DRUG PROGRAMS MAY BE SQUEEZED OUT

A federal budget squeeze could choke off the money behind school programs
that tackle issues such as violence, bullying, and alcohol and drug abuse.

Dollars for the Safe and Drug Free Schools initiative could dry up in 2006
under President George Bush's proposed budget. The recommendation is
drawing protests from Ohio education and social service officials, who say
state and local dollars won't be available to continue the services. The
president's spending plan eliminates $437 million now distributed
nationally through Safe and Drug Free Schools, the backbone of school-based
substance abuse prevention and intervention efforts. Ohio schools receive
more than $13 million, while the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug
Addiction Services gets about $3.2 million for youth programs. The money
brings to life myriad programs that touch all of Ohio's 1.8 million
students in some way, says Staci Kelts of the Ohio Department of Education.
Kelts helps oversee Ohio's use of the dollars, which flow to every district
in the state.

Cleveland schools received $932,000 this year, which went to run acclaimed
empowerment and prevention programs such as Girl Power. Akron took in
nearly $340,000 and Lorain $149,000. Many smaller districts collect only a
few thousand dollars a year.

Programs financed with the money help create an environment conducive to
learning, Kelts said. Unless the money is restored in the federal budget,
most of these programs would disappear by the 2006-2007 school year. Money
for next school year is assured by this year's federal budget. "If students
are worried about their safety, or if they've got a substance abuse
problem, they're not going to achieve," Kelts said. "These issues need to
be addressed, and they won't be without this money." But federal officials
say they're not convinced the nation is getting a good return on its
investment.

The White House Office of Management and Budget rated the Safe and Drug
Free Schools grant program ineffective and called it "fundamentally
flawed," according to a 2004 report. Dollars are spread too thin to make a
measurable impact, said Deborah Price, who helps oversee the program for
the U.S. Department of Education.

The president's budget recommends reducing the program to target specific
communities. Agencies and school districts will compete for $87.5 million
in discretionary grants instead of automatically receiving money. "The
dollars are smaller, but they can - in our mind - bring more results,"
Price says.

That logic is flawed, says Donna Conley, chief executive officer of the
Ohio Citizen Advocates for Chemical Dependency Prevention and Treatment.
She predicted an increase in use of drugs and alcohol among youth if the
program gets gutted.

"The problems are everywhere, and everywhere needs a program in place,"
Conley says. "You can't do more with less."

The federal budget remains a work in progress. State and local officials
said they plan to lobby their legislators to restore the money.