DARE PROGRAM AT SSISD COMING TO AN END

District Studying Other Ways To Educate Students On Drugs, Alcohol

A program that has taught Sulphur Springs students the ills and
dangers of abusing drugs and alcohol will end in January, but a
different way of educating students about the use of such substances
could be on the horizon.

DARE, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program that has been
co-sponsored by Sulphur Springs Police Department and Sulphur Springs
Independent School District for approximately 15 years, will end on
Jan. 17.

"We are stopping at the end of the first semester," SSISD
Superintendent Patsy Bolton said today.

Both police and school officials indicated the decision was
mutual.

The two entities split the costs of the program, which included paying
the salary of a trained police officer. With materials and other
resources added in, tha came out to $40,000 a year for each.

For the most part, Sulphur Springs Police Chief Jim Bayuk said, his
department was getting the better end of the deal. While the DARE
instructor's salary was split between the school district and police
department, the officer spends more time on doing police work. Out of
about 80 school days in the second semester, for example, the DARE
officer was only scheduled to be at schools for 30 days.

"I'm benefitting greatly," Bayuk said. "It's costing the school more
than it is the Sulphur Springs Police Department."

On the other hand, he added, having that officer on hand at all times
for police duty can only help the department, where the number of
full-time officers has not seen any growth in many years.

DARE instructors targeted pre-teens in their classes, teaching them
about the effects of drug, alcohol and tobacco use in a frank and
honest manner.

Students also learned other useful tidbits, such as what to do in an
emergency and what to expect if they ever have to call 911.

But DARE's effectiveness has been questioned in the past. In 1997, a
U.S. Department of Education study suggested drug education programs
for fifth-graders had little influence ultimately in whether or not a
student ventures into substance abuse. The report in particular
questioned the effectiveness of DARE, which is used in about 80
percent of the nation's elementary schools, after finding better
results in schools where students took part in other drug education
programs.

Four years ago, a federal General Accouting Office report found little
difference in drug use between students who had received DARE
instruction and those who who did not.

"All of the evaluations suggested that DARE had no statistically
significant long-term effect on preventing youth illicit drug use,"
the report stated.

In some cases, DARE students showed stronger negative attitudes about
illegal drug use, but "these positive effects diminished over time,"
the report found.

Bolton said there has not been a decision on whether or not to
continue the DARE courses at SSISD.

"There is some research that says the DARE program may not be as
effective as it once was," Bolton said. "We will be doing research to
determine if it's beneficial to start it again next year, or if there
is something more effective."

That's not to say, she added, that the experience has been negative.
"We have been pleased throughout the years that we have had such a
good, cooperative relationship with the police department," she said.

And the school district will, one way or another, educate students on
the subject, Bolton said.

"We hope people realize we're trying to do everything we can to
educate our students about the dangers of drug, alcohol and tobacco
use," she said. "We want to continue doing that, and we will."

"I hope they do," said Bayuk, adding his philosophy is that as long as
the program keeps one person's life from being ruined by drugs or
alcohol, it's worth it.

"How do you put a price on a child?" he asked.