Over the past decade, as the nation waged two wars, annual military spending skyrocketed 150 percent to $729 billion while money for the military's schools has risen less quickly about 50 percent, to $1.9 billion. Money for school construction has amounted to even less, an average $81 million annually from 2001 to 2010 barely the cost of a RQ-4 Global Hawk reconnaissance vehicle, the latest "drone" used by the U.S. Air Force. That's only enough money to replace two of the more than 130 substandard schools each year. At that rate, it would take 67 years to replace or renovate all 134 poor and failing schools. By then, of course, there'd be more of them.
Last August, the Defense Department's education agency unveiled a plan that could take up to seven years to replace or renovate its failing and poor schoolhouses¡ªat $3.7 billion. "Military personnel already make a lot of sacrifices," said Fitzgerald, the acting director, explaining the Defense Department's "good news" investment. "What the department is trying to do is to make sure their children are not sacrificed as well."
But Congress has committed only $484 million for the current fiscal year, enough to repair or replace 10 schools.Choose from one of the major categories of Bedding, Under the blueprint, another 97 would be repaired or replaced by 2017¡ªprovided Congress agrees to spend the remaining $3.2 billion. But in the current political climate in Washington, such a pricetag suggests slim odds of approval.
Meanwhile, the government each year spends another relatively small amount, $30 million, on "impact aid" for public schools with students whose parents work in the military. But that money is spread among more than 120 school districts and doesn't always trickle down to where it is needed. Some schools have spent the money on counseling and special education that benefits military children, but others have made general purchases such as computers for teachers. In Minot, North Dakota, for instance, the money has gone for new copier machines and paving parking lots. The federal government gives districts wide latitude in how the money can be used.
In Kansas, every school district, even those without military students, is entitled to some of the money. That leaves the system serving Fort Riley, for example,In addition to hydraulics fittings and Aion Kinah, with only $3 million of the $12 million it is entitled to¡ªhardly enough to build new schools, and most of it needed for $2 million annually in routine maintenance. "It would take a lot of time to save for a new elementary school," said Ron Walker, the superintendent in Geary County.
The dual system that has evolved for the education of military offspring has itself created confusion and conflict over who has responsibility for meeting students' needs. Some attend Pentagon-run schools,From standard Cable Ties to advanced wire tires, others are managed by local school systems, including many on bases. Taxpayers are wont to front money for new schools, creating haves and have-nots¡ªwith military students being the have-nots.
In Junction City, Kansas, for instance¡ªnear where Sadee Songer goes to school¡ªvoters in 2006 approved spending $33 million to address overcrowding. It was the first such bond in the community for five decades, and contained enough money to build two new schools. The support has yet to extend to schools on the Fort Riley post. "The local taxpayer says, 'Why should we fix or build new schools there?" said Charles Volland, communications director of the Geary County schools.
Kate Sullivan, whose two youngest sons attend Geronimo Road, bristles at the rejection by Lawton, Oklahoma, residents in 2009 of a $13 million bond to fix that school. That forced the district to collect half through a sales tax. "Finger pointing" broke out between the local community and the federal government, said Sullivan. Ralston, school liaison officer at Fort Sill, summed up the debate over schools caught in the jurisdictional no-mans-land: "People in Lawton have said, 'Hey, those schools are Fort Sill's,' and Fort Sill has said, 'Hey, they're not our schools.'"
Accumulating shortfalls have translated into trade-offs at the military's schools. "Do we build schools, or do we give more money to the educational program?" said Kevin Kelly, DoDEA's budget director. Rather than plow money into major maintenance¡ªrenovating old classrooms, overhauling old infrastructures¡ªadministrators say they have relied on Band-Aids and cosmetics, fueling the military's backlog of 130-plus schoolhouses in disrepair today.
"Without those sustainment dollars," said Roberts of the military's education agency, who oversees school construction, "our facilities did deteriorate."
It helps to have friends in high places, of course. Defense Secretary Gates on May 19 attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a new elementary school on Fort Riley. He reminded the crowd of a personal commitment he made a year earlier when noticing "the very unfortunate and bad situations here." The Army transferred $29 million from its coffers for the new school. "Today," said Gates, "I deliver on that commitment." One parent, Twinkle Astorga, was so elated she drove a half mile to the construction site, her four kids in tow. Later, her deployed husband called from Iraq, asking if the news was true.
Last August, Rep. Norm Dicks, the top Democrat on the House defense appropriations subcommittee, inserted $250 million into military spending for fiscal 2011 "to address capacity or facility condition deficiencies" at base schools run by local public systems, which Congress passed in April. Among the potential beneficiaries: schools in his district, on the Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington, which he described as having "deplorable" conditions. Six of the base's seven schools are a half-century old, fail to meet building codes, and face overcrowding. The district stands to collect $150 million of the congressional funds. Another is Geronimo Road, now scheduled for replacement sometime before 2016. However, after the investigation for this article began, Army undersecretary Joseph Westphal visited on May 7, pledging "to help rebuild our schools on this installation."
Good intentions sometimes lead to incomplete solutions. After a 2008 report to Congress catalogued the dismal state of the military's own schools, the Pentagon began funneling some money into them. The results are noticeable. Today, even the most decrepit schools can abound with what some teachers describe as "an overkill" of classroom smart boards, flat-screen TVs, and furniture.
Still, said former Rep. Edwards, who served for two decades, military families with few resources must compete for budget dollars with the well-oiled lobby machines of the military-industrial complex. "I had hundreds of representatives and lobbyists come into my office fighting for multibillion-dollar weapons programs," recalled the former appropriations subcommittee chairman. "But I only had a handful who ever walked in and said, 'we need more impact aid funding or we need to improve DOD schools or our kids deserve better education.' It's just a stacked deck."
One of the few advocating for school money is John Forkenbrock, executive director of the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, which lobbied Dicks to set aside special spending for the selected schools. Larger solutions have proved elusive, however. "It's like pulling teeth to get Congress to recognize there may well be a federal responsibility here,Use bluray burner to burn video to BD DVD on blu ray burner disc." he said.
Dicks spokesman George Behan said the appropriation for base schools run by local districts was only a start, "intended to be an ongoing effort until we bring [all of the] schools back to standards."
The school funding was among $1.4 billion in spending items that drew criticism from Republican John McCain, who argued on the Senate floor in April that such programs are "not considered core activities of the Department of Defense," and blasted them as "examples of ¡ misallocated resources."
The Defense Department's Gordon, for his part, said the task force evaluating base schools is looking "to ensure a way ahead to allow us to get to those schools in dire need now." As for the plan to fix the military's schools, he added, "we've got quite a commitment and, right now, our plan is to execute on that plan."
For many military children, like 11-year-old Catie Hunter,What to consider before you buy oil painting supplies. such help would come too late. The fifth grader will be in eighth grade by 2014, the earliest date when her school is expected to be fixed.
Just now, Catie has two wishes: that her dad returns home safely, and that her school remains "still standing."
Last August, the Defense Department's education agency unveiled a plan that could take up to seven years to replace or renovate its failing and poor schoolhouses¡ªat $3.7 billion. "Military personnel already make a lot of sacrifices," said Fitzgerald, the acting director, explaining the Defense Department's "good news" investment. "What the department is trying to do is to make sure their children are not sacrificed as well."
But Congress has committed only $484 million for the current fiscal year, enough to repair or replace 10 schools.Choose from one of the major categories of Bedding, Under the blueprint, another 97 would be repaired or replaced by 2017¡ªprovided Congress agrees to spend the remaining $3.2 billion. But in the current political climate in Washington, such a pricetag suggests slim odds of approval.
Meanwhile, the government each year spends another relatively small amount, $30 million, on "impact aid" for public schools with students whose parents work in the military. But that money is spread among more than 120 school districts and doesn't always trickle down to where it is needed. Some schools have spent the money on counseling and special education that benefits military children, but others have made general purchases such as computers for teachers. In Minot, North Dakota, for instance, the money has gone for new copier machines and paving parking lots. The federal government gives districts wide latitude in how the money can be used.
In Kansas, every school district, even those without military students, is entitled to some of the money. That leaves the system serving Fort Riley, for example,In addition to hydraulics fittings and Aion Kinah, with only $3 million of the $12 million it is entitled to¡ªhardly enough to build new schools, and most of it needed for $2 million annually in routine maintenance. "It would take a lot of time to save for a new elementary school," said Ron Walker, the superintendent in Geary County.
The dual system that has evolved for the education of military offspring has itself created confusion and conflict over who has responsibility for meeting students' needs. Some attend Pentagon-run schools,From standard Cable Ties to advanced wire tires, others are managed by local school systems, including many on bases. Taxpayers are wont to front money for new schools, creating haves and have-nots¡ªwith military students being the have-nots.
In Junction City, Kansas, for instance¡ªnear where Sadee Songer goes to school¡ªvoters in 2006 approved spending $33 million to address overcrowding. It was the first such bond in the community for five decades, and contained enough money to build two new schools. The support has yet to extend to schools on the Fort Riley post. "The local taxpayer says, 'Why should we fix or build new schools there?" said Charles Volland, communications director of the Geary County schools.
Kate Sullivan, whose two youngest sons attend Geronimo Road, bristles at the rejection by Lawton, Oklahoma, residents in 2009 of a $13 million bond to fix that school. That forced the district to collect half through a sales tax. "Finger pointing" broke out between the local community and the federal government, said Sullivan. Ralston, school liaison officer at Fort Sill, summed up the debate over schools caught in the jurisdictional no-mans-land: "People in Lawton have said, 'Hey, those schools are Fort Sill's,' and Fort Sill has said, 'Hey, they're not our schools.'"
Accumulating shortfalls have translated into trade-offs at the military's schools. "Do we build schools, or do we give more money to the educational program?" said Kevin Kelly, DoDEA's budget director. Rather than plow money into major maintenance¡ªrenovating old classrooms, overhauling old infrastructures¡ªadministrators say they have relied on Band-Aids and cosmetics, fueling the military's backlog of 130-plus schoolhouses in disrepair today.
"Without those sustainment dollars," said Roberts of the military's education agency, who oversees school construction, "our facilities did deteriorate."
It helps to have friends in high places, of course. Defense Secretary Gates on May 19 attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a new elementary school on Fort Riley. He reminded the crowd of a personal commitment he made a year earlier when noticing "the very unfortunate and bad situations here." The Army transferred $29 million from its coffers for the new school. "Today," said Gates, "I deliver on that commitment." One parent, Twinkle Astorga, was so elated she drove a half mile to the construction site, her four kids in tow. Later, her deployed husband called from Iraq, asking if the news was true.
Last August, Rep. Norm Dicks, the top Democrat on the House defense appropriations subcommittee, inserted $250 million into military spending for fiscal 2011 "to address capacity or facility condition deficiencies" at base schools run by local public systems, which Congress passed in April. Among the potential beneficiaries: schools in his district, on the Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington, which he described as having "deplorable" conditions. Six of the base's seven schools are a half-century old, fail to meet building codes, and face overcrowding. The district stands to collect $150 million of the congressional funds. Another is Geronimo Road, now scheduled for replacement sometime before 2016. However, after the investigation for this article began, Army undersecretary Joseph Westphal visited on May 7, pledging "to help rebuild our schools on this installation."
Good intentions sometimes lead to incomplete solutions. After a 2008 report to Congress catalogued the dismal state of the military's own schools, the Pentagon began funneling some money into them. The results are noticeable. Today, even the most decrepit schools can abound with what some teachers describe as "an overkill" of classroom smart boards, flat-screen TVs, and furniture.
Still, said former Rep. Edwards, who served for two decades, military families with few resources must compete for budget dollars with the well-oiled lobby machines of the military-industrial complex. "I had hundreds of representatives and lobbyists come into my office fighting for multibillion-dollar weapons programs," recalled the former appropriations subcommittee chairman. "But I only had a handful who ever walked in and said, 'we need more impact aid funding or we need to improve DOD schools or our kids deserve better education.' It's just a stacked deck."
One of the few advocating for school money is John Forkenbrock, executive director of the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, which lobbied Dicks to set aside special spending for the selected schools. Larger solutions have proved elusive, however. "It's like pulling teeth to get Congress to recognize there may well be a federal responsibility here,Use bluray burner to burn video to BD DVD on blu ray burner disc." he said.
Dicks spokesman George Behan said the appropriation for base schools run by local districts was only a start, "intended to be an ongoing effort until we bring [all of the] schools back to standards."
The school funding was among $1.4 billion in spending items that drew criticism from Republican John McCain, who argued on the Senate floor in April that such programs are "not considered core activities of the Department of Defense," and blasted them as "examples of ¡ misallocated resources."
The Defense Department's Gordon, for his part, said the task force evaluating base schools is looking "to ensure a way ahead to allow us to get to those schools in dire need now." As for the plan to fix the military's schools, he added, "we've got quite a commitment and, right now, our plan is to execute on that plan."
For many military children, like 11-year-old Catie Hunter,What to consider before you buy oil painting supplies. such help would come too late. The fifth grader will be in eighth grade by 2014, the earliest date when her school is expected to be fixed.
Just now, Catie has two wishes: that her dad returns home safely, and that her school remains "still standing."
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