By Shelley Davis
Enquirer Columbus Bureau

COLUMBUS - Only months after Cincinnati City Council reinstated funding for DARE, legislators are threatening to cut the state's share of the anti-drug program's money.

The Ohio House budget wipes out the $3.5 million the state provides for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, said Todd Wurschmidt, director of the Ohio Chiefs of Police.The Senate has yet to debate the funding.

Cincinnati City Manager Valerie Lemmie said Cincinnati would lose about $85,000 it now uses to help pay DARE officer salaries. Both Lemmie and Wurschmidt are pleading with lawmakers to continue funding the program, which they say fosters a positive relationship between police officers and young children.

"The real value of the program is kids have an opportunity to interact with police in a positive, supporting environment," Lemmie said.

She said DARE officers give students a practical education on how to deal with police officers for the rest of their lives, including how to behave if they're stopped by the police.

The Cincinnati Police Department employs six full-time DARE officers at a cost of more than $350,000.

Sharonville Police Chief Mike Schappa said he will do all he can to continue the program even if state funding is eliminated.

"Whenever we have our local summer events, you can always spot where the DARE officer is, you can see a crowd of kids standing around," he said. "Maybe these kids don't have drug problems, but they have family problems - sexual abuse, physical abuse - and the officers have been able to help them."

State money pays for half the salary of Sharonville's one full-time DARE officer, and Schappa said the rest of the program is nearly self-sufficient.

The Cincinnati program has been in limbo for several years. Last August, City Council voted to remove DARE officers from public and private schools, saying the manpower was needed on the street. But in January, after public outcry from teachers, students and parents, council reinstated the funding.

Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland, a House Finance Committee member, said the committee decided to eliminate state funding after hearing testimony from people who said DARE programs aren't effective in curbing drug use.

Schmidt said DARE proponents were unable to provide clear and convincing evidence of its effectiveness.

"When you're in a tight budget, you need more than a personal experience to save a program," she said.