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State Superintendent Tours NC Schools
in OLF’s Crosshairs

Atkinson visits Camden and Currituck counties to investigate impacts of OLF on local school systems

N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson visited northeast North Carolina today to hear from local officials the potential impacts the Navy’s proposed Outlying Landing Field (OLF) would have on area schools if Camden County were chosen. After visiting with school officials and concerned parents, Dr. Atkinson expressed concern with the Navy’s efforts to bring the OLF to Camden County and warned about the downward economic spiral it would impose on the area.

“An OLF would result in a significant loss of funding for schools, because it would remove a sizeable percentage of Camden’s usable acreage from the tax base and decrease property values,” said Atkinson. “When education is suffering tremendous budget cuts, an OLF would only make a bad situation worse for some of the best school districts in the state.”

A 2005 report by the American Journal of Epidemiology found aircraft noise exposure at schools was significantly related to poorer reading comprehension. In addition, the 1997 Evans Maxwell Study found chronic exposure to aircraft noise resulted in reading deficits and impaired speech perception for first and second grade children.

“With 10 schools located within three miles of the proposed OLF core, the potential cost to our state would be considerable if the Camden County site were chosen,” continued Atkinson. “North Carolina’s children and schools cannot afford this blow. We must protect our children from the jet noise by preventing an OLF from being here.”

Atkinson joins a group of elected officials against the OLF including Governor Perdue, the N.C. Attorney General’s office, Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler, Sens. Burr and Hagan, Reps. Jones and Butterfield, N.C. Senator Basnight and state Representative Bill Owens.

About the OLF

The proposed OLF in Camden County would serve the Master Jet Base at Oceana Naval Air Station located approximately 30 miles over the state line in Virginia Beach, VA. As proposed, the OLF could condemn thousands of acres and place agricultural restrictions on thousands more, removing the land from the county tax base. In early 2008, the Camden and Currituck county boards publicly announced their opposition to the proposed airfield.

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