Hamilton short 15 to 20 school crossing guards a day

On any given day, 15 to 20 locations across Hamilton are without school crossing guards due to a staffing crunch.

The city is not only short guards for 18 locations, but also 15 spares to step in when regulars are absent.

So we prioritize points that have no measures of control," James Buffett, manager of parking enforcement and school safety, said Thursday.

That means making sure midblock locations have guards, then focusing on spots with stop signs and signalized intersections, he noted.

Overall, there are 230 crossing-guard locations across Hamilton. Currently, 212 regular guards and 22 spares are on the city's payroll.

One gap is Barton Street at Lewis Road by Winona Elementary School, which is an industrial area with plenty of truck traffic, Coun. Maria Pearson said.

Staff are doing their best to fill voids, but it's a huge juggling act," she told The Spectator.

The guard crunch arose during a budget session focused on city workers not paid Hamilton's current living wage," a benchmark that rose last year to $17.20, up from $16.45.

The Ontario Living Wage Network - a coalition of employers, employees, non-profits, researchers and advocates - calculates living wages according to the needs of a family of four with two parents who work full-time.

Crossing guards are currently paid $16.36 an hour, but their pay is scheduled to rise to $16.62 in September 2022.

Hamilton isn't the only municipality in Ontario that has struggled with crossing-guard shortages, Buffett said.

I can't put a finger on the exact cause, but I know (for) low-wage positions, we're experiencing shortages across many industries," he told council.

Increasing crossing guards' wages to $17.20 an hour would cost the city an extra $92,840 a year, staff reported.

Apart from pay, the part-time gig's odd hours with posts in the morning and afternoon makes it challenging to fill positions, Pearson suggested.

While the city struggles to recruit crossing guards, it has also seen a 22 per cent drop in summer student applications over the last five years, Lora Fontana, executive director of human resources, told council.

I do think wages are part of the issue," Fontana said, noting the city no longer pays more than Ontario's minimum wage, which went up to $15 an hour this year.

Working outside in the heat cutting grass or sprucing up flower beds can be less of a draw than less-demanding jobs in the private sector, she suggested.

Fontana added the COVID-19 pandemic has also factored into the dip in applications with students and parents concerned about contracting the virus.

But if the big issue is private-sector competition, the obvious choice is to increase our compensation," Coun. John-Paul Danko said.

Paying $17.20 an hour, to give those students a leg-up, I think, is a very good investment for our city," he said.

Over the past decade, incomes have not kept pace with rising tuition and housing costs, Coun. Maureen Wilson said.

These are families that are struggling with the weight of trying to get their kids through post-secondary education. It's quite significant."

Giving summer students - unionized and non-unionized - a $17.20 living wage would cost the city an extra $764,900 a year.

Council asked staff to report back on financial indicators for a future discussion on wages as 2022 budget talks continue.

The preliminary budget hike sits at 3.6 per cent. Council aims to give the spending plan final approval in March.

Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com