JUNCTION CITY — First Brigade, 1st Infantry Division troops are preparing for a nine-month deployment to Europe. Geary USD 475 leaders were informed Thursday evening that some of the families of those Soldiers will depart the area during the deployment.
Col. William McKannay, Fort Riley Garrison Commander provided information during a school board meeting. "We have seen very high numbers of families choosing to leave while their Soldiers deploy this year. For some reason this year we're seeing a little bit higher numbers than we have in previous years."
McKannay added that officials on Post are trying to encourage all of the families to stay and that they're actually losing money. He referred to the lower cost of living here versus other places. But he added, "Many of them have valid reasons to go and we understand that."
USD 475 could be impacted with lower enrollment for the upcoming school year due to decisions by those families to relocate elsewhere.