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Donohue Institute Report Recommends Closing Department of Defense Elementary and Secondary Schools
But there is a problem. These schools work, says the Government Accounting Office and The Education Intelligence Agency, "EIA stands foursquare in favor of saving money, reducing government spending, and promoting local control of schools. But while the unionized DDESS schools cost more than the average public school in their respective regions, getting rid of them, even in the name of savings, is an outrage..." ![]()
General Accounting Office Tries to Save Government Schools That Work.
Three years ago, Congress commissioned a study by the Donahue Institute of the University of Massachusetts to determine if money could be saved by closing Department of Defense Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools (DDESS) and sending those children to local public schools instead. There are 59 DDESS schools serving the dependents of military personnel stationed in some of the largest bases in the United States, mostly in the South. In February 2005, the Donahue Institute released its lengthy report (available here), that recommended the transfer of a large number of DDESS students to local public school districts. EIA stands foursquare in favor of saving money, reducing government spending, and promoting local control of schools. But while the unionized DDESS schools cost more than the average public school in their respective regions, getting rid of them, even in the name of savings, is an outrage for one very simple reason. They work. DDESS students not only achieve at a high level, they achieve at a high level even when controlled for race and ethnicity. The General Accounting Office (GAO) evidently agrees, taking the Donahue study to task for its recommendations. In its own report (available here), GAO states that in the Donahue report "it is often unclear how various analytical factors examined led to recommendations being made. For example, in one instance, the panel recommended transfer of educational responsibilities to the neighboring (district) even though the (district's) per pupil costs were higher than DOD's and the (district) schools were cited as mostly 'underperforming.'" GAO calls for further assessment before any decisions are made. The recommendations of the Donahue report have been placed on hold pending military base closing and realignment decisions to be made at the end of 2005. Meanwhile, groups like the National Military Family Association and the Federal Education Association, NEA's affiliate in the DDESS schools, hope the GAO report will help keep the DDESS schools open. National Military Family Association NMFA links to services and resources Federal Education Association Working With Military Children: A Primer For School Personnel The DDESS Transfer Study |