EDUCATION - DARE SEEKING BIG JUMP IN FUNDING

The DARE Works Society Asked the Foothills School Division for a 30
Per Cent Bump in Funding at Last Week's Meeting, to Cover Increased
Costs Associated With the Program.

Executive director Laurie McCreary-Burke said DARE is asking each of
its stakeholders for a 30 per cent increase, which also includes the
towns of Okotoks (which gives $7,200 a year), Black Diamond ($2,400),
Turner Valley ($2,400) and High River ($7,200) as well as the
Municipal District of Foothills ($12,000).

The local school board currently allocates $24,000 a year, which
would jump to $31,000 with the increase. The money pays for one,
full-time RCMP officer to run the DARE program. "If we don't get the
increase we'll just have to fundraise more," said McCreary-Burke.

Short for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, DARE began in Los Angeles
in the early 1980s and is now offered in 56 countries worldwide. The
program teaches children about the dangers of drugs and alcohol and
the importance of making positive life choices.

Locally, the 10-week program is offered to 10 classes at six schools,
including students in Grades 6 and 8.

"It's challenging kids to resist drugs, alcohol, tobacco and
violence," said Greg Diebolt, a retired RCMP officer who teaches the
Grade 6 level. "The acronym doesn't really do it justice in my
opinion because we end up talking to the kids about peer pressure.
Good pressure and bad peer pressure and good decision making."

Cst. Geoff Carpenter, who has run DARE locally for the past seven
years, said the program works.

"The advantage we see is that we're actively engaging the youth which
hopefully will lead to more positive interaction," said Carpenter.
"That will hopefully lead to them making more positive choices. For
example, if one of their friends chooses to do graffiti, hopefully
they'll say, 'wait a minute, that's destroying property, I don't want
to be part of this.'"

Currently based in Okotoks, McCreary-Burke added they are considering
asking the Town of High River to relocate the DARE officer there.

Once the census comes out in a two or three months, she explained,
the cost-sharing for RCMP between Okotoks and the federal government
will go from a 70-30 split to a 90-10 split.

School division secretary-treasurer Drew Chipman said the board has
not yet made a decision on whether to increase the program's funding
and he expects the issue will be debated at a future meeting.