Pubdate: Wed, 22 Sep 2004
Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
Copyright: 2004 St. Paul Pioneer Press
Contact:  http://www.pioneerplanet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/379
Author: John Welbes

SCHOOLS MAKE DO WITH FEWER POLICE

Reduction To Affect DARE Program

There are fewer St. Paul police officers in the public schools this year, 
and a program to deter drug abuse by elementary students left with them.

Although the district has a plan to make sure students are educated about 
ways to resist drugs, finding a way to return the police presence to last 
year's level will be more difficult.

On Tuesday, St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington sat down with the St. 
Paul Board of Education to talk about the changes. Police presence has 
declined from 16 officers to a dozen. The city's seven high schools kept 
their officers, but the other five officers split their time among eight 
middle schools and junior highs, leaving no time for DARE, or Drug Abuse 
Resistance Education, in the elementary schools.

The reduction is part of "the fiscal realities the city has to live with," 
Harrington said. He noted that with the loss of DARE, officers also have 
lost all contact with children at private and charter schools.

This year, the police program in the St. Paul public schools costs the 
district $914,000, with the city paying $100,000 of that total. The city 
and the district previously had split the cost evenly for more than a decade.

"We've shifted to a very minor contribution from the city," said Al 
Oertwig, a board member. And if the district uses its general fund money to 
help pay for police officers in the schools, it has less money to hire 
teachers, he said. Mayor Randy Kelly and the City Council should revisit 
the decision to stop splitting the cost, he added.

To replace DARE, the schools are using a curriculum called "Steps to 
Respect" in 18 of its 48 elementary schools, said Raymond Yu, head of 
student services. There are plans to expand it to all elementary schools in 
the next two years.

Harrington, who is preparing next year's Police Department budget, said the 
force already is stretched thin. He noted that St. Paul has 1.9 officers 
per 1,000 residents, while the average for a city of St. Paul's size is 2.9 
per 1,000. And for a city with St. Paul's crime rate, the average would be 
3.4 officers per 1,000 residents, he said.

But Harrington said that crime rates have fallen since the mid-1990s 
despite the smaller police force. "We're doing more with less and we're 
doing it well," he said. "We're our own worst enemy in that regard."

The board also took a preliminary look at the projected maximum tax levy 
for 2005 that homeowners see in property tax statements. The district 
expects that its levy will be $72.9 million, a decrease of about $900,000 
from this year's level.

While enrollment is projected to fall this year, Finance Director Lois 
Rockney said it's not what's bringing down the projected tax levy. The 
health and safety levy, driven by ongoing projects, is the biggest factor, 
she said. The board is expected to give the levy preliminary approval at 
its meeting Tuesday.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart