PRESENT RESCUES PORTLAND DARE

PORTLAND -- Just when the superintendent of schools thought he had
only two options -- both costly -- to fund a drug and alcohol
prevention program for fifth graders, a generous donation has eased
his concerns.

The Saint Clements Foundation donated $5,000 to continue the recently
cut Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. "The donation from [the
foundation] is very timely and very much appreciated," Superintendent
of Schools Joseph Castagnola said Thursday.

First Selectman Edward Kalinowski said Edward Doherty, chairman of
the foundation's board, was shocked the Board of Selectmen had voted
5-2 to cut the funding for the DARE program.

"After hosting this year's DARE graduation ceremonies, we feel this
is, indeed, unfortunate for the children," Doherty said in a letter
to Kalinowski.

Doherty was unavailable for comment Thursday.

This year's fifth-graders had in June what might have been the last
DARE graduation at Saint Clements Castle, the banquet hall on Route
66.

"I had so many kids and parents calling me that were really, truly
upset," Kalinowski said.

Selectman Howard Rosenbaum said the decision to cut the funding was
not to slight education. But, he said, the selectmen were scrambling
for funds and several news articles had confirmed his belief that the
program was not very effective.

"We were in a budget crunch," Rosenbaum said. "We were looking ..to
get money especially for education, and we did add $220,000."

Rosenbaum said studies show the program is ineffective and may even
encourage drug use.

"When you have a program that emotionally is very -- but when you
look at the facts, and many people would rather not look at the facts
- -- it has been shown to be very ineffective," Rosenbaum said.
"There's no substantive study that shows that the DARE program avoids
drug use in those grades in the later years."

However, others, such as John Sieller, the former principal at the
Gildersleeve School, disagree.

"Although DARE's impact is not easily measurable, we feel it has a
significant, positive effect on our students' attitudes concerning
substance abuse," Sieller said in a letter to Doherty. "DARE also
provides an unparalleled opportunity for the children to develop
comfortable and trusting relationships with our local police, and
these relationships become increasingly important as they enter their
teens."

DARE is a 17-week program that teaches kids to say no to drugs and
avoid peer pressure. It also provides students with alternatives to
drug use, according to the DARE World Wide Web page.