The Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and
Vocational Education recently held a hearing on the
schools on military bases under Section 6 of P.L.
81-874, impact aid. During the course of this hearing,
one of the major issues revolved around the funding
and administrative structure of these schools.

As part of our hearing record, I am writing to
ask your opinion on several questions related to the
administration and control of these Section 6 schools:

1.

Should the office of Education continue to be the funding source for these schools, even though the daily administration is handled by the Department of Defense?

2. What would be the effects if these schools were brought completely under the Office of Education, including administration?

3. Should the services continue to administer these schools? If so, should they be funded through the Department of Defense or through the individual services rather than through the Office of Education?

I would appreciate hearing your opinions on these questions by July 15th, since we would like to make your response part of our hearing record.

This is in reply to your letter of July 5, 1977, to the Honorable
Clifford L. Alexander, Secretary of the Army, regarding the operation
and funding of schools on military installations in the United States
which are operated under provisions of Section 6 of Public Law 81-874,
the Impact Aid legislation.

I am sure you appreciate that all of the Military Departments have administrative responsibilities for Section 6 schools at the present time. We actually have 19 schools within the United States, including two in Puerto Rico. They are administered by Department as follows:

Since Section 6 schools are a Department-wide responsibility, it is
more appropriate to provide you with a DoD response. Our reply to
the specific questions in your letter follows:

Question 1. Should the Office of Education continue to be the funding source for these schools, even though the daily administration is handled by the Department of Defense?

Yes, the Office of Education should continue to be the funding source for Section 6 schools, even though they are administered by the Department of Defense. It is not considered appropriate for the Department of

Defense to be in competition with public/private school systems in the United States, which could appear to be the case if such funding were in the Department of Defense budget.

Question 2. What would be the effects if these schools were brought completely under the Office of Education, including administration?

It is difficult to predict the effects on these schools if they were administered by the Office of Education. The Department of Defense will solicit the views of the Office of Education and the Military Departments in this matter.

Question 3. Should the services continue to administer these schools? If so, should they be funded through the Department of Defense or through the individual services rather than through the Office of Education?

The Services should continue to administer these schools. As stated above, the funding source should remain with the Office of Education. It may be feasible to centralize the operation of these schools in one office, but time will be required to review this question. In accordance with the intent of provisions of Public Law 81-874, as amended, Department of Defense policy will continue to be that Section 6 schools should be turned over to local and state jurisdictions when assurance is given that an adequate education will be provided.

Your interest is sincerely appreciated.

Sincerely,

Burie

ROBERT B. PIRIE, JR.

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
of Defense (MRA&L),

During the course of the Subcommittee's hearing on June 23rd on Section 6 schools under the impact aid program, you were informed that some of the Committee members had additional questions for you which, because of time limitations, we were unable to pursue.

We have attached these questions to this letter,
and would appreciate your timely response for insertion
in the hearing record. We would like a response no
later than July 15th, since we hope to send the hearings
to the printer by that date.

Thank you again for appearing as a witness, and I
will look forward to your responses.