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SCHENECTADY COUNTY
Schools drop DARE program
Loss of funding, police staffing levels cited
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

   Costs and police staffing shortages have prompted the Schenectady and Niskayuna school districts to end their DARE anti-drug programs, a decision that refl ects a statewide trend.
   DARE, which has been around since 1983, stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education and instructs students about the dangers of drugs and gives them tools to resist peer pressures. About 75 percent of the nation’s school districts use the program. Loss of grant funding and personnel changes have resulted in Schenectady and Niskayuna schools dropping the DARE program, but they are continuing drug education with a different method. Scotia-Glenville and Schalmont schools still offer DARE.
   Only 170 communities in the state are using the DARE program — down from 400 at the height of the program. John Caher, director of public information for the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, said there are multiple reasons for the decline.
   “A lot of school districts and law enforcement agencies are facing budget crunches. Since DARE is a team effort with school and law enforcement, a shortfall in either can jeopardize that,” he said. “A lot of law enforcement agencies are operating at short staff at the moment and road patrol continues to be a priority.”
   Schenectady’s DARE program ended last June. Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett reassigned school resource officers and the DARE officer, citing a need to have more officers on the street. The 160-member department is currently understaffed by about 10 positions. The department kept one school resource officer for the three middle schools and two officers for the high school.
   Moreover, the program ran out of money. Police department spokesman Lt. Brian Kilcullen said the program cost about $70,000 to pay for a police officer and associated fringe benefits. It was funded through the federal Community Development Block Grant.
   Richard Purga, acting director of development for Schenectady, said the DARE program received $79,710 in CDBG money in 2005 — the last year it was funded. In 2006, the city cut funding because the federal government reduced the total CDBG amount the city received by about 10 percent. However, the DARE board was able to keep going for another year.
   “The DARE advisory board had approximately $40,000 in their coffers and applied it to keep the program going for one more year, which expired last June,” Assistant Police Chief Jack Falvo said.
   He said the school district has applied for grant funds that would substitute for the DARE program, but that is pending.
   Kilcullen said the former DARE officer, Kenneth Figueroa, is currently assigned to the middle schools as the resource officer. While his previous position was a full-time instructional job, Kilcullen said, Figueroa is now doing instruction as requested about types of drugs and their signs and symptoms. It is part of the health curriculum.
   “He is also a drug recognition expert so he is pretty well versed in the effects that drugs have on one’s body,” he said.
   Schenectady City School District spokeswoman Karen Corona said not all of the elementary schools were using the DARE program anyway. These schools were using a set health curriculum that covers topics such as smoking, drugs and alcohol. Now, all the students are using this program.
   “They work it into their themes throughout the year,” Corona said.
   Julia Holcomb, former member of the now-disbanded Schenectady DARE board, said it is disappointing the city can no longer offer DARE.
   “I think the city should always have something for its youth, especially in this area because [drug abuse is] so prevalent,” she said.
   Holcomb said before the program ended, it spent about $7,000 in proceeds from car wash and haunted house fundraisers on programs and materials like instructional videos about drug prevention, bullying and staying healthy. They also got some information from the state health department about the dangers of such drugs as steroids.
   In Niskayuna, the school board in October voted to bring back a retired DARE officer, Gary Connor, to teach drug education at a cost of roughly $10,000. The new program is not exactly DARE but is targeted at fifth-graders and incorporates many of the same elements. DARE ended because of a flap with the police union, which had wanted assurances from town officials about the program’s future.
   Scotia-Glenville School District spokesman Bob Hanlon said the schools have a DARE program at the elementary level either run by the Scotia or Glenville police departments. However, Hanlon said one issue is that all the schools are lacking school resource officers. A few years back, some Glenville police officers retired and they were not replaced. Hanlon said Superintendent of Schools Susan Swartz has said she would like to bring back those officers, but the town has been trimming its budget.
   “A lot of this depends on police manpower and availability,” he said.
   In Rotterdam, the Schalmont School District has been using a revised DARE program for three years. Drug education had been taught by the school resource officer but that position was cut in 2004 because of a lack of funding. The Schalmont Board of Education voted in 2005 to restore the DARE program.
   “We really felt that the kids needed a connection with something more formalized,” said Shari Lontrato, principal of Woestina Elementary School,
   DARE will start this year’s 11-week program next week in Woestina and Mariaville and be at Jefferson in March. DARE Officer Patty Mahar will visit the schools on two separate days for sessions.

  
  
  

Good thing Schenectady City Schools aren't worrying about the kids learning more about drugs.  Do they figure that they know enough already?  Some of them could probably teach the course, instead.

I wouldn't worry about the kids.....I work with some folk whose kids are in the city school system---pretty scary.....I wasn't in the city but the "cool" teachers/parents did just as much damage......

I would think that there are many in law enforcement that are retired and could donate their time to the DARE program if they felt it was that important.