photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

A crossing guard helps students and their families safely cross the street at the intersection of 19th and Vermont streets outside Cordley Elementary School following the first day of the new school year Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023.

Two weeks after Lawrence students returned to classrooms for the new school year, the City of Lawrence has announced that it’s nearly done filling more than half a dozen vacant crossing guard positions.

As the Journal-World reported, eight crossing guard positions were vacant, affecting six Lawrence schools, as of Aug. 17, the first day of school. By Aug. 21, the city had announced it was in the hiring process for five of those positions, with another having been hired.

On Friday morning, the city in a newsletter announced that all but one of the crossing guard positions were filled. A candidate for that remaining position is in the hiring process and should start training soon, the city said, and at that point the roles will all be fully staffed for the school year.

“We appreciate the community interest and support in filling these positions, and we recognize the vital role they play in the safety of our neighborhoods,” the newsletter reads.

The city didn’t indicate which of the positions specifically still needs to be filled. As of two weeks ago there weren’t any crossing guards at all assigned to Hillcrest Elementary School. And as the Journal-World reported, on the first day of school Cordley Elementary School’s principal and a school board member, Carole Cadue-Blackwood, were both acting as crossing guards at the intersection of 23rd and Louisiana streets to fill the gaps.

Other vacancies affected Schwegler Elementary School, Billy Mills Middle School, Sunflower Elementary School and Langston Hughes Elementary School.