MOLINE SCHOOL BOARD TO VOTE WHETHER TO CUT DARE PROGRAM TONIGHT

Moline School Board members will vote tonight on whether to eliminate the district's Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE, program.

The board meets at 6 p.m.  at the district administrative offices, 1619 11th Ave., Moline.

Strict learning standards set by the federal No Child Left Behind Act and the desire to trim district spending have made renewing the program's annual contract questionable this year.

The vote may be close.  Three board members are leaning toward keeping the program, two toward getting rid of it.  Others' views were not available.

How much the district pays for its DARE program was not available late Sunday.

DARE America has mandated condensing the program's curriculum, which would decrease the 17 weeks the program is now taught.

Some board members want to give the new curriculum a chance and start gathering hard data about its effectiveness.

"The difficulty is you don't know the effectiveness of" DARE, said board vice president Jeff Scherer.

Board member Ruth Ann O'Brien was pleased to see DARE America handing some more time over for academic use.

Students who don't receive anti-drug messages at home benefit from the program, she said.  It's important they continue receiving those messages, whether through DARE or another program, she added.

"This program might meet a need that can't be met otherwise," agreed board member Karen Buchanan.

However, board member Don Kurrle questioned students' benefits from the program.  "They look forward to DARE because it's kind of a fun playtime," he said.

Mr.  Kurrle said teachers could use the time now spent on DARE on academics instead.

He also said the program is needed in the middle schools and junior highs, not just in kindergarten through 5th grade.

DARE America has recommended local chapters do just that, but the district isn't considering that option for next year, according to assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction Les Huddle.

"Every minute we devote to the DARE program is taking time away from curricular issues that we should be addressing," board president Robert Tallitsch said.

Superintendent Calvin Lee said he would recommend continuing the program, and studying data as it relates to the district.