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                          October 24, 2003

Lennox argues case to keep post school

ATLANTA (Army Times) -- West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. William H. Lennox Jr., was among the officers and students arguing the case Oct. 16 against closing defense department schools. Two high school students, six flag officers and eight colonels, representing all four services, made emotional pleas to defense officials about what those schools mean to the quality of life for military families.

The Department of Defense is collecting input as part of the third and final phase of the study. They want to discover the feasibility of turning over control of the 58 DDESS schools in the continental United States to public school outside the gates.

Those present decided to work together on a last-minute survey of parents at the 14 installations to include in the input to defense officials. The 14 bases are Camp Lejeune, N.C.; Dahlgren, Va.; Fort Benning and Fort Stewart, Ga.; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Campbell and Fort Knox, Ky.; Fort Jackson and Laurel Bay, S.C.; Fort Rucker and Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.; Robins Air Force Base, Ga.; Quantico, Va.; and West Point.

The timeline for a decision is unclear. A final report will be filed by Feb. 15 to Charles Abell, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. DoD transferring some or all the schools to local school districts, would not happen before the 2007-2008 school year, said Joseph Tafoya, director of the Department of Defense Education Activity, who stressed that it’s possible no changes will be made.

Lennox said the fear created by the study is the top concern among military families at West Point right now. He showed clips from a town hall meeting in which many soldiers and family members talked about the quality of education and the special consideration for the needs of military children, the schools provide. Some said the number one reason they love living at West Point is the schools.

Lennox also said he believes he would lose 50 percent of those who want to teach at West Point if the schools were transferred, because parents wouldn’t want to put their children’s education in jeopardy. That would affect his mission, because "I could not get the bright young captains and majors to come and teach."

Those who spoke said parents expressed concern about lower test scores and increasing budget woes in civilian schools near DDESS communities and feel betrayed by defense officials and lawmakers who called for the study.

"Betrayal -- write that word down and put it in your report," said Col. John Kidd, commander of Fort Stewart. He noted the schools have been an important part of the quality of life at his post, especially with heavy deployments of soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tafoya stressed the meeting was just one step in the process, and that the school districts will have an opportunity to expand and revise their input before the agency presents it in February.

"My greatest concern is the angst of the people who are impacted," Tafoya said, especially when they have faced dangerous wartime deployments. "If anything, I hope we never have to do another study."

The earlier phases of the $1.6 million study included: analyses of each DDESS school, the projected costs of transferring each school to its respective local district, a facility assessment survey and a survey of state and local education agencies that would be affected.