BLOOMINGTON POLICE END DARE PROGRAM

BLOOMINGTON - When Rachael Ingalsbe graduated from the DARE program
with her classmates Wednesday at Trinity Lutheran School, she likely
was part of the end of an era.

Her fifth-grade class may be among the last graduates from the Drug
Abuse Resistance Education program operated by Bloomington Police Department.

Bloomington police plan to discontinue DARE at the end of this school
year in eight public and parochial schools. Under the national
program, police teach about making good choices regarding drugs,
smoking and violence.

The move will free up two officers. One will be assigned as a school
resource officer for Bloomington elementary schools, and the other
will return to patrol.

The change, prompted in part by school safety concerns, would add a
third resource officer assigned full-time to the schools.
Bloomington's junior high and high school each already have a school
resource officer, said Bloomington police spokesman Duane Moss.

"We're not abandoning the (elementary) schools. It's just a different
approach to best use the resources for the benefit of our taxpayers,"
Moss said.

Kellie Henrichs, coordinator of prevention and education with Project
Oz, said, "It is comforting to know that youth will still have
positive interactions with police officers at an early age."

She said Project Oz also has some services that probably can help fill
the gap.

Bloomington Mayor Steve Stockton said he has heard from five parents
expressing their disappointment in the end of DARE, which came to
Bloomington in 1990.

"It's possible it will be discussed by City Council if we hear more
public interest," he said.

Bloomington police Lt. Bob Siron said the change "is more for safety
reasons than education." While a DARE officer is in the classroom
teaching specific lessons, a resource officer is in a school to stress
discipline and safety.

"It's a shame that one (DARE) would have to suffer to have the other
(a resource officer). But we do have limited resources," Siron said.

He said the need for such an officer was brought home recently when a
10-year-old threatened a teacher with scissors.

The police responded, but the school was left to deal with the
aftermath. A new resource officer would help identify and handle such
problems, he said.

The trend has been for schools to disband DARE programs in favor of
having school resource officers, Moss said. Normal-based Unit 5 ended
DARE in 2003.

District 87 Superintendent Bob Nielsen said the DARE program has been
useful but he understands police have to prioritize their resources.

"We will adjust," he said.

Karrie Ingalsbe of El Paso said she was disappointed to hear DARE will
end. She said she noticed that her daughter, Rachael, learned how to
make good decisions in DARE.

For example, Rachael decided to choose a church service trip this
summer instead of a cheerleading camp because she thought it would
help more people.

"It'll help me more in the future," Rachael said.