By: Cara Latham
While it is uncertain what the future holds for students from the two nearby military bases that are set to combine into a megabase, local superintendents said this week that the schools the children attend will stay the same for now.
The Department of Defense announced in spring of 2005 it was combining Fort Dix, McGuire Air Force Base and Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station into the nation’s first "megabase" that is expected to generate $300 million in new construction projects in the coming years. It is also expected to create a significant number of new jobs.
Then in March of 2006, the DOD signed a $348 million housing project plan at Fort Dix and McGuire Air Force Base which is expected to raze 1,915 existing base houses (which date to the draft era), refurbish 449 existing units and build 2,083 new units. Residents will be relocated to the new housing.
None of the three bases will close, but they will be combined, and old facilities at Fort Dix and McGuire Air Force Base will be upgraded, particularly with regards to replacing substandard housing for military families.
Students whose families currently live at Fort Dix attend school in Pemberton Township, and those who live at McGuire Air Force Base attend North Hanover elementary schools (grades K-6) and Northern Burlington County Regional High School. This is done regardless of municipal boundaries.
North Hanover School Superintendent Richard Carson said Monday it is normal for children to move from one base to the other, but it’s that mobility that is quite an issue.
When kids and their families are moved off McGuire to Fort Dix or Fort Dix to McGuire because of housing, school officials in North Hanover try to ensure that there is no disruption to their education because it is a quality of life issue, he said. So, officials in all three districts allow the students to finish out the year in whichever districts they were attending.
"If a family is forced out during the course of the year, we allow them to finish out that school year in the school they enroll," he said.
Both Dr. Carson and Northern Burlington Regional School Superintendent James Sarruda said they heard people speculating and wondering what would happen regarding the boundary lines once the housing projects are completed, and that those families are concerned they might not have a choice of where their children attend school after the merger.
But Dr. Sarruda said that with the concept of a major base, the housing developments haven’t shifted, nor have the boundaries determining which school district students attend, and that things should remain the same.
"Once this merger has happened, the housing and privatization projects are completed, I don’t really anticipate a significant change," he said. "But my sense is that you might have families looking for a choice."
Dr. Carson also said he didn’t expect any change, but said that he likes the idea of a choice where "if a parent who is living on Fort Dix wants to send a child to us, they can exercise that choice and send them, and vise versa."
And ability to house the students in schools in their respective districts if there were an increase in students as a result the merger is not a problem, both said. But, they did say that if any changes were to happen to the current plan, school districts need to be given notice ahead of time to plan.
Dr. Carson said it’s just a planning issue letting each of the three school districts involved know how many more students will be attending their school districts just so they can ensure they have room for the students and to make sure they are ready for them if it does happen.
Dr. Sarruda said, "I can understand why people would want to know what’s going to happen here," he said. "We certainly have space in our district. We’re anticipating some Chesterfield growth, but as a school district, we need to stand ready to house all the kids. So, if there is going to be a change, it would have to be a change with a transition plan, where districts would have time to react and prepare."

