The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point reopened Monday after federal lawmakers negotiated an end to the federal government shutdown, which had forced the academy to close its gates in late September.
The academy moved up its scheduled fall vacation to compensate for the shutdown, amid fears that an extended closure could disrupt its academic schedule.
But according to a press release on the academy’s Web site, Monday’s reopening will allow graduation to proceed as planned in June.
“We are very grateful to all involved including the faculty union for working together and revising our academic calendar,” academic dean Shashu Kumar said in a statement. “This will go a long way toward helping our midshipmen succeed.”
The academy was the only federal service academy to fully close during the shutdown, due to its high proportion of civilian employees who were furloughed as Democrats and Republicans in Washington, D.C. sparred over the funding of the federal government.
“The Class of 2014 is excited that license testing and graduation will not be affected by the shutdown,” First Class President Ryan Raffo said in the release. “It is great being back at the academy and staying on track for graduation, scheduled for June 21st, 2014.”
A contingency plan posted ahead of the shutdown by the U.S. Department of Transportation, which oversees the academy, called for the academy to vacate its campus if the shutdown lasted for longer than a week. With Democrats and Republicans still at an impasse in Washington, D.C., the academy announced Oct. 3 that it would begin its fall break on Friday, Oct. 4, instead of as originally scheduled on Nov. 1.
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Superintendent James Helis wrote in an Oct. 3 statement that the shutdown, and the uncertain status of the campus going forward, had created “tremendous strain” for midshipmen and their families.
“By ‘swapping’ fall break from November to next week, we can both offer a greater degree of certainty and minimize the disruptive impact the shutdown is having on our academic calendar,” Helis wrote.
Helis added that had the academy not moved the break it could have been forced to cancel it altogether to make up for lost academic days.
The service academy, which trains midshipmen for military service and careers in the maritime industry, ceased its operations Oct. 1 after Congress failed to approve funding for the federal government amid Republican demands to modify or defund President Barack Obama’s signature health care law
“We will be out of the office due to a lapse in funding. Please call back after news reports advise of a resumption of services by all federal agencies,” was the only comment from the academy available to the Blank Slate Media – a voicemail message left by the academy’s furloughed external relations staff.
The academy is overseen by the U.S. Department of Transportation, which like other federal agencies stopped its non-essential operations after the funding deadline passed at midnight on Monday.
The department’s contingency plan noted that due to the academy’s year-round operations, a lengthy shutdown could disrupt the school’s academic schedule.
“Because the academy’s academic calendar is nearly-year round, it will be difficult to make up more than a few lost days of classes,” U.S. Department of Transportation spokesperson Meghan Keck wrote. “A prolonged shutdown could endanger the Academy’s accreditation.”
The department’s Maritime Administration, the division which oversees the academy, was scheduled to furlough 451 of its 830 staff, according to the contingency plan.
The federal government entered the shutdown after the latest continuing resolution to fund its operations expired Oct. 1
Congressional Republicans demanded alterations to Obama’s Affordable Care Act and passed a funding resolution that would have delayed key provisions of the law, but Obama and fellow Democrats insisted on a resolution that would have funded the government without conditions.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Democratic-controlled Senate failed to agree on a measure, sending the government into its first shutdown since 1996.
