Santarsiero to Donate Pay Increase to D.A.R.E.

State Rep. Steve Santarsiero announced Tuesday he will donate his annual cost of living adjustment to the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) programs in Newtown and Lower Makefield townships.

Santarsiero plans to donate $924.45 to each of the police departments in support of the D.A.R.E. program.

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, which will be divided between the Newtown and Lower Makefield township police departments for the D.A.R.E. programs. 

"The D.A.R.E. program is effective and should be expanded instead of eliminated," said Santarsiero, who has participated in the D.A.R.E. program since he was a Lower Makefield Township supervisor. "I applaud these police departments for remaining committed to this important community service even under difficult fiscal times."

State funding for this program has decreased steadily over the years. According to Santarsiero, 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 failed to restore any state funding to the program.

The D.A.R.E. program is a police officer-led series of classroom lessons that teaches children from kindergarten through 12th grade how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug- and violence-free lives. It is in 75 percent of our nation's school districts and in more than 43 countries around the world, according to Santarsiero.

In Pennsylvania, more than 860 officers 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. However, without that funding, many police departments are not able to facilitate this program.