What are Fort Mill school board safety improvement plans after crossing guard’s death?
The Fort Mill School District is likely to join the town of Fort Mill in a formal request for road fixes in the aftermath of a school crossing guard death last month.
On Tuesday night, the school board asked to schedule a special meeting to vote on a resolution rather than wait two weeks until the next scheduled meeting. On Monday night, the town passed a resolution asking the South Carolina Department of Transportation to review state roads in front of all 20 district schools and reduce speed limits on those roads.
“I would assume it would look very, very similar to the one that Fort Mill did,” school board chairwoman Kristy Spears said of a district resolution.
After crossing-guard death, Fort Mill wants safety review, lower speed limits on school roads
Crossing guard Stanley Brucker, 61, was struck by a vehicle March 21 while directing traffic at the bus entrance to Fort Mill Elementary School and Fort Mill Middle School. Brucker was transported to an area hospital where he died. No charges were filed in the case after a review by several law enforcement agencies.
Conversations similar to what’s in the town’s request, including with the state transportation department, have been ongoing since the incident.
“They’re ongoing with the town, city (of Tega Cay), county, DOT, the crossing guard agency,” Spears said.
A resolution would be a way for the school district, like the town, to formalize its concern.
“A lot of the things that are probably being contemplated really are at the discretion of SCDOT since it’s a state road,” Spears said.
Crossing guard, 61, dies after being hit by vehicle outside a Fort Mill school
Discussing plans for safer roads
In a sometimes emotional update Tuesday night, Superintendent Chuck Epps asked fthe school community and drivers in the area to be mindful during school drop-off and pick-up times. Even improved safety measures on area roads would still need a commitment to safety from everyone, he said.
“You can’t really provide closure to this event,” Epps said. “Every day you need to be safe.”
The school district met with the transportation department on site. The district met with town and city law enforcement, and will again this week, Epps said. District attorneys are in conversation with other attorneys about what is a multi-faceted issue, he said, in terms of potential fixes.
“It’s not something that’s going to be a written plan or nice little neat package in one week,” Epps said. “It’s going to take some time.”
The superintendent echoed his previous comments understanding frustration about people wanting to know exactly when and what schools or other groups plan to do to improve safety.
“Rest assured we’re talking about everything that you’re thinking in your mind, like, why don’t they do this?” Epps said. “We’re discussing it all.”
Speed and reckless behavior
Much attention in recent weeks focused on speed. The town’s resolution calls for a speed limit reduction to 25 mph. Many district schools are on the town bypass — Fort Mill Parkway becomes Springfield Parkway — and have 45 mph speed limits that drop to 35 mph in school zones. Law enforcement, though, said speed was not a contributing factor in last month’s incident which was part of the reason no charges were filed.
Still, there’s concern.
Epps and board member Wayne Bouldin each said Tuesday night they’d had a similar experience earlier that day where a vehicle passed or blew the horn at them in a school speed zone as lights were flashing or crossing guards present.
“It’s reckless, learned behavior,” Epps said.
