Pubdate: Sat, 18 Apr 2009 Source: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) Copyright: 2009 The Daily Herald Company Contact: http://www.dailyherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/107 Author: Robert Sanchez Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.) WHEATON ENDS DARE PROGRAM TO PUT MORE COPS ON STREET Two years after scaling back Wheaton's DARE program, city leaders are poised to eliminate the drug and alcohol prevention program. As part of the 2009-10 budget the city council is expected to approve Monday, all funding for DARE - Drug Abuse Resistance Education - will be stopped. If that change is approved, the Wheaton police officer who teaches the DARE curriculum in local elementary classrooms will be reassigned to patrol duties. "The general consensus of the council is that it's desirable to have a police presence in the schools in some form, whether it's DARE or some other way," City Manager Don Rose said. "But the economic times are such that that's something difficult to support financially." On Friday, Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 officials said teachers will continue to deliver the drug education message to their fifth-grade students. The district is voicing no opposition to pulling the DARE officer out of the schools. Ultimately, District 200 officials said they understand Wheaton has other budgetary needs it must address. After projecting a $4 million shortfall in next year's budget, city officials increased Wheaton's sales tax and trimmed $3 million in expenses, including cutting 17 full-time jobs. The spending plan slated for approval Monday calls for a $34.9 million general fund that is balenced. That fund will pay for salaries and operating expenses during the 2009-10 fiscal year. Councilman Liz Corry said the decision to eliminate DARE was inevitable. The program was scaled back a couple years ago. At one time, the city had several officers teaching DARE in both the elementary and middle schools. "It's just something we have to let go," Corry said. "This is only the beginning of the tough decisions we're going to have to make. We are already projecting deficits similar to what we see this year for next year." While there have been some questions raised about the effectiveness of the DARE program, Deputy Police Chief Tom Meloni stressed that's not what motivated this proposal to eliminate funding. "It's got nothing to do with DARE," he said. "It's about putting police officers where there's the most immediate need." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake