One of Georgia’s three Youth ChalleNGe Program academies will most likely become a victim of the state’s budget cuts for FY21. General Thomas Carden, Jr., The Adjutant General for Georgia, described the cut as “one of the largest and most painful budget cuts” for FY 21 when addressing members of the Senate Appropriations Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.
“We aren’t happy about it, and we aren’t proud of it,” said Carden. “However, the financial realities are what they are right now.”
Although legislators have not resumed the 2020 session of the General Assembly, many Senate Appropriations Committees have been meeting this week to begin work on the FY21 budget. They are preparing to meet a directive by Governor Brian Kemp to cut $3.5 billion or 14 percent from the new budget. Carden said the closure of the Youth ChalleNGe Campus in Milledgeville would result in a savings of $1.4 million for the state Department of Defense. The National Guard also expects to see a cost savings at the Youth ChalleNGe Campus at Fort Gordon in the upcoming year.
“That campus is currently undergoing renovations and we will hold the student population down to 150 or less,” said Carden. “That will result in a savings of $322,000.”
The Georgia Youth ChalleNGe Program is part of The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program (NGYCP) which was established in 1993. It is open to young men and women between the ages of 16 and 18 who are experiencing difficulty in completing traditional high school.
According to his presentation, 54 full time employees and two part time employees will be impacted by the closure of the Milledgeville campus. “We are already working with these employees to coordinate job fairs or place them internally at the two other campuses.”
Carden said the Milledgeville campus is the newest of the three, and the hardest to staff. He also said it has the lowest graduation rate of the three. “We have done some pretty good work there and are proud of that work, but as I have said, the financial realities are what they are.”
He said plans were being developed for future use of the infrastructure at the campus.
GYC is a voluntary dropout recovery program that helps at-risk youth earn their high school diploma or GED. ChalleNGe works with program participants after graduation to help enroll in college, trade school, start a career or join the military.
The Fort Stewart Youth Challenge Academy (FSYCA) officially opened its doors 1993, one of 10 original academies nationwide. The FSYCA celebrated 25 years of success in 2018, having graduated over 9000 young men and women. The Youth ChalleNGe Academy at Fort Gordon (FGYCA) was established in September 2000, and the Milledgeville Youth Challenge Academy (MVYCA) opened in October 2016.
“We have two core missions within the Department of Defense,” Carden told the Senators. “Domestic response –which is what we are doing now with COVID-19 — and to help fight and win American wars. While supporting our youth is an important mission, it is not part of the core mission. If we have to take a cut, the obvious answer is to take it in a non-core area. This is not something we want to do, but something we must do right now.”
