BONSALL WANTS TO RESUME ANTI-DRUG PROGRAM

BONSALL - The Bonsall Union School District board wants to resume an
anti-drug abuse program for its fifth-graders that was discontinued last
school year because of funding issues.

District board members voted unanimously earlier this month to direct
Superintendent Jef Schleiger to find a way to pay for the program for
fifth-graders at Bonsall Elementary School and at the Vivian Banks Charter
School on the Pala Indian Reservation.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department previously paid for the Drug
Abuse Resistance Education program at public schools in the county's
unincorporated communities. But the department made a "purely financial"
decision to stop funding the program, said Lt. Clyde Kodadek of the
Fallbrook Sheriff's Substation.

"To my knowledge, there are no public schools in unincorporated communities
that have DARE now," Kodadek added.

Deputy Tom Pruitt taught the several-weeklong course to Bonsall
fifth-graders until the cut.

Seventh-grader Matoy Stanley of Oceanside said he benefited from the
program when he went through it as a fifth-grader at Bonsall Elementary.

"We learned what drugs does to people, and came from a real cop. After
hearing that, I said I'm not going to do drugs," Matoy said. "DARE can
change people's lives."

Some educators and parents nationwide have questioned the effectiveness of
the program. But Schleiger and school board members, as well as several
parents, said they think the program is a good investment.

"If it positively impacts one kid out of all the kids that get the DARE
program, then it's a good investment," Schleiger said.

Alison Stanley, Matoy's mother, echoed Schleiger's view.

"It's such an awesome program. It's so important. All kids need to hear
this message about drug abuse," she said. "There are so many kids out there
that are so easily influenced. The message they need to hear is that
getting high ruins your life."

Stanley said her son particularly liked the sheriff's deputy who taught the
program.

"My son would come home and tell me and my husband about why it is bad to
use drugs. The officer is an authoritative figure who was so kind and so
nice to them. They responded to him, and I think the message about drug
abuse sunk in."

Schleiger said the cost of the program for Bonsall's 193 fifth-graders is
estimated to be between $2,500 and $3,200 for the first year. The district
would not be charged for materials and supplies, such as workbooks, in the
first year. After that, the cost for those materials is projected at about
$1 per student ---- an expense the district would also absorb, Schleiger said.

The superintendent also said he is researching whether federal money can be
used to pay for the program.

School board member Bob Turner said that if federal funds can't used, he
wants the money found somewhere in the district's budget.

"I believe that drug awareness is just as important to teach in school
these days as academics," Turner said. "The DARE program doesn't solve
everything. But if you start teaching them about these sort of things when
they're in fourth or fifth grade, you'll have fewer problems."