In 2002, DOD’s attention again turned to studying the potential for  transferring DOD’s domestic elementary and secondary education program  over to LEAs. DOD Does Not Have Specific Criteria for Closing Schools

While DOD has previously urged its components to examine for potential  divestiture or outsourcing of functions not core to warfighting efforts to the  private sector, neither DODEA nor DOD has policy guidance related to  closing the dependent elementary and secondary schools operated by the  department. While expansion and contraction of the number of domestic  schools operated by DOD occurred between the 1950s and early 1970s,  relatively few have been closed or transferred since then, and most of these  have been related to base closure activities. For affected military families,  the retention of these schools is seen as a quality-of-life issue, but there are  varying perspectives on this issue within DOD. DOD housing privatization officials indicated they do not currently  anticipate similar transfers of schools in the future. Nonetheless, the basis for these recommendations is difficult to ascertain  based on study report documents. For example, in a few  instances, the panel recommended transfers to LEA districts even though  the district schools were considered to be “underperforming” while  another adjacent LEA’s schools were considered “overperforming” and  with lower per pupil costs; or a LEA was recommended over DDESS even  though the LEA’s per pupil costs were higher and its schools were cited as  mostly “underperforming.” Appendix V highlights examples of the  divergent information contained in various transfer study documents for  four installations. However, study data indicate that DOD  could incur costs of about $125 million to repair and upgrade existing  DDESS school facilities,. Other Issues Could Impact Decision Making

Apart from issues identified in the transfer study, there are other  factors/issues that were not present when the transfer study began that  could impact DDESS and LEA schools and further complicate school  transfer decisions. The study did not consider ongoing DOD plans to realign U.S. bases  overseas and announced plans to restation about 70,000 military personnel  and approximately 100,000 family members currently stationed overseas to  bases in the United States. The study also does not reflect efforts under way by the Army to reorganize  its force structure, creating new units of action with the potential for  increased numbers of personnel assigned to selected military bases in the  United States. DOD has appropriately said that it is postponing decision making on the  results of the transfer study until after base closure decisions are finalized  later this year. Once the results of the domestic base closure  process and overseas rebasing plans are known, a decision on the school  transfer issue should be made sooner rather than later to ensure adequate  planning, funding and siting of new school facilities in the United States  that may be needed to support increasing populations of military  dependent students. Recommendations for Executive Action

Should a decision be made to transfer some or all of DDESS domestic  schools to LEAs, we recommend that the Secretary of Defense, in  conjunction with the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and  Readiness require that such efforts be accompanied by a more complete  assessment of the impact of troop redeployments and other force structure  changes on educational facility requirements on affected installations and  surrounding communities to facilitate needed facility and operational  planning by DOD, the Department of Education and LEAs to meet changing  needs. Scope and Methodology

To determine the extent to which DOD has established a school closure  policy and the effect such policies have on quality-of-life issues for  servicemembers and their dependents, we discussed the issue with  cognizant officials within DODEA and other departmental officials. To assess the transfer study completed for DODEA by the Donahue  Institute, including the clarity of the basis for conclusions reached, the  overall financial impact, and issues identified but not resolved by the study,  we first reviewed the various summary reports prepared by the Donahue  Institute, the results of the facility condition assessment performed by  Parkhill, Smith, and Cooper, Inc., and a summary of the phase 3 quality-of- life assessment. The study was completed by Rand under the  sponsorship of the Assistant Secretary of Defense/Force Management  and Personnel as the result of Congress incorporating into the Military  Construction Authorization Act, 1986, a request to the Secretary of  Defense to submit a plan “which provides for the orderly transfer, not  later than July 1990, of all Section 6 schools to the appropriate local  school districts of the states in which such schools are located.” DOD  later reported to the Congress, in December 1988, that based on the  results of a detailed study of the schools, it had decided to suspend  efforts to transfer educational responsibilities for the schools to LEAs.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Department of Defense (DOD) operates 59 elementary and secondary schools serving over a dozen military bases in the continental United States Periodically, questions have been raised concerning the continuing need for such schools. In 2002, DOD commissioned the Donahue Institute of the University of Massachusetts to examine the potential for transferring these schools to local education agencies (LEAs). GAO's assessment focused on (1) the extent to which DOD has established a school closure policy and the effect such policies have on quality-of-life issues for servicemembers and their dependents; and (2) the transfer study, including the clarity of the basis for conclusions reached, the overall financial impact, and issues identified but not resolved by the study. GAO's report also identifies issues not addressed in the transfer study that could impact the future of DOD's domestic schools.

What GAO Found

Officials in the DOD Education Activity, which administers the DOD school program, said that neither DOD nor Department of Defense Education Activity has specific policy guidance related to closing domestic dependent elementary and secondary schools. While some expansion and contraction of the number of domestic schools operated by DOD occurred between the 1950s and early 1970s, relatively few have been closed or transferred since then, and most of those have been related to base closure activities. For affected military families, the retention of these schools is seen as an important quality-of-life issue. The basis for the expert panel recommendations to transfer selected DOD schools to LEAs is difficult to ascertain. Specifically, 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 LEA even though the LEA's per pupil costs were higher than DOD's and the LEA schools were cited as mostly "underperforming." Moreover, the study data indicate that DOD could incur an estimated $125 million to repair and upgrade existing schools. Under the panel's recommendations, DOD would also have a continuing obligation to maintain the schools even after program transfers to the LEAs. Some long-term savings in operating costs could accrue to DOD, but many of these costs would need to be absorbed by LEAs or other federal programs. The transfer study also indicates that various legal restrictions in some states would need to be resolved. Finally, ownership of the schools DOD operates needs to be clarified in order to ensure that it is properly reflected in property records. There are other factors, most not present when the transfer study began, that could further complicate school transfer decisions, including ongoing DOD plans to relocate about 70,000 military personnel and approximately 100,000 family members currently stationed overseas to bases in the United States within the next few years; Army efforts to reorganize its force structure, with the potential for increased numbers of personnel assigned to selected military bases in the United States; and the impact of the 2005 base realignment and closure round. Likewise, current DOD efforts to privatize housing on its military bases could also impact future requirements for schools serving military dependents. DOD has appropriately said that it is postponing decision making on the results of the transfer study until after base closure decisions are finalized later this year. However, the impact of troop redeployments and other force structure changes on schools has not yet been fully assessed. Given the expected increase of school age military dependents on various stateside military bases over the next few years, a clear decision on school transfer issues should be made after the results of the base closure process and overseas rebasing plans are known to ensure adequate planning for facilities by DOD and LEAs.