Multiple employees of the company contracted to handle the City of Dallas’ school crossing guard program are raising concerns about the company’s screening process in the city.
“I was hired on the spot for the job, I got everything the same day,” Stephania Woods, a crossing guard said.
Woods says she was hired by California based “All City Management Services” on August 15 , which took over the job of hiring and managing crossing guards in Dallas from the now defunct “Dallas County Schools.” One week after being hired, Woods says she was working in front of Zumwalt Middle School without completing a drug test and not knowing if her background check was complete.
“These are our kids that we are out here working with every day, so they should have done that first,” Woods said.
The City of Dallas says their contract with ACMS, agreed to on August 1, requires: “Background checks and drug/alcohol testing must be performed on all crossing guard employees prior to starting work,” a city spokeswoman told NBC 5 via email.
Antonio Tolefree, a then supervisor for ACMS, said he’s also concerned, alleging it’s not uncommon to hire and put crossing guards on the street the same day.
“I myself have resentment and remorse about it, it’s tough for me to think that this is what’s happening, that’s why I thought it was important to speak out when I couldn’t get answers from my management or the company itself,” Tolefree said.
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ACMS told NBC 5 over the phone that Tolefree’s allegations are false and that all crossing guards in Dallas have been background checked. The company says Tolefree, who was recently demoted, is attempting to retaliate. Over the last week, NBC 5 has attempted to get answers to multiple follow up questions from ACMS, including whether or not crossing guards are being drug tested in Dallas, but so far has received no response.
In addition to Woods, four other crossing guards speaking on a condition anonymity, told NBC 5 they too have not been drug tested and are unsure about their background checks.
Woods says she is especially concerned about the company’s background check procedure considering she has felony arrest history, which according to the City of Dallas contract with ACMS, should have precluded her form being a crossing guard.
“I have a background, it’s over 15-years old. At this kind of job you would want to know why I’ve did what I’ve done,” Woods said.
A City of Dallas spokeswoman said the contract with ACMS says: “Any guard with a felony arrest history, misdemeanor arrest history involving moral turpitude, or listed as a sexual predator or offender shall not be assigned as a crossing guard for the City of Dallas without the express written consent of the City of Dallas Chief of Police.”
Woods says she has not received the “express written consent” of Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall and ACMS has not yet responded to NBC 5’s inquiry regarding whether any current crossing guards have received any such exemption.
In response to NBC 5’s questions about the crossing guard program in recent days, the City of Dallas issued the following statement.
“To ensure that all crossing guards hired by ACMS meet the requirements for the job, the City has requested that ACMS provide documentation of completed background checks and drug/alcohol testing for all crossing guards hired to date. The City has the right to request this information per the contract. If any discrepancies are identified, then the company must terminate such employees who failed to meet the hiring process per the contract requirements.”
ACMS does contract with and handle crossing guard duties for other North Texas cities but NBC 5 has not looked into background check and drug test statuses outside of Dallas.
