European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 20, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday March 20, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 3worries Over cutbacks nag school officials by Jimi Jones education writer bad Kissinger Germany a two years ago Nurnberg elementary school had 1,800 pupils in kindergarten through fourth Grade. Today Only about 650 children attend the school which serves parts of the Nurnberg and Firth military communities. Next year officials expect enrolment to drop again even though it will have the fifth Grade too. A i anticipate about 250 youngsters next year a including fifth graders said John Williams who Heads Nurnberg elementary As its principal and has two assistants. A your school is phasing Down quite rapidly. Consequently some teachers know they wont be with me. In be worked with some of them for years. Its very difficult right  Williams who last served As a Lone administrator at Seville Elemen she credited them however with facing their Job situation while a coping. With the stress and anxiety that kids bring. 1 can imagine one could develop a real defeatist attitude. But teachers Are doing the Job like its going to be their Job  Allen Davenport principal at Hanau High school whose student population has fallen from 867 to 600 since August did not receive a voucher Carlo wednes Williams Brown tary school in Spain in 1973, expects his staff to plunge to a probably about 15,�?� and the front office staff will dwindle to a just Davenport me a said the 22-year vet eran with the department of defense dependents schools. Williams was one of More than 200 military overseas school administrators meeting in bad Kissinger this week for the Germany regions annual workshop. Although the four Day conference which ended thursday officially focused on academic matters talk about upcoming staff cuts throughout the Dodds system dominated the gathering. Region officials gave some school principals vouchers wednesday that detailed projected staffing at each school based on enrolment. School officials expect that about 61,000 pupils will enrol to Start the 1992-93 school year. Region personnel officials said tuesday that about 1,200 employee positions have been defined As a excess a including about 50 administrators and 850 teachers. Hayden Horne the regions personnel director said that if school officials proceed with a reduction Only a few employees will be affected since resignations and retirements will enable school officials to retain most of their staffs. Reduction in Force procedures involve a rating system based on years of service and performance ratings. Those who have served the longest and received higher performance ratings will be retained. Among the schools Likely to lose positions is Nurnberg elementary where All its teachers have been with the school system for at least two years and some have served As Long As 16 years. Since All were hired from the United states the school system is bound by agreement to place them and hundreds of others in that category in other teaching jobs or proceed with a reduction in Force. Williams who has been at Nurnberg for seven years said there is mixed reaction among Nurnberg Elemen Tarys staff to the upcoming changes. A some of them i hey want to know what a in store for  a Martha Brown Augsburg High school principal have been in Nurnberg for so Long this is Home a he said. A others Are looking at it very philosophically willing to move to another area of Germany or another  Martha Brown principal at Augsburg High school said her 1992-93 manpower voucher indicates that some school staff will be trimmed. Enrolment at Augsburg has hovered Between 450 and 470 children this year. She said teachers at the school Are anxious a they want to know what a in store for them. They done to know what their ratings Are yet. This is a time of change and change is always  Day. But he said that a a significant number Quot of teachers will not return to the school beginning in the fall. He presently has a staff of 57. The Hanau military Community has steadily dwindled from about a Peak of 14,000 people and will have Only about 4,000 next year Davenport said. The High schools student enrolment could fall to Between 450 and 500, he said. Despite the insecurity of the future he said a morale is pretty High. Its kind of like a storm. You know its coming but there a not much you can do about  educators in Hanau a neighbouring military Community of Aschaffenbur Are also grappling with uncertainty. Although troops Are scheduled to leave the area military officials in nearby Frankfurt Are considering moving troops and their families into a Schaffenburg a military housing areas. In terms of student population a a we re not sure what that Means a said Davenport whose school serves High school age students from Aschaffenbur. Daniel Osgood the principal at Aschaffenbur elementary Middle school was on hand in january when 850 students at the school moved into a new $10.5 million building where renovation continues. He expects his student population to plunge from its August 1,050 figure to Between 450 and 550 next year. But a if Frankfurt says it will take All of the housing available in Aschaffenbur then Well have families in 616 quarters a Osgood said. A and we re hoping  All Nave six or seven  Dodds officials said wednesday that they have asked defense department officials to Grant voluntary Early retirement to eligible educators. But Davenport said he doubts that Large numbers of employees would jump at the offer. A sometimes for teachers who have been in Dodds for a Long time this is their life a Davenport said. A they have no family no place they Call Home  for those who have been a International for 30 or 40 years what Are they to retire to a the draw Down puts others at disadvantages too he said. A Young teachers come Over with ambitions to do things and suddenly their prospects Are slim. People want to Advance in the system that son  but Davenport said he is telling educators that the shuffle could work to their advantage a i Tell teachers its your Chance to Transfer and there Are lots of opportunities if you look at it that Way. A lot of people come Over looking for change and they re getting it.army drops 2,000 officers senior cos by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington the army has launched the a a painful process of telling More than 2,000 officers and senior enlisted personnel that they be been picked for Early retirement and must hang up their uniforms within six months. The decision affects officers in the ranks of captains through colonels As Well As sergeants major and command sergeants major. It is by far the largest forced retirement Effort Ever undertaken by the army. The affected personnel were chosen by selective Early retirement boards known As a serbs a that convened in Early Jan uary said army spokeswoman maj. Barbara Goodno. The boards Are made up of senior officers who scrutinize records of those eligible for Early retirement before making their selections. By Law no More than 30 percent of the population eligible for Early retirement under whatever guidelines is Given to a particular Board can be selected. The army has used the boards sporadically since at least 1985 to Fine tune certain officer ranks and skills. But this years initiative is a five times the size of any previous boards and is also the first Ever to affect enlisted members Goodno said. The boards affect Only those personnel who Are already a retirement eligible a meaning they have served at least 20 years Goodno said. As such they Are entitled to All military retirement benefits including continued payment of at least half their Basic pay and use of commissary Exchange and medical facilities for the rest of their lives. In that regard they will fare better than service members forced out Short of 20 years. These service members get Severance pay Worth far less than the retirement package. But psychologically the full safety net of benefits available to those targeted by the serb a does no to make it any easier to take a Goodno said. A if you be been in the army More than 20 years it really becomes a Way of life a she said. A to be told you re no longer needed is very  All army personnel affected by the latest decision should get the bad news within the next few Days if they Haven to already Goodno said. Such notification must be made in person by a general officer in the service member a direct Chain of command. The army will not announce the names of those chosen because that could cause problems Between affected commanders and the soldiers they Lead Goodno said. Critic of Patriot claims Dod muzzling him Washington apr a science professor says the defense department seeking to restrain him from discussing is 2-month-old Magazine article about problems with the Patriot missile because be department suddenly decided his Crit Al comments contained classified data. Meanwhile the weapons system came under renewed attack thursday with a newspaper report that patriots destroyed perhaps Only one of the 47 scud War Eads that Iraq fired during the persian Lulf War. Theodore Postol of the Massachusetts Institute of technology said wednesday that the defense investigative services informed him earlier this week that he could not speak about any part of his article without violating his secrecy agreement with the government. Postol a former Pentagon science adviser is granted Access to some classified data. Dale Hartig a Dis official who spoke to Postol on monday said he did not Tell the professor he was prohibited from discussing specific information. Postol contends As he did in his december article in International Security Magazine that the Patriot a almost certainly failed to intercept All warheads it attempted to  the army has said the patriots successfully engaged More than 80 percent of the iraqi scud missiles fired at saudi Arabia and More than 50 percent of those fired at Israel. Postol disputes that and says the Pentagon is now trying to suppress his rights to free speech. The Boston Globe on thursday quoted Independent . And israeli defense experts As saying it cannot be proved that patriots destroyed More than one of the 47 scud warheads. The newspaper quoted Gen. Abihu Ben nun the israeli air Force commander during the War As saying that of the 17 scud warheads engaged by Patriot batteries in Israel Only one can a almost for sure be judged a kill while Only two other warheads were possible hits