Fork Union cuts staff jobs, boosts student aid

An increase in the number of cadets who need financial aid has prompted Fork Union Military Academy to cut its staff to make ends meet, an academy spokesman said yesterday.

The academy has eliminated the equivalent of 13 full-time positions over the past month, said Dan Thompson, spokesman for the military boarding school. He said the school has already awarded financial aid to 40 percent of cadets, or about 200 of more than 440 applicants. Last year, the school gave financial aid to 30 percent of applicants.

The additional $1 million in aid wasn't part of the school's budget. Thompson said the eliminated staff and support posts were a combination of unfilled jobs and temporary and full-time positions.

"It will have very little effect on anything directly related to students," Thompson said.