CAFB commander talks education

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman John Parie
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
Education has been the number one priority for Columbus Air Force Base since Col. Dave Gerber, 14th Flying Training Wing commander, assumed command in June of 2006.

"One year later, progress has been remarkable and rapid and will ultimately benefit all students," he said.

"The LINK Education Committee led Columbus's education initiative with their superb presentation last September," he said. "That same week, General Paul Hester, a West Point native and the Pacific Air Forces commander, helped the Base host an Education Summit to build consensus among political, education, legal, business, and military leaders to improve Columbus area education."

In December, a CAFB census determined where base employees live, where their children attend school, and their concerns about education. With an 83 percent response rate, the census discovered that 50 percent of military members assigned to CAFB opt out of the public school system, and among all base employees, education quality was the top concern by a two to one margin over safety and every other issue.

"This past spring, the city of Columbus hired a new superintendent, Dr. Del Phillips, and the Education Task Force stood up with leaders from the city, county, education, business, and the Base," he said. "At the same time, we made the case for quality to our Congressional delegation men in Washington, D.C., the Department of Education, Department of Defense Education Activity, Governor Barbour, and the Mississippi State Superintendent of Education, Dr. Bounds."

The city of Columbus then applied for unitary status. On August 7, the Federal Courts ended 37 years of intervention in local education.

"This decision provided critical flexibility for Dr Phillips' initiatives, but it also re-zoned Columbus AFB students from the City to the County school district," he said. "During the same period, the Lowndes County School District was also very close to achieving full unitary status."

"Then Columbus made history again," he said. "Although the school year had already begun, last week the City and the County agreed to give Columbus Air Force Base students choice of school district."

On base residents who want to switch to Caledonia can do so, accepting the disruption of starting again in a new school, but those who prefer to stay with the City schools can continue. 30 of 105 on-base students elected to switch to Caledonia.

"The initial one-year duration of the base's choice provision approved last week provides time to work out the practical details of a permanent agreement," he said. "But make no mistake--permanent school choice is an enormous selling point for Columbus AFB among all Air Force Bases. This single factor has the greatest potential to quickly decrease the 50 percent opt-out rate discovered by the Base's census and increase the
ability of Columbus AFB to survive any future Air Force cuts."

"The City and County must now commit to a regional approach to education and continue to push hard to improve quality measured by national standards," he said. "New members of this community, both military and civilian, need to look at the community as a whole. Every school cannot specialize in every discipline, so it makes sense to build centers of excellence across the City and the County."

"Centers combined with school choice for all students in the area would make Columbus a bright spot for education in the Southeast and provide both long-standing and new residents with the flexible education options for their children regardless of where they live," he said. "Choice, plus the current proposals for magnet programs, school efficiency and student stability paint a bright future for all students."

"It has been a great year for education! Congratulations Columbus!"