The Muscogee County and Phenix City school districts are trying to make preparations for students moving into the area. The population increase comes from more soliders being assigned to Fort Benning.
School officials went to bat for their schools on Capitol Hill this week, and just may have returned with a home run.
"We had a pretty brutal schedule but a wonderful reception," says Dr. John Phillips, Jr., superintendent for Muscogee County Schools.
Dr. Larry DiChiaro adds, "they were extremely positive. They were very impressed with the coalition we had formed."
That coalition is the Chattahoochee Valley Schools Coalition, which is made up of several local school systems. Together, these school systems expect to get between 7,500 to 10,000 new students when new jobs come to Fort Benning as a result of BRAC. They told lawmakers they'll need $321 million in federal funding over several years to prepare for those students.
"Obviously there's not money just sitting there, but they all promised to do what they could from various departments," Dr. Phillips says.
Both men know it could take some time to see results. After all, this is a new situation. Government leaders will have to decide whether federal assistance will come from education or defense funds. Dr. DiChiaro is just glad the lawmakers they spoke with recognize the need for funding.
"It was mainly an awareness trip, to make them aware of what the problem is," Dr. DiChiaro said.
Both superintendents agree it will take more following up in Washington before they see that money, but the effort will be well worth it in the end.
"You have to go and continue to lobby and make people continuously aware of your needs," said Dr. Phillips.
They say the next step is forming the Seven Rivers National Coalition. It's made up of six other states from around the country who are also impacted by military repositioning from BRAC. Those states are Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Ohlahoma, Texas, and Virginia. They hope to get more federal funding by combining their efforts.
