MESA'S CUTS LIKELY FOR YOUTH PROGRAMS

They are the feel-good programs police use to foster better relations with
the communities they serve.

Drug education programs to keep kids clean. Gang prevention programs to
reduce violence. Community programs aimed at solving neighborhood problems.

But with Mesa's city managers wringing their hands over an expected drop in
sales tax revenue, all municipal departments are being asked to reduce
spending by 9 percent. Mesa police say those cuts will likely come from
"non-essential" programs like the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program
recognized nationwide as DARE, or the Gang Resistance Education and
Training program known as GREAT.

Mesa police began the DARE program in 1986. Today, nine officers work in 49
elementary schools throughout the city teaching children how to resist
drugs and build their self-esteem.

The program's administrator, Sgt. Adriana Ortega, thinks the program should
stay but acknowledges she can't quantify the results.

"There is nothing in the statistics or surveys that say how many kids don't
do (drugs) because of DARE," Ortega said.

Harold Fuller, principal at Holmes Elementary School in Mesa, said his
school was a pilot for the city's DARE program, which he described as an
integral component in educating students about the pressures they will face
as they mature.

"If we were choosing to eliminate something, I don't think that would be my
first choice," Fuller said.

Mesa Police Chief Jan Strauss must find a way to trim 9 percent from the
department's $95 million budget.

DARE costs the city $700,000 annually, while GREAT runs an annual tab of
$300,000 but also receives substantial federal funding, Goulet said.

Ortega said she expects a decision on the status of her programs in April.

Other programs facing scrutiny from Strauss are the bicycle unit and the
Community Action Team.