When I heard that 15-year-old Camden White was hit and killed in front of Brandon High School Dec. 4, I wanted to know the road rules that apply to school zones.
Sheriff’s reports state that westbound traffic had stopped to allow White to use a marked crosswalk to cross Victoria Street where it intersects with Meade Road. But Kami Bell, 22, of Valrico, struck him while he was crossing the eastbound lane. The report says she hit him hard enough to knock him onto the windshield of another vehicle, driven by Carmen Fraytes, 50, of Brandon.
Two questions immediately formed in my mind: what are the marked speed limits in school zones and why was there no crossing guard on duty at the designated crosswalk?
I set about making a series of calls and found out some interesting things some of you might want to know.
School board officials directed me to the sheriff’s office. I then realized I should have started there, because many school crossing guards wear orange “Sheriff’s Office” vests.
Between Cpl. Mark Clark, traffic specialist at Hillsborough County’s District 4 station in Ruskin, and Deputy Robin Saulnier, the sheriff’s office crossing guard coordinator, I was able to get all the answers to my questions, and more.
The county has a total of 245 guard positions, 15 of which are currently open. Only two of those are in South Shore.
That surprised me because there’s a 200-plus bus driver shortage, and 29 of those were in South Shore, when school began in August. Additionally, the problems with keeping bus drivers and crossing guards would seem to be similar: less than $10 an hour pay and only a few hours a day of work. Obviously, however, they’re not, because there are so few unfilled crossing guard positions. Unlike bus drivers, the crossing guards are on the sheriff’s office payroll.
Since middle and high schools in Hillsborough County do not have crossing guards, only South Shore’s 14 elementary schools are assigned them; with working hours between 7:10 and 8:25 a.m. and 2 and 2:45 p.m.
The upside of the job is that people with other jobs, either full-time (hours permitting) or part time, can pick up a little extra cash filling these positions. The criteria states only that the guards be age 18 or older, speak English (since most of the county’s students speak English) and have no felony convictions.
The downside is that it is not easy to keep people for so few hours at so little pay, and Saulnier says she expects to lose some right after the holidays.
Right now, guards are needed in South Shore at Thomas P. Corr Elementary School, 13020 Kings Lake Drive (off Big Bend Road) in Gibsonton, and at Riverview Elementary School, 10809 Hannaway Drive, one block east of U.S. 301.
Anyone who fits the bill and wants to apply may call Saulnier at the sheriff’s Crime Prevention Unit, 247-0927.
Since there are no crossing guards at middle or high school levels, that brings us to school zone speeds.
The Florida Driver’s Handbook says the approaches to school zones are marked by a five-sided yellow sign with pictures of a child and an adult. If the sign just has the two figures, it means it is a school zone warning. If it has the two figures between two lines, it means it is a school crossing.
Then there are the “Children Crossing” signs, which post a 20 mph speed limit, and sometimes even less, near the schools.
Saulnier says the county is trying to put flashing signs at the beginning of all elementary school zones but there is a long list; many still do not have them. These flashers are not required by the state but are being used by Hillsborough County as an added precaution, she said.
So if you see any of these signs, or you know you are approaching a school, just slow down. Put down your cell phone, coffee or whatever else you’ve got in your hands. Slow down and look in all directions. Lowering the radio and listening helps too.
Schools have enough problems keeping kids safe these days without speeders zipping through the slow-down zones while students are going to and from school.
Let’s not have another incident like the one that killed Camden White.
u People with questions and concerns about roads and traffic in South Shore may write me at 3032 College Ave., Ruskin, FL 33570 or e-mail .

Penny Fletcher is the editor of The Sun, a a TBO.com and Tampa Tribune affiliate.