LEE SHERIFF'S OFFICE SAVES ITS DARE PROGRAM

BONITA SPRINGS - The Lee County Sheriff's Office will continue funding
its DARE program, Sheriff Mike Scott announced Tuesday, but the move
might force cuts in another civilian-aimed program.

The $539,000 Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, known as DARE,
was cut in late September when the county pushed the Sheriff's Office
to further pare its 2008-09 budget.

On Tuesday, Scott said the office scraped together $375,000 to
continue the program, albeit with one less deputy. Funds will cover
three deputies and two civilians instead of the previous staffing of
four deputies and two civilians.

One of the three deputies is a new transfer from road patrol. His
position will be filled by the current desk sergeant, an officer who
mans the front desk of the Sheriff's Office headquarters on Six Mile
Cypress Parkway in Fort Myers.

Scott said he decided the desk sergeant position was superfluous in an
office filled with uniformed officers. The sergeant was the only
officer in the reception area.

Additional funds became available when two deputies accepted the
department's early retirement offer, Scott said. One was a captain who
oversaw the School Resource Officer and DARE programs.

The other was a sergeant. Both positions will go unfilled, allowing
the money to be rerouted to DARE.

Scott said he received numerous e-mails and comments after the DARE
program was cut.

"I know for sure the parents and the teachers and the students will be
happy," he said.

The program will follow the same nationally-designed curriculum as in
the past. DARE officers guide individual classes in a 10-week program
focusing on drug abuse, alcohol and tobacco use and even personal safety.

With fewer DARE officers, classes might need to be combined. If the
program suffers from the new funding level, the Sheriff's Office might
cut another civilian program, the Citizens Academy.

Citizens Academy, a free 10-week program in which Lee County citizens
learn the inner-workings of the Sheriff's Office, isn't formally
budgeted, LCSO budget director Bill Bergquist said. Instead, officers
use work hours to accommodate the class.

Were the program cut, money would be saved when officers stay on task
instead of helping with the class, Bergquist said.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office is operating a $161 million budget for
the 2008-09 fiscal year, a 2 percent increase from the previous year.

The office has operated its DARE program for 16 years. It currently
exists in 25 schools in Lee County.