15-05-2025
Beloved Tacoma school crossing guard known for her crazy outfits laid off
As streams of children bounded out of Washington Elementary School in Tacoma's North End on Tuesday, 'Miss Peggy' was there to greet them in the cross walk.
For 29 years, 68-year-old Peggy Tonnema has spread joy to kids and parents as the school's vibrant and beloved crossing guard. On Tuesday, she was dressed as Wonder Woman with a long pink wig, red cape, bejeweled pink glasses, glittery blue skirt and hand-puppet gloves as she waved a neon flag and cooed at families crossing the street.
Rain or shine, Tonnema always wears wacky and bright outfits when she, twice a day, guides families across the busy intersection. A visit to her costume closet in the school reveals a floor-to-ceiling collection of bright wigs, funny hats, patterned shirts, accessories, boas, gloves, glasses and Halloween costumes. The outfits were donated to her over the decades by parents, students and complete strangers who recognized her on the street.
As she stood in the middle of the road Tuesday afternoon, cars slowed to call out to her from their windows. Tonnema said some of the drivers were former students she'd watched grow up and bring their own kids to school. She screams at cars that speed past. She calls out to kids and parents by name, teasing them with her bird hand puppets and reminding them of the late start the following day.
Tonnema won't be a crossing guard next school year. Although she works about an hour and a half a day (she also doubles as a school nurse), Tonnema was one of 114 paraeducators who were told their positions would be eliminated in the 2025-2026 school year as the Tacoma Public School District faces a $30 million deficit. Tacoma Public Schools has cited rising costs and insufficient funding from the state as reasons for the cuts.
Although she was offered a chance to reapply for her job as an hourly employee, Tonnema said she won't, to stand with the other paraeducators who are being laid off.
'It's not right,' she said. 'I could stay, but I can't. And that makes me sad.'
The decision comes with immense grief, for both Tonnema and families who have seen her as a community fixture of joy and support over the years.
Tonnema said her outfits have grown more complex over time.
She started wearing bright colors, like a bright yellow cap. Then she found some antennae, and the kids begged her to put them all on at once. People began gifting her more items to add to her collection. A 'We Love Miss Peggy' Facebook page documents many of her outfits, which included recent themes for Cinco De Mayo, a Star Wars-themed May the Fourth, May Day, Earth Day and Wacky Wednesday. Tonnema said the kids have a 'Miss Peggy' dress-up day now.
When asked how it would feel to hang up her hat, Tonnema said, 'devastated.'
According to her termination notice, which she shared with The News Tribune, she was told on May 8 'there would be a change in [her] current position' and her assignment as a 0.2 full-time employee crossing guard 'will conclude at the end of the 2024-2025 school year.'
'Your last authorized workday in this assignment will be Friday, June 20, 2025. After this date, you will be considered displaced and subject to reassignment in accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the District and the Tacoma Federation of Education Support Professionals Local 461. Your reassignment for the 2025–2026 school year will be contingent on your ability to qualify for, interview and be selected for an available position,' said HR director Steven Deaderick. 'Please know that this displacement decision is not a reflection of your work or contributions. We deeply appreciate your commitment to Tacoma Public Schools and your support of Every Student, Every Day. Your efforts have made a meaningful impact on our students' success.'
On Tuesday Tonnema said she wanted to dress as Wonder Woman 'because I wanted to stand for truth, justice and the American way.'
'Our country is based on our children. Our children are going to move away. We have to educate them. We have to teach them properly. And to do that, we have to have staff,' she said. 'The paraeducators are right there on the ground floor making sure that kids get the extra care that they need — and there's plenty of them that need that.'
When her now 34-year-old son attended Washington Elementary in 1996, Tonnema said, every kindergarten had a full-time paraeducator in the classroom. She has been involved in the Parent Teacher Association for decades and has seen cuts to school nurses, librarians, music and art.
'We just keep being outraged and quiet. That's over. I can't do it. I can't. They have to let the city know, let the mayor know, let the whole education [system know],' she said. 'It's time to raise a ruckus. That's what I'm going to do.'
In February when Tonnema's car was stolen, the community raised more than $10,000 on GoFundMe to help her replace it. Behind a pane of glass in a school cabinet are awards Tonnema has received, like the Safe Kids Child Injury Prevention Award in 2018 and the Traffic Safety Superstars Award in 2006. On the wall by her costume closet are thousands of photographs of Tonnema and kids she's helped over the years, in addition to Christmas cards and other messages from families.
'She's a pillar in the community. It would be very different without her,' said Annie Lindgren, who was walking her first grader and infant across the street Tuesday. 'We turn the corner and we are very excited to see what she's wearing every day. She makes everyone smile and feel important. She knows all the kid's names, she knows the siblings' names.'
Lindgren said she lives about six blocks away from the school and thought the district's decision to cut Tonnema's position was 'terrible.'
'We need to figure out a way to keep positions like that for the kids,' she said. 'It's not just keeping us safe, but I think all the paras and everything are really important for our kids and the teachers.'
Parent Will Brown said Tonnema is 'way more than a crossing guard,' going out of her way to help support kids and hand them fun things like Monkeyshines.
'The last place we need to be cutting anything from is education,' Brown said. 'It's like, the most obvious investment you can do [for] the future.'
Uniquely is a series from The News Tribune that covers the moments, landmarks and personalities that define what makes living in Pierce County so special.
