FORT NOVOSEL FAMILIES CONCERNED ABOUT HIGH TUITION FOR ENTERPRISE CITY SCHOOLS
Just around 5 miles west of Fort Novosel, formally known as Fort Rucker, sits the city of Enterprise, home to many military families. The base is where the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence is located, and around 30% of the student population within the Enterprise City School System calls the base home. However, issues with tuition persist with many families feeling treated unfairly and left wondering why they have to pay anything at all considering the military provides funding to the school in the first place.
What Is Tuition for Enterprise City School?
Enterprise City Schools have a tuition of $500 for the first two students of your household, and $250 for each additional student.
There are also special rates where students living on base at Ft. Novosel don’t have to pay tuition, and children of Enterprise City Schools employees are only charged 10% of the regular rate.
Acceptance depends on academic progress, attendance, discipline, and available space, and students will be placed in schools based on space availability. Furthermore, transportation is not guaranteed.
Enrollment decisions are made by the superintendent or their designees and there are no refunds once classes start.
Tuition Changes Hit Coffee and Dale Counties
The change to tuition for ECS lowered the cost; however, while Coffee County is benefiting, those living in Dale County may pay more, due to an exclusion of Enterprise City Schools from sales and ad valorem taxes.
Dale County is where Fort Novosel resides, making such costs for education directly tied to the military community in the area.
To make matters worse, many believe the tuition is unfair altogether thanks to the investment the facilities within the Enterprise School District receive.
The Impact Aid Program
Ensuring our nation is ready to defend itself includes helping warfighters and their families.
The U.S. features a large, diverse challenge to help military families and its school districts maintain proper access to funding and educational resources.
These challenges are complicated further, because land belonging to the federal government, such as Fort Novosel, receives an exemption from local property taxes.
This is why Congress created the Impact Aid Program in 1950 so that schools with students connected to the federal government or tax-exempt lands could receive financial assistance.
When schools like ECS receive this funding, it’s used to help cover their expenses, ranging from the salaries of teachers to resources for children with disabilities and much more.
Families are aware of this funding, which is why there are concerns surrounding tuition, considering there is a combination of government aid and taxes in the community paying for education.
Finding a Solution for the Enterprise City School Community
Military family support is one of the main things Enterprise City School likes to take pride in, offering Veteran's Day assemblies, events during Month of the Military Child, Military Appreciation Night at EHS football games, and many other events.
However, the idea of “double-tapping the military” doesn’t sit right with many locals tied to Fort Novosel and beyond.
Military families in the community are forced to report their children each year as well as their active duty status to ensure that the proper funding and educational resources are available for the school, yet out-of-area military kids still have to pay tuition.
Hopefully, more transparency and a better solution can be found by officials that ensure better futures for both military families in the area and Enterprise City School.
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