Budget forces Schaumburg police to suspend education programs

For a village whose finances are as tightly tied to the economy as Schaumburg's are, hard times spell some governmental belt-tightening.

Or even gun belt tightening.

To maintain the right number of officers on the streets in the midst of a hiring freeze, the Schaumburg Police Department is suspending some education programs, including DARE and the Citizens Police Academy.

"Our staffing levels on the street remain stable," Police Chief Brian Howerton said. "We're just concentrating on our core services."

Elgin police also decided this month to discontinue the DARE program in Elgin Area U-46.

Schaumburg also pulled back the whole officer assigned to the Crime Free Multi-Housing program. One school resource officer will rotate among three junior highs rather than each school getting its own.

Only one officer is presently assigned as a K-9 handler, instead of the usual two.

However, Schaumburg expects to keep its Officer Friendly program through the end of the school year at least.

Schaumburg's village government levies no property tax, so its dependence upon sales taxes and food and beverage taxes means revenue goes down when consumers cut their spending. Village Manager Ken Fritz said one of the biggest drop-offs this year was in car sales.

The police department eliminated two sergeant positions earlier this year. A hiring freeze is in place; there are two officer vacancies.

The decision to suspend the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program at the end of its second trimester this month was made in agreement with Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54.

The district's 27 schools lie in several different villages, some of which have DARE programs and others don't, Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Support Debbie Ancona said.

But all the schools follow a drug abuse education curriculum, which mean District 54 can maintain some consistency whether there is a DARE program or not, she said.

District 54 has a good relationship with all its police departments, which helps create a positive image of police officers for students, Ancona said.

"We have officers in the building as needed, or as guest speakers," she said.

Despite questions that have arisen over the effectiveness of DARE programs in general, Howerton said it's been popular with the schools.

Howerton added he is an enthusiastic supporter of the Citizens Police Academy, which fosters public understanding of the lives and responsibilities of police officers, and hopes to have it reinstated as soon as possible.

In Hoffman Estates, Police Chief Clinton Herdegen said his department isn't cutting any programs, and plans on starting a new citizen's police academy class in April.

Herdegen added he doesn't think any of his programs are in danger of being cut, though his department is dealing with staffing issues.

Schaumburg Trustee George Dunham, chair of the public safety committee, confirmed the decision to suspend the education programs is purely economic.

"I'd be the first one to say, 'Start doing it again,'" Dunham said.