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Classrooms, such as this one at Baumholder High School, could soon be empty as the Defense Department school system deals with teacher furlough days.

Classrooms, such as this one at Baumholder High School, could soon be empty as the Defense Department school system deals with teacher furlough days. (Matt Millham/Stars and Stripes)

Department of Defense schools in Europe will close for five days between Aug. 30 and Sept. 23 under a proposal to furlough educators as part of budget-saving measures, DODDS-Europe director Nancy Bresell announced Tuesday.

The dates are Aug. 30, Sept. 6, Sept. 9, Sept. 16 and Sept. 23, according to an email from Bresell to DODDS-Europe employees.

The closures — which take place on either Fridays or Mondays — are part of an effort to save $23 million across the Department of Defense Education Activity through employee furloughs before the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, part of a wider DOD effort to cut $41 billion this fiscal year.

Following a process laid out earlier this month, DODEA employees will receive a letter of proposed furloughs over the next two weeks. Individuals will then have a seven-day period to reply and appeal for an exemption, after which they will receive final decisions between June and July.

Schools will close for instruction on furlough days, although some staff may still come to work for routine business, Bresell wrote. Schools in AFNORTH, SHAPE and Bahrain may have slightly different dates due to the level of international enrollment, the email stated. The inclusion of Bahrain was not immediately clear given DODEA’s March announcement that some 70 educators in the country would be exempt from furloughs due to the country being considered a combat zone by the Internal Revenue Service.

Fall extra- and co-curricular programs will continue with small modifications to schedules, Bresell wrote.

The 2013-14 school year begins on Aug. 26 in Europe and the Pacific, with teachers reporting on Aug. 21.

Nearly 11,000 teachers, educational aids and support staff face up to five days of furloughs worldwide under the plan; as many as 8,000 other DODEA employees, including school-, district- and area-level administrators are expected to be furloughed for as many as 11 days.

beardsley.steven@stripes.comTwitter: @sjbeardsley

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