Realignment of military bases will affect student enrollment

Local school officials already are gearing up for a hefty enrollment boost, says Jesus Sanchez, school trustee for the Ysleta Independent School District. Finding classroom space, purchasing textbooks, and hiring new teachers are just some of the details now under review.

“It’s a whole city of people coming in,” he says. “The whole community is looking at making sure we have the infrastructure to handle the growth.”

These days, the situation in western Texas is not unique. In one of the more sweeping military reorganizations in recent years, the U.S. Department of Defense has proposed closing 22 major military installations and redeploying troops at seven others.

At the same time, thousands of troops also will be returning home from overseas.

It’s still not clear how many school-aged children will be affected by troop transfers, but the Military Impacted Schools Association (MISA) estimates at least 32,000 students will return to the U.S. from overseas. Thousands more will be moving across country.

That means school districts near a number of major military installations -- Fort Knox, Ky.; Fort Bliss, Texas; and Fort Bragg, N.C.; among others -- can expect to see enrollment grow by hundreds or even thousands. Meanwhile, other districts near bases that are closing could see student rosters shrink by 20 percent or more.

Until Congress approves the recommendations this fall, local school officials cannot speak with certainty about the impact on their districts. In New Jersey, for example, the closing of Fort Monmouth is expected to cost Monmouth Regional High School about 200 of its 1,200-student enrollment -- and $350,000 in federal “impact aid” provided to offset property taxes lost because of the presence of a nearby military installation.

But the loss will go deeper than just numbers, school officials say. Classroom diversity will suffer with the departure of well-traveled students, and school athletes no longer will have access to the fort’s swimming pool.

The Ingleside Independent School District, outside Corpus Christi, Texas, already has lost 100 students from military families this year -- and expects to lose nearly a third of its remaining 2,200 students with the proposed closing of Naval Station Ingleside.

With a strong local economy and a growing city population, the school system eventually should replace its departing students -- and handle the base closing just fine, says Superintendent Troy Mircovich.

“The only big fear is if they pull out the troops quickly,” he says. “If they pull out over time, our growth will maintain our finances.”

Growth is on the mind of school officials in Colorado Springs, Colo., where the expansion of nearby Fort Carson and Peterson Air Force Base is likely to boost enrollment by as much as 4,000 students.

To prepare for these new arrivals, the district relied first on a retired administrator -- and now a full-time employee -- to serve as a liaison with military officials, says district spokesperson Elaine Naleski.

The influx of new students will be easier for Colorado Springs than some districts across the nation because it has lost enrollment in recent years and has excess classroom space, she says. So, “we do not consider this a problem at all. We look at it as a blessing.”

That’s not to say there aren’t challenges. Some school systems are looking to handle new growth by opening closed schools or launching a new building program. In Killeen, Texas, however, officials are focusing on student turnover: Thousands of students are expected to move away because of troop transfers from nearby Fort Hood, but thousands of others could move to the district.

Although overall military-related enrollment might change little, such sizable numbers of new students will require counseling and other support to help ease the disruption in these children’s lives -- and make it easier for them to learn, school officials say.

Across the nation, school officials also are looking at their long-term finances. Federal impact aid payments can range from under $50 to several thousand dollars, depending upon such variables as the percentage enrollment of military students and whether children live on base or not.

Also, if students arrive after state aid payments are determined, districts can face a shortage of funds.

“Our [state] funding is based on the number of students we have Oct. 1,” Naleski says. “So let’s say you end up with as many as 500 after that, you have to hire the teachers and you have to accommodate those students without state funding. That’s the challenge school districts are seeing right now.”

Some school districts also are watching the impact on the local economy. Closing bases can cost civilian jobs, and the loss of military customers can forces businesses to close. All of this can have an impact on local tax revenues.

These issues are going to be relevant to more school districts than ever -- not only because more troops are returning from overseas but because military housing is being privatized and troops will be living farther away from bases, says MISA spokesperson Cindy Williams.

With military personnel being housed twice as far as a few years ago, she says, “you’ll see more school districts that typically may have had no military families start seeing them.”

MISA is working with school districts affected by the military reorganization to get information to them as it becomes available, Williams says. “We’re trying to get a better handle on this, but it will be over a three to five-year period, and some of it will be slow.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) has introduced an amendment to a Defense Department authorization bill that would give extra money to school districts that experience an influx of military families -- and provide a financial buffer to districts losing impact aid because of departing students.

Others also are trying to rally around local schools. In Georgia, state officials are looking to revise curriculum requirements -- such as mandated state history classes -- that are a hardship for military children to meet. Attention also is being given to the need for more funding for enrollment growth in about a dozen districts.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School for Public Health recently announced a new Military Child Initiative to address the needs of school-age military children, who move three times as often as other American families.

The new program will focus on applying the lessons of research about military students, serve as a clearinghouse for research and statistics, and provide technical assistance to school systems.

“Children of military families often wind up feeling like the new kid on the block -- because they are,” says Robert Blum, author of a Johns Hopkins report describing successful strategies to help military students adapt to new schools.

“Every time their families relocate, these kids start life all over again, and that’s hard,” he says. “By making students feel welcome and forming a connection with them, schools can help kids succeed academically and adjust socially.”