On-Post Schools in Jeopardy?

A disturbing story hit my inbox this morning about a new study from the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.  The eighteen-member commission is due to report to President Obama in December about ways the Department of Defense budget could be cut to address the skyrocketing national debt.   The commission apparently is going to propose cutting or eliminating on-base schools.  The budget for these schools is approximately $1.8 billion.


School closures could have a profound effect on the education of military children.  On-base schools have a number of advantages, including coordinated curriculum and testing, so that a child who transfers from one base to another steps into a familiar curriculum at the same point as his or her classmates.  Post schools also have faculty and staff trained to deal with issues affecting military children, and extracurricular activities have their needs in mind.


If these school are poor quality, or seriously underattended, or problematic in some other way, I might feel differently, but on first learning of this proposal, I was stunned by the heartlessness of it.  Military children pay such a price for their parents' service, and concerns for their welfare are increasingly well-documented and justified. To take something away from military children is the opposite of saying thank you. It also will simply shift burdens to public schools and services, eliminating nothing in the end.  It is likely to be a false savings and possibly a very true loss.  I will write more as I learn details.  Please post a comment if you have any information.