Bahrain Elementary/High School will reopen for the school year, although fewer pupils and teachers will be in the classrooms following July’s evacuation of military dependents.
“Our school there serves quite an international population, so we’re reopening,” said Frank O’Gara, spokesman for Department of Defense Dependents Schools- Europe.
Last month, the Pentagon ordered the relocation of nearly 1,000 U.S. dependents from the tiny nation in the Persian Gulf because of possible terrorist attacks. The relocation, to last at least 30 days, left many in doubt about whether the school would reopen.
The school, scheduled to reopen Aug. 31, serves a multinational population of students, including dependents of employees of the State Department, other federal agencies and an international population in Bahrain.
O’Gara said the school’s projected enrollment is 485, down from last year’s enrollment of 736. He said 43 teachers will return to Bahrain for duty, while 10 others were reassigned to other DODDS-Europe locations because of the reduction in enrollment.
The military has not announced when, or if, dependents will be allowed to return, Lt. Bill Speaks, spokesman for 5th Fleet in Manama, Bahrain, said Monday.
“There is still no change in the relocation policy,” he said in a telephone interview.
