HOWELL SCHOOLS TO LOSE DARE

City Says It Can't Afford $80K Anti-Drug Project, Which The District
Ceased Helping Fund A Year Ago

HOWELL -- For more than a decade, students at Howell Public Schools
have learned about resisting drugs and alcohol through the
community's Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.

That tradition is likely to end next school year because of budget
cuts at both the school district and city of Howell.

"We're not in a position to fund an officer at this time," said
Howell City Manager Shea Charles.

Other communities across Metro Detroit have also dropped DARE
programs. Royal Oak, Rochester and Ann Arbor use police liaison
officers to teach lessons similar to DARE programs.

The Howell DARE program, run through the city police department
since 1995, teaches young students about the dangers of drugs and
fosters better relations with police. More than 1,000 fifth- and
seventh-grade students in Howell Schools normally participate in the
program each semester. However, shrinking budgets have threatened
the future of the program in recent years.

Howell Schools last year eliminated its share of the funding for the
program -- $40,000 -- because of budget constraints. Howell Schools
Associate Superintendent for Finance Rick Terres said the school
district can't afford to support the program this year, either.

In the past, Howell Schools and the city of Howell have split the
$80,000 to fund a full-time DARE officer.

The city rescued the program last year, picking up the entire tab
for the program. The Howell City Council praised DARE last year, but
members said they didn't want to fully fund a program that mostly
benefited students who live outside the city. About 16 percent of
students at Howell Public Schools are city residents.

The city planned to try to find other funding sources, such as
asking townships in the school district to pitch in or organizing
fundraisers. None of those options panned out.

The school district extends into parts of seven townships. Most of
it is composed of the city and its four surrounding townships:
Howell, Oceola, Genoa and Marion. City Manager Charles said the
townships didn't want to share the costs.

DARE now exists in two of Livingston County's five main school
districts -- Hartland and Fowlerville. Pinckney Community Schools
ended its program last year because of budget limits.

"It all gets down to money," said Livingston County Sheriff Bob
Bezotte. "Everybody is trying to be fiscally responsible. (DARE) is
one of the places they look first when making cuts."

Brighton Area Schools operates a program called Teaching Educating
And Mentoring, which has similar lessons to DARE. A school liaison
officer interacts with students at all levels. That officer teaches
the students everything from what to do if they find a gun to
explaining Miranda rights.

"It curtails to all levels," said Michael Mitchell, the Teaching
Educating And Mentoring liaison officer for Brighton Schools. "It
has an elementary, middle school and high school curriculum."

Sheriff Bezotte defends the DARE program. He makes room in his
department's budget for a full-time DARE officer, who he said are
important because they focus their interaction with elementary and
middle school students while liaison officers are usually assigned
to a high school.

"It helps to have these kids see a police officer in a positive,
especially when they're young," Bezotte said. "Other times they
might only see a police officer when mom and dad are fighting and
the police are called. That kid could see dad or mom arrested by
those police officers. That could leave a bitter taste in his mouth."