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The Dunne Dispatch (School Safety Edition) - September 2, 2026
Friends and Neighbors,
Last year, the Board of Supervisors approved the elimination of all crossing guards at FCPS high schools to save $842,581. I strongly opposed this decision. When I was interviewed by a local reporter, I explained:
“These are kids who need adult guidance, both in the form of great teachers but also in the form of great crossing guards. We really need to make sure we have adults there to shepherd these children to and from school each day, so that we can protect them and make sure they get home safe. . . . To eliminate the school crossing guards poses an imminent risk of potential injury or loss of life. Budget cuts can make sense in the abstract, but when you’re talking about an accident that could potentially result in a child being paralyzed or losing their life, those budget cuts may not make as much sense. We really need to do everything we can to protect students.”
Because many of you have raised urgent concerns about dangerous conditions at crosswalks, I asked my staff to observe the conditions at Edison HS, Hayfield SS, Lewis HS, Mount Vernon HS, South County HS, and West Potomac HS. Here is what they found:
- Most students cross at designated crosswalks, but not all do.
- Students are crossing at some crosswalks that do not have any signage or signals.
- There is insufficient signage at many schools.
- Where there is signage, it needs to be activated earlier to protect students who arrive early, and it needs to extend later to protect students who depart late.
- Drivers are traveling at excessive speeds, and traffic enforcement is lacking.
- Drivers are driving aggressively, rolling into the crosswalk while students are crossing.
- Drivers are endangering students by driving around the school bus even when the stop arm is extended and students are boarding or disembarking.
Based on their observations, I will be advocating for the following actions.
- All crosswalks near schools should have proper signage and signals, to include pedestrian-activated flashing crosswalk lights to increase pedestrian visibility. As a first step, the School Board and the Board of Supervisors should conduct a comprehensive audit of school crosswalks and existing signage.
- All schools should have crossing guards to ensure the safety of students who walk and bike to school.
- Traffic enforcement should be enforced in school zones, and it should remain consistent throughout the school year. Spotty enforcement causes spotty compliance.
- The School Board should consider the installation of cameras to identify drivers who endanger students who are crossing in designated crosswalks.
- The School Board should consider the installation of stop-arm cameras on all school buses to identify drivers who endanger students by driving around the school bus when it is stopped for students to board or disembark.
- The School Board should ensure all students are educated about pedestrian and bicycle safety, to include using signaled crosswalks when possible, exercising extreme caution when crossing at intersections without signals, to look both ways before crossing the street, and to never walk between cars into the street.
- The School Board and the Board of Supervisors should adopt a “Vision Zero” plan to increase pedestrian and bicycle transportation safety.
These dangerous conditions are not unique to the Mount Vernon District. Last week, my colleague Melanie Meren highlighted the unsafe conditions at South Lakes HS resulting from the elimination of crossing guards, and a South Lakes HS student was hit by a car this week. The Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets coalition has found that the most common time for near misses is from 3-6 PM as children get out of school and travel home. Over 25 percent of near misses involved children, with the most common causes being distracted driving, failure to yield to pedestrians, and failure to obey traffic signs and signals.
Please educate your children about pedestrian and bicycling transportation safety. I am sharing the following websites which have helpful information for families and schools:
Please do not hesitate to contact my office if you are aware of any unsafe crosswalks or if you have any suggestions for specific improvements to particular crosswalks.
Very Respectfully,
 Mateo Dunne, Mount Vernon District Representative
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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