REASSIGNED—Officers Don Anderson and Michelle Bertsch have taught the DARE program in Simi for the past 12 years, but this semester their jobs have been put on hold. After the next round of graduations, the pair will return to regular patrol duty. Simi Valley police officer Michelle Bertsch struggled to hold back the tears when asked about budget cuts that led to the recent suspension of the city's DARE program, which she and her partner, Officer Don Anderson, have nurtured for 12 years.

For Bertsch, educating the city's young people about the dangers of substance abuse is more than a job—it's a life passion.

"We built such a program, and in 12 years you've seen the worth of the program," she said. "We've put so much into it. It hurts."

Anderson agreed that news of the suspension hit hard.

"It was disappointing, and that's maybe putting it mildly," he said.

In an attempt to avoid a multimilliondollar shortfall, the City Council approved nearly $3 million in budget cuts in December.

One of the victims of those cuts was the police department's longrunning Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, which was suspended for the rest of the school year, saving the city $125,000.

The DARE officers said the city's decision to suspend the program doesn't just leaving them hanging—it also affects about 1,000 Simi sixth-graders, who won't experience the drug prevention program.

"The losers are the kids," Anderson said. "They are the ones that are going to miss out, not only on the instruction, but the rapport that we develop."

Anderson and Bertsch are currently finishing up the fall semesters with their classes. Following the DARE graduations at the end of the month, both officers will move back to patrol.

After the suspension was announced, City Manager Mike Sedell told the Simi Valley Acorn that it was by no means an easy decision on the council's part.

"The DARE program, that is near and dear to the hearts of the council and community and something we don't take lightly," he said. "But the basic police services absolutely come first in everyone's eyes."

While they understand that rationale, it doesn't provide much consolation to Bertsch and Anderson, who see their roles in the schools as vital to fighting drug use in Simi Valley.

The officers are worried that if the program is gone for a significant period of time, they will lose the relationship they've developed with school officials and students.

Although DARE is taught in sixth grade, the two also visit the younger classes in order to introduce students to police officers early on, a simple act that "humanizes" the police department and makes officers more approachable, Anderson said.

The officer said he agrees with the need to maintain the basic police services in town, but he fears that down that the road the absence of the program will make more work for police.

When asked if they think the city did enough to preserve the program, Bertsch found it difficult to answer, although her face gave away her frustration.

Anderson, on the other hand, said he has "mixed emotions" about it.

"I recognize that the city has been the one to totally fund the program, and Simi Valley is unique in that," he said.

Anderson said he hopes the city will look into alternative sources of funding and he is open to the possibility of using retired officers as DARE teachers.

For now, Police Chief Mike Lewis said the department is hunting for ways to keep DARE going in years to come.

"We're actually sort of just looking around the landscape, if you will, at other areas to come up with creative funding, grant monies or how they continue to teach the program but in a less costly manner," he said.

One option is splitting the program's cost with the school district instead of placing the entire burden on the city.

"But of course, they are losing all sorts of money too," Lewis said. "We are all in the same boat."

Debbie Riley, elementary school director for Simi Valley Unified School District, said the district was "taken aback" when it heard the DARE program would be suspended, but said she understands the need to make tough cuts.

"We'll just go with the punches," she said. "It sounds like from what they say at the City Council, if they have a chance to bring it back, they will."

Still, she said, it's hard to give up a program like DARE that is such a staple to the elementary and middle school experience

"It's just a really special program," she said. "We're really glad we've had it this long."

DARE began in 1986 in Simi, which today is one of the last cities in the county to teach the program.

Both Bertsch and Anderson said they are optimistic that the suspension will be brief and the program will be saved.

"We are so passionate about what we do," Bertsch said. "Hopefully by fall we will be up and running again."