HOW DARE THEY?

Drug Education Program May Be Cut

The scope, and perhaps even the existence, of popular programs like DARE,
Celebrating Literacy and Food For Thought is in doubt in the Halton public
school system.

Budget recommendations have been made by staff with the Halton District
School Board that funding for those initiatives be removed.

The administrative direction, which was met with sadness by trustees, came
during the third in a series of budget meetings Monday.

The public board is wrestling with an evolving 2002-03 school-year budget
that is expected to vastly exceed the projected revenues coming from the
provincial government.

No firm decision has been made yet about the three elementary school
programs in question or the others that were talked about on Monday.

Trustees are reviewing and debating financial projections being made by
staff with a final vote on next year's budget expected by mid-June.

The proposed budget for the 2002-03 school year is $281.4 million, however,
the general legislative grants from the Ministry of Education, which
account for the bulk of board revenues, won't be known until late May at
the earliest. That X factor is causing concern among board staff and
trustees and will determine how much wiggle room the board has in setting
its budget.

Board Business Superintendent Carla Kisko indicated people will be doing
more squirming than wiggling with the dollars they'll likely have at their
disposal.

"We have a lot of work left still. There isn't going to be any surprise
when we come to you with a budget that far exceeds the $281.4 million,"
Kisko told trustees.

School boards cannot run deficit budgets so Kisko said a summary list of
all proposed program cuts would come to the next public budget meeting on
May 29 at 7 p.m. at the board office in Burlington.

The board funding of the Drug Awareness Resistance Education (DARE) program
that is in jeopardy amounted to $80,000 this year.

The board has had an ongoing relationship with the Halton Regional Police
Service, which implements DARE by having officers go into elementary
classrooms and give anti-drug and peer pressure talks to Grade 6 students.

Celebrating Literacy and Food For Thought was a two-year commitment from
the board that saw it give $90,000 this year to the Halton Social Planning
Council, to help it administer reading and snack and breakfast programs.

The idea of losing the three programs does not sit well with some trustees.

"I'm quite concerned we may be compromising (disadvantaged) kids' futures
(and learning ability) by not ensuring their stomachs are full," said
Burlington trustee Peggy Russell.

She also noted her grown son took the DARE program and believes he
benefited from it.

Despite the doom and gloom nature of much of the talk around the conference
room during the budget presentation, education director Dusty Papke
reminded people not to draw definitive conclusions.

"It does not mean we won't have food programs in our schools," he said. "It
was not an easy decision (but) our backs are against the wall."

Milton trustee Erica Andrew said, "I'm confident the programs will continue."

Board superintendent of education Gary Sadler said Halton police and the
social planning council were both informed about a month ago of the
proposed budget cuts affecting their programs.

Sadler said there is still some hope, and even some expectation, that DARE,
Celebrating Literacy and Food For Thought will carry on in the schools in
some form.

"The individual school communities have the support of local sponsors like
grocery stores and companies that give (money or) services in kind," he noted.

He noted he should be meeting this week with the DARE reps and sometime
soon with the Halton Social Planning Council.