The chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina illustrated the importance of public service and volunteerism as well as the devastating effects of a poorly prepared and understaffed domestic response team. Yet we still face significant obstacles in the way of building a larger, better qualified and more committed pool of public servants. The U.S. Border Patrol continues to struggle to recruit and retain college-educated agents. A large majority of our nation's 17,000 law enforcement agencies report an inability to fill positions due to a lack of qualified candidates. And the National Center for Education Statistics projects a substantial shortage of trained educators over the next 10 years. When we consider the alarming rates of retirement among civil servants (44 percent of federal workers are eligible for retirement in the next five years), these issues raise the question, How is our country going to find qualified individuals to fill current shortages and meet future needs?
Part of the answer lies in the U.S. Public Service Academy. In the next few weeks, bipartisan, companion bills will be reintroduced in Congress to create an institution modeled after our illustrious military academies that would offer our brightest students an opportunity to receive a federally subsidized education in exchange for five years of civilian service.
The benefits of such an institution are multi-fold. Perhaps most salient is the incentive the Academy would create for top students to pursue a career in public service. It is reality that the high cost of post-secondary education and the comparatively modest salaries of important public sector posts deter many from careers in civil service. In return for a free world-class education, many talented, service-minded individuals would be more likely to commit to less lucrative careers in the public sector. This process would strengthen and protect the United States by providing an annual influx of career-motivated public servants and future leaders into the nation's public institutions. Already, our military reaps tremendous benefits from an extremely competitive process that attracts smart and driven individuals to public service. At a minimum, however, our country would benefit from a consistent flow of highly qualified and expertly trained academy graduates strategically assigned to under-served areas of our country for terms of five years.
The U.S. Public Service Academy Act outlines "a structured curriculum that is self-reinforcing to emphasize leadership development . and public service." While students would ultimately be conferred with a baccalaureate of arts or a baccalaureate of sciences degree in traditional liberal arts subjects, they would be required in their second year to choose a public service concentration. The USPSA would offer students a chance to be simultaneously trained and certified as teachers, EMTs, police and firefighters, and at the same time earn their bachelor's degree. Much like West Point and Air Force, the USPSA would offer an unparalleled combination of first-rate education and specialized training. Indeed, our military would likely not entrust the education and training of our future admirals and generals to your average institution.
Critics of this proposal often misinterpret the academy as "another handout," or an unnecessary expansion of government. First, admission to the academy would be extremely competitive, requiring a recommendation from a member of Congress. Furthermore, an applicant would likely only be able to obtain that recommendation and gain admission after demonstrating prior academic excellence and a documented commitment to public service. It's not a matter of signing up on a list and getting a free education. Second, the purpose of the academy is not to create an army of bureaucrats or train people to sit at desks. Our county is struggling to fill existing shortages and meet future demands in critical public sector fields such as education, health care, law enforcement, emergency management and others at the local, state and national levels, despite the fact that young Americans, especially after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, exhibit the strongest ethic of public service and a desire to serve others in a generation. These realities clearly predicate the need for a non-military U.S. service academy.
Gov. Bill Richardson has declared March 1 as U.S. Public Service Academy Day throughout New Mexico, and Sen. Carlos Cisneros has introduced a memorial urging our Congressional Delegation to support the U.S. Public Service Academy Act. I encourage you take a few minutes on March 1 to thank them for their efforts, and, more importantly, to contact our congressional delegation and let them know you support the creation of the USPSA. On March 2, Reps. Ben Lujan, Martin Heinrich and Harry Teague, as well as Sens. Tom Udall and Jeff Bingaman, should come to work to find an inbox full of reasons to back this legislation.
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Zac Westbrook is the New Mexico State Coordinator of the U.S. Public Service Academy.
