07-15-2002 Council Workshop Minutes

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL JULY 15, 2002 The City Administrator indicated that his recommnendation is to eliminate Little Canada's funding of DARE based on the question of its effectiveness. The Administrator clarified that his recommendation is not reflective on the people delivering the program, just on the effectiveness of the program itself on the broader scale. Fahey asked why Roseville Schools have ceased providing DARE in those schools within the City of Roseville. John Thein reported that Roseville School District received approximately $ll per student unit through the crime levy. These dollars are allocated to such services as student resow~ce officers and DARE. A couple of years ago the District's staff established priorities for the expenditw e of these crime levy dollars. Those priorities are as follows: 1. Student Resource 0{ficer at the High School 2. Student Resource Officer at the Middle School 3. DARE. Hirsh reported that based on these funding priorities for the School District, the Roseville Police Department did not have the resources to allocate to DARE. She also reported that the same was true for the City oi'Falcon Heights, who decided to put their dollars into a peer mediation program. Fahey asked how the School District is allocating crime prevention dollars for the schools in Little Canada. Hirsh reported that the School District typically works with the applicable police department first in making this determination- As a result of the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department's DARE, program, a portion of the crime prevention dollars ($1,777.70 for 2002) allocated toward Little Canada students is going to DARE. Hirsh went on to report that crime levy dollars for Roseville and Falcon Fleights students are going to other prevention cw'riculum. Hirsh indicated that until Little Canada tells the School District differently, a portion of crime levy dollars will go toward DARE. Hirsh repa'ted that the School District has tried to work cooperatively on this issue with both cities and police or sheriff's departments. Anderson asked if the prevention program being offered in Roseville and Falco^ Heights schools was significantly less expensive. Hirsh reported that the schools within Roseville are offering "'i'he Gt'eat Body Shop" curriculum which is taught by School District teachers, with SRO's brought in for some of the lessons. Falcon Heights schools focus on peer mediation and anti-bullying curriculum, and there are other funding sources for these types of programs. Scalze asked if there were grant dollars available for these programs. Hirsh reported that a 3-year grant was obtained for "The Great Qody Shop" program and as part of that grant the City of Roseville agreed to fund a 4°i year. This funding will lapse in June of 2004, therefore, other options will need to be explored at that time. 2