Parent volunteers in bright orange vests have been helping students cross safely at Arbor View High School since 18-year-old McKenzie Scott was fatally struck by an alleged drunk driver in May. The group has become a regular presence at the campus, stepping in to protect students while calling for stronger safety measures.
Their efforts led to the Las Vegas City Council approving $415,000 in additional funding to its $2.8 million crossing guard budget for 2025-2026, as per KTNV. The expansion will provide guards at all 16 middle schools under city jurisdiction and three high schools—Arbor View, Cimarron-Memorial, and Palo Verde—marking the city’s largest school safety investment in years.
Parent Power Drives Change
"A group of moms came together after poor McKenzie, and we came back with full force and power, and the city listened to us," said parent volunteer Ashley Brewer, according to Coyote Country LV. Brewer's own son was injured in a traffic incident near the school weeks before Scott's death.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that crashes involving students near schools during school hours have gone up in Las Vegas during the 2024-25 school year. Crashes near elementary schools rose 50 percent, from six to nine.
Warning Signs Ignored
Scott’s death is especially tragic because safety concerns had been raised before the accident. An email from the Clark County School District showed a City of Las Vegas employee had warned the district months earlier about potential dangers at the crosswalk where Scott was killed.
"Could you please have your team follow up on complaints we've received about speeding in front of Arbor View High School?" the email read, as detailed by FOX5 Vegas. "We are particularly concerned about the mid-block crosswalk on Buffalo Drive, North of Whispering Sands Drive, directly in front of the school, where there have been reports of near misses involving pedestrians."
Data Supports Expansion
The city’s decision follows a drop in student-involved crashes at middle schools. Clark County saw incidents fall 64 percent last school year, from 14 in 2023-24 to five in 2024-25, after adding crossing guards, as mentioned by Las Vegas Review-Journal. Las Vegas's own pilot program placing two crossing guards at Cimarron High School and one at Gibson Middle School showed zero crashes during school drop-off and pickup times from November 2024 through the end of the school year, as stated by FOX5 Vegas.
From Grief to Action
The tragedy led Arbor View parents to create Walk Safely LV, a non-profit advocating for road safety near schools. The group is lobbying for a new crosswalk near Whispering Sands at Arbor View High School. Tiffany Reynolds, McKenzie Scott’s mother, said at a recent community gathering, "I actually haven't been able to leave my house for months. I didn't want to come out here today and look at this crosswalk, but I decided to come because it's important to show up for McKenzie, for our Arbor View family and for the community that we love," as noted by FOX5 Vegas.
Implementation Timeline
The funding for crossing guards in Las Vegas is approved, but guards will not be in place at the start of the school year. The city will hire new guards gradually, prioritizing middle schools in the most dangerous traffic areas. The expansion makes Las Vegas one of the few U.S. cities to provide crossing guards at high schools.
