MONEY FOR SAFE, DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS IN PERIL

After spending 10 years working to stem violence and drug use among Durham
Public Schools students, Jennifer Snyder has no intention of looking for
another job next year. That was the message that she and about 40 other
educators from across the state gave U.S. Rep. David Price on Monday. They
want him to share it with his colleagues on the House Appropriations
Committee when he returns to Washington to debate next year's federal budget.

After years of lagging membership, the N.C. Association of Student
Assistance Professionals is galvanizing against a proposal in President
Bush's budget that would eliminate state funding for Safe and Drug-Free
Schools programming. They asked Price to meet with them Monday at the
Durham schools' staff development center on Hillandale Road.

Bush's budget recommends getting rid of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools
state grants, which sent $437 million to 97 percent of the nation's school
districts. Last year, North Carolina's 117 school districts shared $9.9
million. Bush proposed raising the federal Safe and Drug-Free Schools
programming funds from $235 million to $317 million, cutting the overall
program by half.

Since the mid-1980s, educators across the country have used that money to
run the anti-drug DARE program as well as programs to prevent gang
involvement, drop-outs and bullying. Advocates say the programs are crucial
to improving school climate.

But those programs have faced increasing scrutiny in recent years. Last
year, a government rating tool deemed the program ineffective, saying it
"distributes funds too thinly across eligible grantees, thereby preventing
the use of high quality, proven reforms."

C. Todd Jones, associate deputy secretary for budget for the U.S.
Department of Education, said that under a federal formula, more than 60
percent of the nation's districts receive $10,000 or less of the state grants.

"If you give a district less than $10,000, you cannot conduct a program
that is comprehensive and integrated in a way that can make a difference,"
he said.

Bush's proposal would send enough federal money to make a difference in the
neediest districts, Jones said.

But North Carolina's educators have joined school leaders across the nation
as well as some members of Congress in criticizing the cut.

"If you consider the crisis and the epidemic we are facing, then we need
all the help we can get," Snyder said. "If you balance what you read in the
newspaper every single day about kids dropping out, kids joining gangs,
kids using drugs ... it seems like our programs provide answers to the
dilemmas we deal with every day."

Snyder is the alcohol, tobacco and other drugs specialist for Durham Public
Schools. The federal program pays for her salary and an additional 1 1/2
positions in Durham. Snyder said the evaluation that labeled it ineffective
was unfair. It's the federal government's fault that the money is spread so
thin, she said, so it's wrong to penalize the states.

Smaller districts said they will be at a disadvantage, because they have
less know-how and staff to compete for grants and may appear to have less
of a need, said Debbie Marshall, the Safe and Drug Free Schools coordinator
for Watauga County.

This is "going to penalize schools that have low rates of violence [because
of] the good programming we've implemented throughout the years," she told
Price.

In Chatham County, a large portion of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools money
funds a social worker who helps 275 students whose family members abuse
drugs or alcohol.

"Without that position, none of those students would get early
intervention." said George Greger-Holt, student assistance coordinator for
Chatham County Schools.

Price said Bush should try to improve the program, not gut it. He said that
colleagues in Congress from both parties support the state grants and that
the Senate will likely find some money for it. But he said educators should
expect some heavy cuts.

"When a blow like this comes, it's hard to totally avoid damage," Price
said. "Don't assume your good works speak for themselves; you have to
advocate."

Snyder said her association will take that advice to heart: Local delegates
should expect to get plenty of calls and letters.