Paramount : Drug Abuse Program to Begin

The Paramount Unified School District board Tuesday night unanimously approved a $181,000-a-year drug abuse prevention program to be funded primarily with state lottery funds.

The program eventually will cover all grades, from kindergarten through 12. It is composed of several elements, including a direct intervention program that will require the hiring of three part-time employees, the “McGruff” program for kindergarten through second grade, and the “Here’s Looking at You 2000” program for grades three through 12. The package will be tested at selected campuses during the 1987-88 school year, and the school board will evaluate the program after one year to determine whether to expand it, board President Joseph M. Montoya III said.

“If I don’t see results, I will be unlikely to vote in favor of implementing it districtwide next year,” Montoya said. “The intervention program, particularly, should be easily evaluated. We will be able to count how many children have been directly helped.”

“Here’s Looking at You 2000,” the most expensive component of the program at $87,000, is primarily a self-help program, Montoya said. It works on building self-esteem.