Politics & Government

School Drug-Awareness Program to See Changes

Hopatcong, school officials work to keep drug-awareness program in district despite drop in police manpower.

A drop in police manpower could force the end of the current incarnation of the police-run Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E., program in .

Budget cuts and retirements have reduced the department's staff from 29 officers to 24 over the last few years. Mayor Sylvia Petillo said the borough can't afford to pull another patrolman off the street for several weeks at at time.

However, Petillo and Board of Education President Cliff Lundin each said the borough, which also paid for the officer to run the program, would work with the district to implement a drug-awareness program in the schools.

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"There needs to be something in the schools," Petillo said. "There needs to be something workable for the town and the school that gives the children the message they need to hear."

Lundin said he had already met with Petillo and the Hopatcong Municipal Alliance, which funds the program's supplies, to work out other options.

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"If [a program] postpones when a kid starts looking at alcohol and drugs or makes that kid take a second look, it's worth every effort that we've been doing," he said. "Mayor Petillo and I agreed we would continue to talk and see if there's another program, if there's some other alternative program that may be more effective or if we can come up with a modified program with a less-intense manpower team."

"I don't think we can risk having the D.A.R.E. program canceled without having something in its place," he continued. "It's extremely important and we've got to act on it.

Lundin said the Hopatcong Municipal Alliance can't legally fund the entire program and that the school can't afford to pay for the officer.

Petillo said the program used to run 10 weeks in the schools. But last year, due to staffing concerns, it ran just four weeks. Petillo said she hoped to have a new or modified D.A.R.E. program in place soon.

"We're going to look at the program, how it's implemented and if other programs are even better," she said. "We understand the importance of having a drug-recognition program."


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