schools as one response.
As part of the FY 2027 budget, adopted by the Board of Supervisors on May 5, 2026, the county eliminated crossing guards at all public high schools — cutting 13 full-time positions and about $1.89 million from the police department's budget. Nine high schools were affected:
- Annandale
- Centreville
- Chantilly
- Edison
- Oakton
- South County
- South Lakes
- West Potomac
- West Springfield
Elementary and middle school crossing guards were not cut; the county is filling some of those vacancies with contractors rather than police officers. County Supervisors have said the change was informed by data and site reviews and have noted that Fairfax is the only jurisdiction in Northern Virginia providing crossing guards at the high school level.
Reflective flags installed by parents along Rolling Road outside of West Springfield High School
What's Gone Wrong Since School Started
Since classes began on August 24, there have been repeated reports of congestion and confusion at schools. Several examples include:
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Centreville High School: Concerns have been raised about student crossings along heavily traveled Union Mill Road.
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Chantilly High School: Concerns have been raised about student crossings along heavily traveled Stringfellow Road.
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Thomas Edison High School: Concerns have been raised about student crossings along heavily traveled Franconia Road.
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Mount Vernon High School: Concerns have been raised about the crossing guard’s absence on several days, affecting both the high school and Riverside Elementary School across the street.
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South County High School: Concerns have been raised about vehicles traveling at excessive speeds and the large number of students who walk to and from school, crossing Silverbrook Road and Laurel Crest Road.
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South Lakes High School: Concerns have been raised about vehicles failing to yield, students crossing amid moving traffic, traffic backups, vehicles stopping in crosswalks, and cyclists and pedestrians navigating congestion near South Lakes Drive and the Kiss & Ride entrance.
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West Potomac High School: Concerns have been raised about pedestrian safety along heavily traveled Quander Road affected by construction, including unsafe crosswalk conditions and the large number of students who walk to school.
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West Springfield High School: Concerns have been raised about conditions at Rolling Road and Grigsby Road, including reported near-misses and parents resorting to use reflective crossing flags as a temporary measure.
A Broader Pattern of Pedestrian Risk
This isn't happening in isolation. FCPD data show pedestrian deaths rose 20 percent in 2025 compared with 2024. As of early August 2026, 12 pedestrians and two other vulnerable road users had already been killed countywide this year — matching the county's full-year totals from both 2024 and 2025 in under seven months.
The county has also lost students to traffic violence before. In June 2022, Oakton High School students Ada Gabriela Martinez Nolasco, 14, and Leeyan Hanjia Yan, 15, were struck and killed walking home from school on Blake Lane, when the driver accelerated to 81 mph in a 35 mph zone. A third student was injured. The driver was convicted of two counts of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison.
Student safety depends on sustained attention — to enforcement, roadway design, safe crossings, signal timing, dismissal procedures, and appropriately deployed personnel, crossing guards included.
How FCPD Is Responding Tomorrow
Beginning tomorrow, FCPD will begin providing uniformed crossing guard coverage at Centreville, Edison, South Lakes, West Potomac, and West Springfield High Schools based on initial concerns identified during their review of the crossing guard situation. Out of an abundance of caution, coverage will also be provided at Chantilly, Oakton, and McLean High Schools. FCPD will present its assessment of the crossing guard situation to the Board of Supervisors.
What Comes Next
On August 25, the Board of Supervisors directed county staff to work with FCPS, FCPD, and transportation officials to review conditions at the affected high schools. Supervisors also discussed setting aside a $400,000 placeholder in the FY 2026 Carryover Review to fund potential fixes — but that figure was ultimately removed from the formal motion after questions about committing to a specific amount before staff had assessed what is actually needed. Supervisors will decide which locations get help, whether that means police officers or contractors, what hours of coverage look like, and whether any response is temporary or ongoing.
How You Can Weigh In
The Board of Supervisors' Carryover Review — including whatever crossing-guard funding is proposed — comes up on Tuesday, September 15, at 10:30am at the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway. You can testify in person, by phone, by prerecorded video, or in writing here. Written comments can be sent to ClerktotheBOS@fairfaxcounty.gov.
If you've observed traffic conditions at an affected school, specific, factual information is the most useful thing you can share: backups, blocked crossings, failure-to-yield incidents, unsafe turns, conflicts involving buses or bicycles, or near misses. Public input will shape what — if anything — gets funded.
Sincerely,
Ryan
The views contained within this newsletter reflect the views of the individual school board member who is the publisher of this newsletter and may not reflect the views of the Fairfax County School Board.
© Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia
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