IRVINE : Trustees Vote to Chip In DARE Funds

The school board unanimously approved paying for a middle school Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program this week, after two city councilmen, a student, a parent and three police officers testified in favor of the program.

The 10-hour program will begin this school year in eighth-grade physical education classes. It also will include a new segment on gangs.

The Irvine Unified School District board balked last month at the $90,000 cost of the program that would be split by the city and the school district. Questions also were raised about recent reports challenging the DARE program’s effectiveness in preventing drug abuse among students.

Irvine Police Lt. Sam Allevato, supervisor of the department’s DARE unit, told school board members that the research cited by critics of the DARE program was incomplete and was not accepted by the National Institute of Justice, which funded the 1993 study. He said 90% of the students surveyed in a recent Gallup poll said the DARE program helped them avoid drug abuse.

The City Council approved funding for half the cost of the program on June 28.

Irvine Mayor Michael Ward and Councilman Greg Smith spoke in favor of the program Tuesday night. The city currently funds two DARE officers who conduct a 17-week course for sixth-graders and give presentations to lower grades.

Smith said it is critical to reinforce DARE training for middle school students.

“This is a community problem,” Smith said. “This is not just a school district problem.”