Santarsiero Donates $1,850 to Local D.A.R.E. Programs

State Rep. Steve Santarsiero on Thursday presented his annual cost of living adjustment to the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) programs in Lower Makefield and Newtown townships.

Newtown Township Police Chief Rick Pasqualini and Lower Makefield Township Police Chief Kenneth Coluzzi joined Santarsiero in his office as they each received $924 for the programs.

“Without major funding from the state, there is a shortfall in (D.A.R.E.) funding,” Coluzzi said. He added the program, which is an officer-led series of classroom lessons that teach children how to resist drugs, is worthwhile.

“It makes an impact on the kids,” Coluzzi said. “It builds a relationship between the officer and the children.”

Since taking office in 2008, Santarsiero said he wrote a check to the state treasury each month to return the automatic cost of living adjustment given to state legislators. But since June 1, Santarsiero has deposited the adjustment to a new account to be divided between the Newtown and Lower Makefield township D.A.R.E. programs. 

The cost of living adjustment is approximately $4,000 a year, Santarsiero said. Next year, he added, he plans to donate the entire cost of living adjustment to the D.A.R.E. program.

State funding for this program has decreased steadily over the years, Santarsiero noted. Between 1999 and 2009, D.A.R.E. funding dropped from $4 million to less than $1 million. Gov. Rendell eliminated the program in 2010 and this year Gov. Corbett did not restore any state funding to the program.

“What we really should be doing in the state is not cutting but expanding the D.A.R.E. program,” Santarsiero said.

More than 860 officers in Pennsylvania are trained in the D.A.R.E. program. In the past, the state would reimburse local police departments $10,000 to $12,000 for the D.A.R.E. program, depending on the size of the community.