Pubdate: Tue, 13 Mar 2007
Source: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)
Copyright: 2007 The Daily Herald Company
Contact:  http://www.dailyherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/107
Author: James Fuller
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

WHEATON PARENTS TO FIGHT LOSS OF DARE

It's not uncommon for Annette Corrigan's children to inform her of 
the lessons they learn at school about avoiding drugs, drinking and smoking.

And it's always given her comfort knowing these lessons came straight 
from local police.

That comforting reality is threatened by a Wheaton budget proposal to 
eliminate DARE officers from local schools.

And that's prompted a lot of concern and questions among Corrigan and 
other parents at both public and private schools in Wheaton.

A pending city budget proposal would reassign the two DARE, or Drug 
Abuse Resistance Education, program officers to other enforcement 
duties. The police force would gain an additional shift commander, an 
additional detective and a new, full-time crime prevention and crime 
analysis officer.

In exchange, the elementary and middle schools would get a police 
liaison officer. The duties of that officer are yet to be determined, 
but City Manager Don Rose said there's no intention to have that 
officer deliver the DARE curriculum.

St. Michael Elementary School already is passing a petition in hopes 
of persuading the city to keep DARE. Wheaton Warrenville Unit 
District 200 is considering ways to address the loss.

District spokeswoman Denie Young said concerned parents have flooded 
the district with e-mails about the loss. She's reassuring all 
parents that the essential lessons of DARE are already part of the 
regular health curriculum.

"We know the students have enjoyed it and we would be sorry to see a 
good program go," she said. "However, it is an important topic and we 
would find other ways to deliver that information to our students."

Corrigan said the lessons just won't have the same impact without the 
police presence. She has children at both St. Michael and in District 200.

Corrigan fears the only contact students will have with local police 
now is if they are in trouble. It's not the first time she's taken 
issue with police presence. She criticized the size of the police 
force last year during a string of burglaries in her neighborhood.

"This move just goes back to the same old question from a year ago," 
Corrigan said. "The police budget can't afford two new officers, so 
they're taking away from DARE. We pay a lot of money to live here. 
Why should we have to go without the DARE program?"

Corrigan and others plan to show up in support of keeping the DARE 
program at Monday's public hearing on the proposed city budget, which 
begins at 7 p.m. at city hall.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman