Shutdown cancels sports games and dances for students at military-base schools

The Department of Defense Education Activity, or DoDEA, has paused all extracurricular activities, including sports and homecoming dances, at schools on military bases.

Students who attend Pentagon-operated schools on or near military bases are among those feeling the effects of the government shutdown, which started just after midnight Wednesday and will leave some federal employees without paychecks and national parks partially closed.

The Department of Defense Education Activity, or DoDEA, which operates 161 schools on or near military bases worldwide, has halted all extracurricular activities, including sports, for more than 67,000 students.

Dylan McDonald, a 17-year-old senior and co-captain of his soccer team at Kentucky’s Fort Campbell Army base, fears he may have played the last game of his high school career after the government shutdown halted all extracurriculars. He and his mother worry that missing next week’s district tournament, could hurt his chances of being recruited to play in college.

“I put countless hours and blood, sweat and tears into this, and to not be able to finish properly based off of something that is uncontrollable to myself and my teammates and our families, yet still so directly affects us, is truly devastating,” Dylan said of the shutdown’s impact.

To further complicate matters, missing the tournament could also cost him a spot at this year’s local all-district team, a roster of top players that he’s been a part of the past two seasons.