NORTH PALM BEACH, Fla. — A North Palm Beach parent is raising safety concerns about the morning drop-off routine outside the K-8 Conservatory School as the new school year gets underway and traffic around campuses grows congested.
Chad Cawley, a first responder, first raised his concerns at a Let's Hear It meetup at the end of last school year. He wanted to show firsthand what he described as a dangerous pattern: dozens of parents bypassing the car line to drop off their children outside of designated areas — including in the middle of intersections.
WATCH BELOW: Parent flags safety concerns at North Palm Beach school drop-off
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"They should follow the rules and go through the car line, which is right over here. Just takes an extra minute or two to drop your kids off safely instead of dropping your kids off in the middle of the intersection and causing a lot of anxiety," Cawley said.
During the first week of school, the scene played out as Cawley had described, with parents spotted leaving the car line and dropping off children in undesignated spots, keeping crossing guards busy.
"I get it, we all have busy lives, but we have to make sure the kids are safe," Cawley said.
Cawley said his concern stems from what he witnesses in his work as a first responder.
"And I would really hate to see that happening in our own backyard," Cawley said.
The village of North Palm Beach contracts with a third-party staffing company, NEXTAFF, for its crossing guards. The police department budgets just over $97,000 for the guards and works with the provider and the school district to make safety adjustments as needed.
The village also said flexibility in crossing guard placement is important. During a construction project last year, the village spent an additional $6,000 to station a crossing guard at the U.S. Highway 1 and Northlake intersection.
We want to be your voice and help you find solutions.
While we hold our monthly Let's Hear It meet-ups, we know many are not able to attend, but we still want to hear from you and start taking action to get you answers. You can e-mail us at LetsHearIt@wptv.com.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
