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USMC Parents Forced to Find New School for Kids [Updated]

The Worth County board of education in Sylvester, GA decided last week that they would no longer allow children whose parents serve on the Marine Corps Logistics Base to attend Worth County schools, impacting more than 50 children.

The Worth County Board of Education voted to suspend a policy that allowed students whose parents are Marines living on base to attend Worth County Schools, citing budgetary reasons. Given the fact that school starts in a few weeks, that doesn’t give these parents much time to find an alternate school for their children.

“We certainly understand the fiscal realities, however we have been completely caught off guard by this Worth County Board of Education decision. Military children pay a huge price already, so for our kids to be paying the bill when the base provides 1.4 billion to the local economy hurts. We hope that the Worth County Board of Education will reconsider or at least grandfather the 57 students who are already in the system and currently benefiting from this agreement,” said Col Donald Davis, commanding officer, Marine Corps Logistics Base.

I’m not sure what can be done to help these folks at this point, but it can’t hurt to contact the Worth County board of education to respectfully let them know how you feel.

You can read more here.

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Update 7/17/2013 – Decision Reversed

Worth County School System has reversed its decision to not allow Marine Corps Logistics Base children to attend its schools. Base Commander Col. Don Davis said, “We’re extremely happy with the fact that the board overturned the decision made last week. Of course, our kids get to go back to the school that they call home, so those that are Worth County Rams, they’ll get to return to football practice, return to the classroom, and we’re extremely happy with that and pleased.”

Great news for these kids and their parents, and thank you to everyone who contacted the Worth County Board of Education on their behalf.

You can read more here.

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25 Responses to USMC Parents Forced to Find New School for Kids [Updated]

  1. Joe July 15, 2013 at 9:11 am #

    This is totally unexceptable. This nation is going to hell in high gear and the libtards will not take there foot of the accelerator

    • David July 15, 2013 at 9:57 am #

      You got that right Joe.

  2. Gun_Collector July 15, 2013 at 10:25 am #

    A; It sounds like the Board of Education is comprised of anti-Military individuals doing what the can to Stick it to the man without even thinking about the children. B: if it is about economics, the base Commander Said Everything: “the base provides 1.4 billion to the local economy.” Educating 50 kids pales in comparison. I know that it can’t be official, but it would be great if an unofficial Marine boycott took place of all local establishments until the School board reversed their policy.

  3. Jerry Baker July 15, 2013 at 10:37 am #

    Not sure how the kids can be impacting the budget. I thought the schools got paid by the state for each kid enrolled. If I’m correct wont the school be loosing money for the 57 kids? I’m ex-Air Force and I know on Holloman they had a school for the kids I would have thought this base would too. Maybe the base should stand behind the parents of the 57 kids and boycot the county. Our service men, women and children should be taken care of by the people of this country because with out the men and women we might not even have a public school system!

    • Ernest Dadis July 15, 2013 at 1:03 pm #

      Consider closing the base and moving to another locale where everyone will be welcomed.

  4. dgdimick July 15, 2013 at 10:48 am #

    I know here in Los Alamos, the schools get extra funding if their parents work at the Lab. Maybe they should cut Football instead of the mouth that feeds them.

  5. ruger10/22 July 15, 2013 at 11:10 am #

    The liberal idiiots want it their way or the high way, and forgot how they got the Freedom and Liberty they enjoy

  6. Paul F. Tipton July 15, 2013 at 11:20 am #

    I am a retired Master Sergeant, U. S. Marine Corps. I just called the Board and left a long detailed voice mail, you know they won’t answer your calls live, telling them that I as an American Serviceman will contact the Base Staff Judge Advocate’s Office and tell them about my families experience some 30 plus years ago when returning from an overseas deployment and arriving at Camp Lejeune, NC and being told that my children were not eligible to attend the county schools unless we paid a “tuition charge” of $245.00 per child. That don’t sound like much but go back 30 plus years on E7 pay, that was a big chunk of money. Needless to say, the Command at the Base felt this was wrong and the Judge Advocate Office helped myself and seven other military family’s pursue legal options and a law suit was brought about through the Department of Justice against the Board of Education, Onslow County and the State of North Carolina. The eight family’s were the plaintiff’s, long story short, WE WON AND WE DID NOT PAY ONE CENT IN TUITION! The court in its ruling cited that this tuition as illegal. A reference in the decision was in regards to the State of Texas which had years before attempted to deny educational opportunities to Mexican children that would walk across the border on a daily basis and attend the local schools free of charge, Texas attempted to “deny” them initially, however someone initiated a suit against Texas and the result was Texas lost, the court stated that not only were these “non-citizen children” entitled to an education at the expense of the Texas tax payers, they also had to feed them breakfast and lunch FREE WHILE THEY ATTENDED SCHOOL. Now the situation in Georgia may not be exactly alike, it certainly is communistic to deny education to these children because they are military dependents living aboard the base (or living off the base). It is a sad day in American when the members of our military get station in one of the 50 states or territories of the United States only to be told their children are not even entitled to an educational opportunity. The Worth County Commissioners and all the businesses located there certainly don’t have any reservations about taking those military member’s MONEY do they. While the income is appreciated, it is again that the defenders of freedom are made to feel that they are inadequate or second or third class citizens. It sounds like this country’s attitude when my fellow service members and I returned to the USA from our tours in a small county in South East Asia called Vietnam – we were treated as being LESS than human, rapists, killers of babies and women and other children, SPIT UPON, AND DENIED OUR BASIC RIGHTS AS HUMAN BEINGS! We have since rapidly become a godless nation on the slippery slopes headed for hell. May God bless this country one more time. To America, I can only say Semper Fi!.

  7. Ron McLaren July 15, 2013 at 12:19 pm #

    Sounds like the time I was stationed in Norfolk, Va. The military propped up the economy so much that without the Navy in town, the whole community would have crumbled. I would suspect the same holds true today. Anyway, the people had such disdain for us that they would actually put signs on their lawns that read,”Sailors and dogs keep off grass”!

  8. Angel Storm July 15, 2013 at 12:55 pm #

    What is this world coming to? Like other posters stated, don’t these schools get money for each child that is a military dependent? I grew up as an Army Brat, I remember having to fill out forms in school that said if I had a parent that served in the military so the school was sure to get every PENNY it could. Most towns around military bases get the vast majority of their money from the personal that frequent the businesses, might want to remember that before elected officials start making stupid choices. Morons

  9. Rick Maxon July 15, 2013 at 1:04 pm #

    All people on the base should cease business with anyone in Worth County and tell the shop owners why.

  10. Stoshwolfen July 15, 2013 at 2:11 pm #

    Last I checked DoD pays local school systems for each military child attending. This move by a local school board is bogus. It’s only an anti-military libtard bias as usual unsupported by actual facts on the ground.

    • Mark N. Dfw July 15, 2013 at 4:32 pm #

      I think they they are
      subject to forfeiting all federal monies if they pursue that ave. I also would recommend the base reduce their county tax payments by the amount it costs to get the kids into private schools and transporting them to said schools.

  11. Sonny July 15, 2013 at 2:58 pm #

    Simple solution. Put the town off limits. See how quickly they change their minds when revenue starts drying up.

  12. Hillbilly Bob July 15, 2013 at 3:12 pm #

    Hell invade the school and take it over and kick the libtards out haa
    The bad part about this is the libtards are in power and nothing will be done about this mess

  13. Joy Roberts Shivers July 15, 2013 at 5:12 pm #

    Contact Information
    Worth County Schools
    103 Eldridge Street
    Sylvester, Georgia 31791
    Phone: (229) 776-8600
    Fax: (229) 776-8603

    A little outside Patriot help?
    I posted this story on FB.

  14. Larry July 15, 2013 at 6:26 pm #

    Find some retired military in the area who would serve on the board, find out which school board members are up for re-election and then launch a campaign to help change the board!

  15. Joy Roberts Shivers July 15, 2013 at 6:27 pm #

    If this District is in Common Core Curriculum it nay be to the USMC’s advantage. Is It?

  16. Patti Fink July 16, 2013 at 12:05 pm #

    OMG!! This has nothing to do with Common Core Curriculum! I am retired AF and a teacher. This has to do with blatant discrimination against military kids and a way to squeeze more money into the district. I don’t know which red neck on the School Board thought this up but its not gonna go well.

  17. Dan Gwaltney July 16, 2013 at 8:33 pm #

    Before you folks start amassing troops on the Worth County border, you might consider the fact that the Marine base in question is not even located in Worth County. It is in the edge of Albany in Dougherty County. Albany is a much larger city with much more capability of accommodating those students.

  18. Lea Reeves July 17, 2013 at 3:31 pm #

    E-mail their Public Relations representative with your opinion: hgreene@worthschools.net
    I just gave them an earful!

    • Brandon July 17, 2013 at 4:22 pm #

      Lea – they reversed their decision.

  19. Earl Boydell, Jr. July 17, 2013 at 4:31 pm #

    I live in New Orleans, and we have had a military base across the river, I guess since before WWII, which had become run down. We have the 4th Marine Reserve Division, H&S Battalion. Just the thought of not having their business forced the people convince our Senators to do whatever was needed to keep them. I am guessing, but it took about 5 years to completely rebuild a modern first class military base that the Marines are proud to occupy. But the local people treat them like “gods”. If they need something, we get it for them. Of coarse, the Marine Corps stationed one of their Bands here, and they are in everything during Mardi Gras, and busy all year. Both my father and I were in the Marine Corps, and can’t imagine not being proud to have those Heroes part of our community.

  20. Jennifer July 17, 2013 at 9:33 pm #

    This goes against FAPE (Free and appropriate public education) it’s a federal law people. As for the marine base, pull all support for the local community, lets see if they can survive that budget cut.