No Funding Yet for a Fort Bragg High School

With a population of 40,000 on the installation, the number of incoming students has also increased. But will Fort Bragg ever get the funding it needs to open its first high school?

Fort Bragg Schools serve 4,600 students with one junior high, one middle school and six elementary schools, plus an elementary school on Pope Airfield for pre-school through grade 9. Students must live on the military installation, or have 5 months or less to obtain on-post housing. 

Students in grades 10-12, whose parents reside at Fort Bragg or Pope Airfield, are assigned to the E.E. Smith High School, in the Cumberland County School system.

E.E. Smith lacks a solid reputation among military families because of its academic record. Recent E.E. Smith graduates from the military community raked in $55,708 in scholarship money versus $4,638,020 in scholarships from Fayetteville's top-rated Jack Britt High School.

Cumberland County boasts 87 schools, 14 of which are high schools, with 11,449 students connected to the military.

For parents, education is always a top quality-of-life issue when considering a move into a community. With 80 percent of military families here opting to live off-post, education is prime factor. Fort Bragg families opting out of E.E. Smith High School pay for private schools, and some choose to home school. 

"Moving off post into the community when my son reached high school was the only acceptable choice for our family," said Tonia Browning. "With four kids and five years left until retirement, it's an investment."

The Fort Bragg community hopes to eventually have its own high school. Col. Steve Sicinski supports the idea and has offered land on the Ammunition Supply Point near Cliffdale Road.

One of the major BRAC-related issues in the Cape Fear region has been creating room in the school systems for the influx of students.

Neighboring Harnett County estimates it needs $138 million to build four new schools to accommodate the 4,500 new students arriving because of base realignment.

Meanwhile, Fayetteville Mayor Tony Chavonne said the city was notified Tuesday morning of a visit from Gov. Bev Perdue on Aug. 11.

"She's always been a big supporter and understanding of the military," Chavonne said. "I'm anxious to learn more about what her plans are."

(The following information is required for registration in the Fort Bragg Schools: Birth Certificate, Immunization Records, Record Proof of Residence on Fort Bragg, Social Security Number, most recent Report Card, Current Standardized Test Scores and any Special Program Paperwork.)