CITY NEEDS NERVE TO SAY NO TO DARE

Roundtables Were Correct: Port Huron Can't Afford This Sacred Cow

If you need an example of why governments are so often in financial
hot water, look no further than the simmering controversy over the
DARE program in Port Huron.

In September, the cash-strapped city decided to end its subsidy for
the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. It seemed a prudent
decision, if only because DARE is a notorious feel-good program.
Study after study has shown DARE is approximately as beneficial as
trying to help a drowning man by hiring a cheerleader to wave pompoms
and urge him to swim harder.

A few years ago, members of Congress asked for an honest assessment
of DARE. In response, researchers with the General Accounting Office
analyzed six studies and concluded the program is a waste of time and
money. Of course, the program's most-fervant backers - people on the
public payroll, for the most part - don't want to acknowledge this.
They'll hoot down any criticism.

"DARE is a political football in any local community," Dick Clayton,
a researcher at the University of Kentucky, told the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette. "It makes parents feel good that there's an officer in
the school. Those who are critical of it - and there aren't many -
don't want to be perceived as being against the police. It's much
easier to stick with what you've got."

That's fine, except Port Huron cannot afford to throw away money on
touchy-feely endeavors of no practical value.

Nine months ago, City Manager Karl Tomion warned of bankruptcy within
five years if the city did not slash spending or increase revenues.
At a budget workshop in May, the City Council wrestled with a long
list of cuts, many of them quite painful.

In September, the outgoing council approved a 66.6% increase in water
rates as well as $6.6 million in budget cuts. It ordered the fire
chief to eliminate six front-line jobs and called on the recreation
director to raise fees dramatically. It also asked the police chief
to save $245,000 a year by dropping the animal control, community
service and DARE officers.

Then the howling began. The police officer's association gathered
signatures to roll back the cuts. At a council meeting, a former
leader of the teachers union joined with Prosecutor Mike Wendling and
District Judge Cynthia Platzer in asking the council to restore the
DARE officer.

DARE sounds good. It feels good. Unfortunately, there is no tangible
evidence that children who complete DARE training are any less likely
to use drugs than other children. At least one study in Illinois
suggested just the opposite, that students who took the training were
significantly more likely to experiment with drugs.

None of this is new. Doubts about DARE have made headlines for years.
Those who continue to promote DARE, no matter how well intentioned,
stand guilty not only of wasting tax dollars but of deceiving the
public with false hopes.

Port Huron has better ways to spend its money. For starters, it might
keep its higher-priced recreation programs available to children who
otherwise will be left on the street with the drug dealers.