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The Dunne Dispatch (School Safety Edition, Part 2) - September 14, 2026
Friends and Neighbors,
Over the past week, many of you have written, called, and stopped me at school events to talk about the safety of our students as they navigate to and from school. I have heard from Mount Vernon HS parents about close calls at unguarded crossings, neighbors who have watched cars race down streets during football games, and families from across the district worried about the safety of their kids after a child was killed biking home from Frost Middle School recently.
Along with my colleagues on the School Board, Ryan McElveen (At Large) and Ilryong Moon (At Large), I am calling for the Commonwealth and the County, in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT), to prioritize student safety. At a minimum, we need a crossing guard at every school with dangerous traffic conditions, including Mount Vernon HS. In addition, we need to adopt a “Vision Zero” plan and conduct a countywide crosswalk audit to identify and implement potential improvements to crosswalk and school zone signage and signals.
Decisions regarding speed limits, traffic signage, and roadway improvements are governed by VDOT and FCDOT. The School Board and FCPS rely on these agencies to deliver the pedestrian and traffic infrastructure necessary to protect our children during their daily commutes. However, VDOT and FCDOT are not prioritizing student safety. Last year, FCPS invited VDOT and FCDOT to participate in 16 pedestrian and traffic safety assessments, but they declined.
The Board of Supervisors also voted to eliminate crossing guards for high schools to save $800,000. This budget decision unnecessarily endangered vulnerable students who confront distracted and dangerous drivers on their way to school. After a student was hit by a car at South Lakes HS on September 1, the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) temporarily restored crossing guards to 10 high schools — Annandale HS, Centreville HS, Chantilly HS, Edison HS, McLean HS, Oakton HS, South County HS, South Lakes HS, West Springfield HS, and West Potomac HS. However, FCPD is not providing (and does not plan to provide) crossing guards at multiple high schools, including Mount Vernon HS. It is unacceptable for FCPD to leave thousands of high school students unprotected from dangerous traffic conditions.
A Near Miss Report released this week by Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets found 129 near-miss reports submitted across Fairfax County over 18 months. Of the 129 incidents, 54% involved near misses of children, and 73% were flagged as recurring dangers at the same location. At least 15 pedestrian fatalities have occurred in Fairfax County so far this year, including the September 9 death of a 13-year-old Frost Middle School student who was struck and killed while riding his bike home from school — the same day two additional FCPS students, one on a bike and one on a scooter, were also struck by vehicles.
In light of recent student deaths and injuries, it is necessary to adopt a new approach to ensure the safety of our students. I, along with Mr. McElveen and Mr. Moon are calling on Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and the Fairfax County School Board to:
- Adopt a Vision Zero plan to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries;
- Provide crossing guards at every school crosswalk where dangerous traffic conditions exist;
- Conduct a comprehensive audit of every school crosswalk and school zone in Fairfax County to ensure consistent signage and signals, including flashing beacons to warn drivers to slow down;
- Install traffic calming measures at every school crosswalk, paid for by new funding sources if necessary;
- Deploy additional speed cameras and install new cameras to ticket drivers for failing to yield to pedestrians in school crosswalks or come to a complete stop at stop signs in school zones;
- Add stop-arm cameras on every school bus to identify drivers who endanger students by driving around the school bus when it is stopped for students as they board or disembark;
- Strengthen and expand the existing Safe Routes to School program by increasing personnel and resources; and
- Establish a safety hotline for reporting dangerous conditions, with tracking to ensure requests are promptly resolved.
We must do everything within our power to protect our students during their daily commutes. We must act now to prevent further injuries and deaths.
Very Respectfully,
 Mateo Dunne, Mount Vernon District Representative
The views contained within this newsletter reflect the views of the individual school board member who is the publisher of this newsletter and may not reflect the views of the Fairfax County School Board.
© Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia
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