MIRAMAR--Miramar's recent approval of $24,000 in law enforcement forfeiture funds to enhance academic, extracurricular and service club activities is another example of city officials supporting their schools, Mayor Lori Moseley said.

"We continue to partner with the schools to help make sure the students in the city of Miramar have the highest quality of education available," Moseley said.

Of the total, $7,000 goes to each of the two high schools and $5,000 to each of the two middle schools.

Under Florida statute, 15 percent of all police forfeiture confiscations must be put back into crime prevention programs in the community. Forfeiture funds can be used for equipment and training but not salaries, said Officer Bill Robertson, police spokesman.

"We definitely feel youth crime watch in these schools is a program well worth supporting because the feedback we're getting back from the schools is positive," he said. "Students are interested and becoming involved in this program, and we feel they are proud to be part of that program."

Robertson said schools also can use the money on activities considered a positive use of after-school time, such as tutoring, family reading night, academic camps or Internet computer instruction.

Everglades High will use its allocation to support a range of activities for a variety of clubs, including tennis, softball, water polo, ROTC, dance, band, chorus and the student government association, Principal Paul Fetscher said. The student government plans to use its portion as seed money for dances or fund-raisers.

"Since I've been in the city of Miramar and [Police Chief] Mel Standley has been in the Police Department, every school has [a school resource officer], and every school receives funds since he's been here," he said. "It all goes right to children."

H.D. Perry Middle plans to create literature circles, said new Principal Steve Frazier.

The school's reading coach, Ricki Kasse, wants to create a forum where students have an opportunity to discuss and share interpretations in understanding text in a group setting. "We wanted to increase student interest in literature," Kasse said.

Miramar High and New Renaissance Middle will use their allocations for crime watch and related prevention activities, according to a city form.

The amount given to schools for 2003-2004 is less than the $51,000 provided in 2002-2003, Robertson said, because of a decrease in task force seizures of forfeiture funds this year. "For whatever reasons unknown, less forfeiture funds have been confiscated so far this year," he said. "It may be an anomaly; we're still working."

(source) Sun Sentinel (Laura Burdick-Sherman) 4-14-04