Village and district officials have reached an agreement to split all costs in providing crossing guards for Westchester Public School District 92 1/2.

The Village and School boards both unanimously approved the intergovernmental agreement last week, ending a three-month negotiation process. Budget constraints had previously forced the village to discontinue providing full support for crossing guards, Trustee Neil Boyle said.

“We were paying $12,000 a year for crossing guards,” he said. “And that just wasn’t possible anymore.”

The agreement means the village and district will evenly split the cost, which is estimated to be between $11,000 and $12,000 per year. The two crossing guards will be district employees trained by the Police Department.

Finance Director David Hill said the district will pay the costs up front and then bill the village once per year. The district and village will also split the cost of guard services provided thus far in the school year, which the district has been paying for.

The crossing guards will work two half-hour shifts for the morning arrival and afternoon dismissal times at the corner of Fleet Street and Kensington Avenue for the primary school and at Hasse Avenue and Canterbury Street for the intermediate school.

The village had been providing crossing guards for more than 10 years before cutting the service for 2008-09 school year. Although Hill immediately budgeted for the decrease in funding, the district sought help from the district earlier this year.

Congestion at the two intersections prompted the district to ask the Police Department to provide officers as crossing guards in the area, but the village told the district it could not take officers away from their regular patrol duties. The Police Department has five officers on duty at any given time and taking two away for crossing guard duties could pose a safety issue. The alternative would have been to pay off-duty officer overtime to act as crossing guards, which would have sent the village over budget.

Village and district officials then began negotiations on splitting the costs and eventually decided on the intergovernmental agreement. Hill said the village is also in the process of installing solar-powered, flashing stop signs to help draw attention to the area.

“I do think most people are cognizant of the children,” Hill said. “Although it is congested, the majority of people in that area are parents.”