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Three schools could close if base reduced
By R.A. DILLON
, Staff Writer
The possibility of troop reductions at Eielson Air Force Base could force the closure of three Fairbanks North Star Borough schools.
Officials at the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District are adopting a wait-and-see attitude to the Department of Defense's recommendation to realign almost all of Eielson's 2,950 military personnel.
Friday's recommendation would mean the loss of 1,280 students at Eielson Junior/Senior High School and Anderson and Crawford elementaries, effectively shutting down the three schools.
"This concerns us a great deal," Superintendent Ann Shortt said. "If we're closing schools because we don't have enough students, that's going to have a big impact."
Realignment would affect the three schools' 130 full-time and 40 part-time staff. It could also force many students from Moose Creek and Salcha into a school closer to Fairbanks, though those students and the remaining support staff slated to stay behind at Eielson might be enough to support a single school.
"It's possible we would keep a school open; we just don't know yet," Shortt said.
Even if realignment is recommended by an independent commission in September and then approved by Congress, district officials don't expect a drop in the current enrollment level of 14,500 students until 2006 at the earliest.
Shortt, who was asked to serve on a community task force to respond to the possibility of realignment, said the district was waiting for more information before proposing a plan of action.
"I just have a lot of questions right now," she said.
The district recently assumed ownership from the federal government of Eielson and Anderson. Voters in October approved a $4.5 million bond issue to pay for upgrades at Anderson. Shortt said the future of those improvements is uncertain.
The district has time to decide before construction on Anderson is scheduled to start in 2006. The Army Corps of Engineers is doing renovation on Eielson this summer and officials want to wait until that work is complete before starting their own project, said Scott Johnson, borough director of public works.
Friday's announcement was not met with skepticism by all, however.
Larry Martin, principal of Eielson, has taught on base for the past 16 years and has seen talk of base closures and realignments come and go.
"I'm not going to get excited until the September deadline," he said. "We're just going to go about business as usual and hope for good news."
Staff writer R.A. Dillon can be reached at 459-7503 or rdillon@newsminer.com .
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Downsizing Eielson an economic blow for Interior
By DIANA CAMPBELL
, Staff Writer
When Realtor Debe Reischke heard the news about the reductions in force at Eielson Air Force Base, she couldn't help but remember the "For Sale" signs that sprouted up around the Interior in the early 1980s.
Construction on the trans-Alaska oil pipeline was over. The economy slumped and people left. She remembers empty houses on every block.
But if the Department of Defense relocates more than 2,800 Air Force personnel and their 3,300 dependents--about 7 percent of Fairbanks North Star Borough population--she hopes it's not time to dust off those sale signs.
"If this actually happens, it would totally affect the economy here," said Reischke, who works for Somers & Associates.
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Nerves are already twitching, she said. North Pole has enjoyed a growing real estate market, partly spurred by a strong military presence. But on Friday a client wondered if she should list a house at the lowest price possible in order to sell it fast before others hit the market.
Interior business people expressed emotions similar to Reischke's--first surprise, then concern and finally hope that it will not happen. The base could be spared as the process is completed over the next six months. But if Eielson is moved to "warm" status with just a few hundred personnel, it's bad economic news, they said Friday.
The base had a $374 million economic impact last year, with a payroll of $133 million for 2,877 active-duty personnel and $27.8 million for 428 civil service employees, according to Eielson numbers.
Eielson officials estimated that another $36.7 million was generated by 971 secondary and indirect jobs. Construction, services, health care, grocery, education and housing contracts off base brought in another $122.7 million.
The Defense Department proposal would reduce active military jobs at Eielson by about 2,800 and cut another 319 civilian jobs. The realignment would cost $141 million and save $229 million a year.
"It practically puts the base on caretaker status," state labor economist Brigitta Windisch-Cole said.
The civilian service jobs on the list include those who run the utilities, work in family and social services, and housing, she said. Off base the economic ripple would go into retail, hospitality, leisure, medical and other Interior services and businesses.
"It's going to have a big impact for Alaska in general," Windisch-Cole said.
The hit might be softened with the permanent installation of the Stryker Brigade at Fort Wainwright, adding 1,500 troops. But the soldiers have a different economic demographic than Eielson military, she said. Soldiers tend to be younger and single, while the Air Force sends up older members with families. Their tours of duty tend to be longer.
"They've been more ingrained into the community," she said.
Local businesses would feel the pinch.
Reischke's husband, Mark, is the manager at Petro Star's North Pole refinery, where almost a third of the 200,000 gallons produced daily goes to Eielson. He said the company has a contract to supply 19 million gallons of jet fuel a year.
The base is home to 36 F-17 fighter planes and A-10 Warthogs.
How much the company would lose if the cuts take place is unknown. The Alaska Air National Guard's 168th Air Refueling Wing would stay at Eielson under the proposal.
Currently that's about 567 people and eight tankers.
"Those refueling tankers use a lot of fuel," he said. "We'll just wait and see what happens."
Steve Denton was also taking a watchful approach. The vice president of business development at Usibelli Coal Mine in Healy said the company sent 180,000 tons of coal to Eielson for its power plant last year, representing 12 to 14 percent of sales.
"We really don't know what the impact would be," Denton said. "There could be scenarios where there could be no impact. I don't know how much the base can be cooled down and stop taking heat in the winter."
R&D Environmental, a local company, won an Eielson contract last year to collect refuse and operate recycling efforts on base after the Air Force privatized those services to save money. Dan Schwietert, the company's operation manager, was surprised to hear the news, but wasn't going to fret yet.
"I worry about things when they happen," he said. "We adjust and handle situations and keep a smile on our face."
There are 89 statewide contractors who provide services for the base. Forty-eight of those are based in the Fairbanks area. All have a financial stake in what the military does.
Whatever happens will be interesting to watch, said Angie Hawk, manager of Hawk's Greenhouse. Her North Pole company won a contract to supply the base's flowers this summer. Businesses bid on the contract yearly.
"Anytime you have that large of population leaving, it's going to affect every business," she said. "There are vast implications for the state."
North Pole Mayor Jeff Jacobson said the impact of such a loss would be hard on the city. Its economy is driven by the presence of two petroleum refineries, Eielson and Fort Wainwright.
Eielson's families like to get off base and go to North Pole restaurants to eat or shop, he said.
"A lot of our revenues are driven from our sales tax," he said. "I'm concerned immediately for that.
"I'll be fighting for North Pole and fighting for Eielson," he said.
Diana Campbell can be reached at 459-7523 or dcampbell@newsminer. com.