SCHOOLS MIGHT COMPETE FOR FEDERAL ANTI-DRUG HELP

WASHINGTON-- Drug czar Barry McCaffrey will outline proposed legislation
today to overhaul the way federal, state and local governments fight drug
abuse in schools, targeting federal anti-drug money to campuses that need it
most.

Acknowledging that the federal government's largest program to battle drug
use and school violence is rife with "shortfalls," McCaffrey will propose a
new "competitive" funding policy, in which local school districts develop
benchmarks that state officials can use to determine which districts deserve
federal funding under the program.

The legislation would redistribute the program's $591 million allocation for
the next fiscal year, supporting anti-drug programs in school districts that
demonstrate the greatest need while denying money to districts that are not
able to show a need, or whose programs are less effective.

"We've got tons of schools that are receiving low amounts of funds. We are
not helping anyone by trying to help everyone," said Rob Housman, deputy
strategy director of the National Drug Control Policy.

The proposed legislation, a joint effort of McCaffrey and Secretary of
Education Richard Riley, will most likely piggy-back on the mammoth
education bill. Through a spokesman, McCaffrey called the changes a
"pre-emptive strike" to fix the program, known as the Safe and Drug-Free
Schools and Communities Program.

Critics have assailed the program as ineffective, poorly monitored and
having little to do with youth violence or drug abuse.

In 1998, the program distributed $556 million to state governments, who gave
money to local school districts that requested help. McCaffrey and Riley
have acknowledged that the process often showed little regard for need and
placed few requirements on schools to tie program funding to results.

Under the proposed changes, state education departments will be required to
allocate funds only to those schools who best meet certain criteria,
including high rates of alcohol, tobacco, or drug use among youth. School
districts would also have to establish their own benchmarks by which their
progress can be tracked.

The legislation would also require state officials to report on an annual
basis their state's progress as measured against its own benchmarks.

But even if this legislation proves to be the silver bullet in fighting drug
use in schools, state governments would only be allowed to fully fund 50
percent of the schools in their districts.

An initiative with a similar aim could provide money to schools that do not
make the 50 percent cut. That program was announced in April, when the
departments of Justice, Education and Health and Human Services committed to
provide $300 million in anti-drug grants to schools.