'DARE' LOSS BOTHERS B'VILLE POLICE CHIEF

BERNARDSVILLE - The Somerset Hills Regional School District may have other
drug and alcohol intervention programs, but the absence of the Drug and
Alcohol Resistance Education (DARE) program sits poorly with the borough's
top law enforcement officer.

'I was greatly distressed that we had to cut the program,' said
Bernardsville Police Chief Kevin Valentine on Monday, Nov. 24.

The program, typically taught by members of the local police department, was
not instituted this year for lack of funding and personnel, he said.

Despite this, a consultant hired by the district to assess its overall drug
and alcohol intervention and prevention curriculum gave the district high
marks in a report to the Board of Education.

'I loved being here,' said Gail Gleason Milgram, the director of education
and training at Rutgers University Center of Alcohol Studies on Monday, Nov.
17. Your teachers are caring and supportive.

'Had No Choice'

In a telephone interview, Chief Valentine said he was forced to cut the
program after borough officials reduced the department's total 2003 funding
for community efforts from $5,000 to $500.

Valentine said he had no choice. 'It was the last program we wanted to cut,
but it was the first to go because it didn't concern emergency response,' he
said. District officials would also like to see the DARE program back in
business.

It's something the district feels strongly about,' said Acting
Superintendent of Schools Peter Miller. 'We need to be careful with all
budgets but this is a program that addresses such important needs in the
Middle School.'

Valentine said the program was eliminated because the Borough Council wanted
to hold departments to 2002 funding levels. As a result, Valentine was given
a $76,600 operating expense line.

He said he's asked for $90,700 for his 2004 budget, but it's an amount he
does not consider an increase, since the department's budget has stayed flat
for the year. This year, the requested amount includes a $4,500 line item
for community programs, including DARE. 'That brings me back to the $5,000
level I asked for last year,' he said.

Another popular youth-oriented community program that was eliminated this
year was the department's annual pool party normally held late in the summer
as part of the National Night Out crime prevention event.

Valentine said he'd also like to see the council approve the hiring of two
more officers for his staff this year, raising the total to 20. The
department currently has 18 officers, but is now operating with only 16 due
to a medical disability and one six-month assignment to the Somerset County
Narcotics Task Force.

Valentine said he submitted his budget request to the borough in October. To
date, he has not received feedback about it. 'It's Nov. 24, and I have no
idea where my budget stands for next year,' he said.

Parents have been calling to ask about the DARE program, he said. 'They're
upset,' he said.

'This doesn't just affect public schools,' he added. 'DARE is taught at the
Catholic and private schools, too. They have no program either.'

Still, Valentine remained optimistic that some solution will be worked out.

He said officials in all three of the district's municipalities,
Bernardsville, Far Hills and Peapack-Gladstone, are aware of the seriousness
of the situation and were partnering with school officials to find a viable
way to offer the program next year.

It will also help that the 17-week DARE program is being revised into a
10-week program, he said. 'That will mean a shorter assignment. Officers
will be freed up faster,' he said.

Ironically, four students at Bernardsville Middle School captured the top
prizes in the Somerset County DARE poster contest this year.

David Kim of Bernardsville and David Reiss, who now lives in Flordia, won
the grand prize for their submission. M.E. Hawkins of Gladstone and Kelle
Weiss of Bernardsville captured first place.

'Coordinate Programs'

Despite the DARE cut, Milgram still complimented the school on its drug and
alcohol prevention and intervention program in her report.

The program has a good structure, but you should coordinate the programs so
everyone knows what's going on,' she told the school board at its Nov. 17
meeting.

Milgram conducted an assessment of the district's K-12 drug and alcohol
prevention and intervention curriculum. The district reviews all of its
programs every five years, and the drug and alcohol prevention and
intervention program was up for review.

Milgram said she was generally pleased with the programs offered by the
district, but made a few administrative suggestions.

She suggested uniting the programs under an 'umbrella, so educators were
familiar with all of the programs that were offered throughout the district.
Program information should also be published to better publicize what the
district offers, she said.

On Monday, Debra Wilkins, assistant to the superintendent, said the district
would take Milgram's suggestions into consideration during the summer and
incorporate them into the district's 2003-04 program.

There are eight programs at Bedwell Elementary School, including Girls On
the Run, a program that combines running with lessons on self-esteem, and
Whiskers Says No To Drugs,' a publication of the Weekly Reader that targets
second-graders.

Character Education is also provided at the Bernardsville Middle School, as
is Girls on the Run, a peer leadership program, and a pupil assistance
committee designed to assist both parents and teachers with students having
behavior or learning problems.

Programs at Bernards High School include Access, which Milgram called 'an
amazing' program in which educators formally assess and help students with
problems. Milgram said she would like to see this program expanded into the
middle and elementary schools.

Other high school programs include Quest, designed to motivate students
through activities like rock climbing, and a life skills curriculum for
freshmen and sophomores.