DOD Schools: Funding and Operating Alternatives for Education of Dependents
HRD-87-16
Published: Dec 10, 1986. Publicly Released: Dec 10, 1986.
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Highlights
In accordance with a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the methods the Department of Defense (DOD) uses to operate and fund its dependents' schools to: (1) determine the most suitable means of funding those schools; and (2) identify legal, jurisdictional, and other impediments to changing the schools' funding and operating methods.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
| Matter | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| For dependents' schools established through mutual agreement among federal, state, and local officials as coterminous school districts or transferred to nearby school districts, Congress may want to consider whether impact aid should be increased to ensure that local districts nationwide do not lose funds because of a reallocation of impact aid to the districts absorbing the section 6 students. |
Closed – Not Implemented
|
No action is currently ongoing or planned. |
| If the section 6 schools are established as new coterminous districts, Congress may want to consider amending the impact aid legislation to permit the states in which such districts are established to consider a portion of impact aid payments to these districts when determining the amount of their education payments, so that overall funding levels for these schools would not significantly increase. |
Closed – Not Implemented
|
No action is currently ongoing or planned. |
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Education | The Secretaries of Education and Defense should advocate the adoption of the new coterminous local school district alternative unless all parties agree that another alternative is more appropriate in a particular situation. The coterminous operation alternative would reduce overall federal expenditures, restore education responsibilities to the states, and minimize the direct funding and operational impact on local school districts. |
Closed – Not Implemented
The Department of Education disagreed with this recommendation. While DOD initially agreed with this recommendation, after further studying the issue, it has informed Congress that it plans to take no action to transfer or otherwise change the current method of operating the schools.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretaries of Education and Defense should advocate the adoption of the new coterminous local school district alternative unless all parties agree that another alternative is more appropriate in a particular situation. The coterminous operation alternative would reduce overall federal expenditures, restore education responsibilities to the states, and minimize the direct funding and operational impact on local school districts. |
Closed – Not Implemented
DOD has decided that transferring the schools, or any change in the current method of its operations, is not feasible.
|
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Topics
Education or training costsElementary educationFunds managementIntergovernmental fiscal relationsMilitary dependentsSchool management and organizationSecondary educationImpact aidSchoolsSchool districts