If things don’t change for the better, the nationally touted and replicated Safe2Tell program — a statewide nonprofit school safety and security system launched after the Columbine High School shootings in 1999 — may not be around in the next several months to help students report and prevent trouble at schools.
Safe2Tell, including its newest evolution, Safe2Text, allows students to anonymously report bullying, drug dealing, suspicious behavior and rumored school attacks.
But as a result of the economic downturn, the program’s coffers are running dry, said Cynthia Coffman,chief deputy attorney general in Colorado. She added that not only is the program running low on corporate and individual funding, Safe2Tell faces the loss of its executive director.
In late January, the Colorado Joint Budget Committee proposed the state cut executive director Susan Payne’s $98,000 yearly salary. Payne’s job as director is just one of several line items slated to be discontinued in an attempt to balance the state budget.
The program will also be losing a $237,000 federal grant in March, Coffman said. Safe2Tell has a $250,000 annual operating budget.
“When the (Justice Assistance Grant) ends, there isn’t another grant coming in to bridge the gap,” Coffman said.
She added that for the first time since Safe2Tell’s launch in 2004, the all-volunteer board and four staff members are asking schools to foot some of the bill and donate to the public- private program.
“Our demand may exceed our resources,” Coffman said. “We need to find money.”
John McDonald, executive director of security and emergency planning with Jefferson County Public Schools, said the lack of funds and support in the state legislature is “causing tremendous pressure.”
“From my perspective, Safe2Tell is the one program at the state level that makes a difference,” he said.
McDonald, who oversees the safety of Jeffco’s 86,000 students, added that he hopes a state legislator will realize the vital necessity of the program and champion it.
Since 2004, there have been 362 teen suicides prevented in the state of Colorado as a result of Safe2Tell. Safe2Tell and Safe2Text serve 163 cities in 59 counties across the state. In unincorporated Jefferson County, 44 of 88 reports this year have required law enforcement involvement.
McDonald said cyberbullying and suicide threats on Facebook are reported by students via Safe2Tell and Safe2Text.
“All we need is one (person) to tell,” he said. “Telling is not snitching.”
Simon Moya-Smith: 303-954-2396 or moyas@YourHub.com
