Re: your June 7 article, “Last Moorpark DARE graduation”:

I would like to express my deep concerns. I am a 20-year resident of Moorpark and have two children who have graduated from the DARE Program under the guidance of Deputy Tim Lohman.

After attending the City Council meeting June 6, I learned our school board had requested the DARE program be eliminated from the elementary schools, in favor of funding a full-time school resource officer at the high school. Since the City Council has been funding the DARE program for the past several years, it voted to accommodate the school board’s wish and redirect the funding, thereby abandoning the needs of the elementary students.

Families like ours have clearly been remiss in not expressing our past appreciation to the city, the school district and the Sheriff's Department for providing this extremely worthwhile service to our children. Maybe if the school board had been aware that so many families in Moorpark found this program to be an invaluable tool, they may have not felt compelled to discontinue it. I believe that fifth grade is the perfect time to introduce the concept of drug and alcohol resistance and healthy lifestyle choices. Waiting until late middle school or high school to try to impart substance abuse information to kids would be completely missing a delicate window of opportunity.

I would like to commend Deputy Lohman for his gentle and nonthreatening approach to teaching the children of Moorpark.

I urge the families of Moorpark to contact the school board to voice their opinions regarding the DARE program. I request the City Council reconsider funding this extremely valuable service to Moorpark children. You can contact Ellen Smith, superintendent of schools, at 378-6300 or e-mail the City Council at moorpark@ci.moorpark.ca.us.

— Barb McFadden, Moorpark