Weak U.S. dollar hurts Department of Defense Education System

The declining U.S. economy has hurt many Americans, but perhaps one group not readily thought of may slip through the relief cracks as the DODDS-Europe faces a major budgetary shortfall.

With the current economic crisis in the U.S., Congress has met and debated often what could be done to help, including passing the Economic Stimulus package many Americans are already seeing hit their Direct Deposit. However one group is often neglected as Congress has no direct control. American military families living overseas. Many members of the U.S. military serve some time deployed overseas, and those who are assigned overseas often bring their families along. In Kaiserslautern, Germany the weak U.S. dollar has put Defense Department schools in one of the biggest financial binds in years. The Department of Defense Educational Activity’s spokesman said the financial situation is worse than past years because the dollar has plummeted. The Pentagon may be forced to realign it's budget to make sure the school systems under it's jurisdiction receive the funds they need to operate and educate the children of U.S. soldiers living overseas. "We’re confident we’ll get the relief we need,” DODEA spokesman Frank O’Gara said Tuesday from Arlington, Va. But the school system, which operates on a $1.5 billion budget worldwide, is not sure where the money is going to come from. Claudia Shaw, DODEA’s chief financial officer, said it will be a month or more before they have an idea where they’re going to move the money from. Officials must make up the loss internally or else they must go to the Office of the Secretary of Defense and request additional money. The system’s top administrators refused to release the size of the budget shortfall. O’Gara said they will not reveal how big it is because “we don’t want to alarm” parents and teachers, when officials believe the shortfall will be resolved. While DODEA spokesman Frank O’Gara and other officials do not wish to alarm DoD parents, they are forced to contend with the slipping value of the U.S. dollar as well as the growing strength of the Euro. The weak US economy is only half the problem when faced with a small sample population forced to live within a geographically separate area that has a much stronger economy. Funding for Defense Department schools became an issue earlier this month when Army Gen. John Craddock, the current Commander, U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) for NATO and the commanding officer of Allied Command Operations (ACO), testified before a House subcommittee that soldiers are leaving their spouses and children in the States because the schools do not have enough money and the facilities are too old after being told “...anecdotally, it’s happening.” Currently, most of Europe’s $606 million budget is fixed. But the weak dollar has dramatically driven payroll expenses such as housing and cost-of-living allowances for employees living overseas. DODDS-Europe projects it will spend more than $55 million in fiscal 2008 on cost-of-living allowances — known as “post allowance” — to teachers and staff. In 2002, when the dollar was strong, that number was zero. Housing allowances also have skyrocketed to unprecedented levels because teachers and staff live in homes off base and pay rent in euros. This year, the total figure is expected to nearly reach $102 million, up from $85.8 million just two years ago. To make up for the shortfall, European school officials have already had to make some cuts. Schools across the continent have cut field trips for students, and temporary duty trips for staff and teachers. Supplies, including everything from paper to textbooks, have been sliced in half. Instead of spending a targeted $200 per student this year, schools are shelling out only $100. Last year, schools cut the supply budget by 40 percent. However officials have not yet had to cut extracurricular activities, sports or many other academic programs. Despite floundering funding, US military schools systems often exceed expectations. Standardized test scores for students in military schools continually exceed the national average. Additionally they have a 98 percent graduation rate, often attain service academy appointments, and have students who generate millions of dollars in scholarships each year. “We are competitive, and we’ll continue to be more competitive as our programs develop,” said Shirley Miles, DODEA’s principal deputy director,. “I would pick DODEA over any of the school systems I’ve ever worked with.” Additionally, for troops stationed in areas with no DoD schools available, the Defense Department must pay for children to go to private schools. When London Central High School closed in 2007 due to the still impending closure of RAF Daws Hill, the DoD was forced to pay about $40,000 per year for each dependant child to go to a local private school. To face these challenges, Miles and Charlie Toth, the assistant associate director for education, say they are focused on continually improving their education system even on a declining budget with such programs as ‘Grade Speed’ and ‘Virtual School.’ Grade Speed will allow parents — including those deployed downrange — to log on to a through an Internet portal and check their students grades, attendance and tardy reports. Teachers also can post assignments and projects, allowing parents to track their progress. “It relieves some of their stress so they can focus on their mission with the military,” Miles said. “It keeps them focused, and frankly, it keeps the child focused on what they need to do.” Officials plan to make it mandatory this fall. The “Virtual School” will deliver an online accredited curriculum for students in kindergarten through 12th grade and result in a DODEA diploma, Miles said. The launch is set for fall via a small hub in Mainz-Kastel, Germany. Initially, it will be available to high school students only. The goal is have courses for every grade level sometime between 2015 and 2020. DODEA offers online courses now, but they require hubs for each area. Miles said the new program is distinct because it provides a “synchronized instructor” available to students anywhere in the world 24 hours a day. “It helps in remote parts of the world and assists non-DOD personnel who want a DODEA curriculum, such as home-schoolers and kids with parents in the State Department,” she said. Technicians must address bandwidth and security barriers before the “Virtual School” can open everywhere, she said. Especially with many of the modern youth becoming as tech savvy as the best hackers, the Virtual School may need protection as good as some of the best DoD systems.