Councillors have warned lollipop men and women are an “essential service” that should not be considered as part of a plan to save £35million.
Staffordshire County Council is proposing a review of the school crossing patrol service with a view to the posts being community-funded.
It is part of a raft of measures being looked at to bridge the funding gap caused by a reduction in the money received from the Government.
But Labour councillors in Burntwood say the county council must not put the safety of young people at risk.
Cllr Rob Birch, from Burntwood Town Council, said: “We understand that the continuing cuts to funding from Government mean that there is less money to spend on public services – but the removal of school crossing patrols is a step too far.
“This service is not an optional extra but an essential service that ensures the safety of our children and grandchildren as they journey to and from school. The loss or serious injury of a child in a road traffic collision is unthinkable, but this is a very real possibility as a result of these cuts.”
The first ever school crossing guard appeared in the UK in 1937, with a wider rollout across the uk in the 1950s and 60s.
Cllr Birch believes the role of lollipop men and women is more necessary than ever.
“The increase in road traffic over recent years cannot have gone unnoticed by anyone on the council and as traffic increases so does the risk of collisions on the roads,” he said.
“At the last meeting of the council we heard from the Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership on the importance of the Community Speedwatch groups around Burntwood. The police and local community are recognising the increasing dangers on our roads and sponsoring such groups at the same time as the county council are removing an essential road safety service.
“We do not believe that it is right to sit by and let these cuts take place, which see the children in Burntwood being put at risk.”
The Labour group is now calling on Burntwood Town Council to lobby Staffordshire County Council in a bid to ensure funding for the service is not cut.
“Should such representations be unsuccessful, Burntwood Town Council should make funds available and steps in to fund this essential service to our local community,” Cllr Birch said.
Cllr Philip Atkins, leader of Staffordshire County Council, said the authority was facing “difficult decisions” as it seeks to balance the books.
“We have to deal with a most pressing financial challenge of how we can continue to meet the increasing costs of adult social care and children’s care with less money year on year,” he explained.
“We have already reduced our own running costs by £240million in the last nine years, and the reality is that without urgent additional national funding, we face some extremely difficult decisions in order to meet our legal duty to deliver a balanced budget next year.
“Our proposals mean we will still do more to support Staffordshire people than we are legally obliged to, but we want to be honest and open with people about the reality we may all face if the level of funding we need is not achieved.”
