The Department of Defense announced grants from the Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) totaling $34,131,479 to San Diego Unified School District to renovate and expand Doris Miller and Joy Bright Hancock Elementary Schools at Naval Base San Diego, California; $23,798,603 to Fairfax County Public Schools to renovate and expand Fort Belvoir Elementary School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia; and $4,669,872 to Fallbrook Union Elementary School District to develop designs for new Mary Fay Pendleton and San Onofre Elementary/Middle Schools at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California.
The San Diego Unified School District will manage two projects totaling $42,664,350, consisting of $34,131,479 in grant funds and $8,532,871 in non-federal matching funds to renovate, repair and construct new classrooms at Doris Miller and Joy Bright Hancock Elementary Schools to address the capacity and facility condition deficiencies that placed these schools on the Deputy Secretary of Defense Public Schools on Military Installations Priority List at #23 and #27, respectively. Together the two schools will serve over 1,350 military connected students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.
Fairfax County Public Schools will manage a project totaling $29,748,254 consisting of $23,798,603 in grant funds and $5,949,651 in non-federal matching funds to renovate, repair and construct new classrooms at Fort Belvoir Elementary School to address the capacity and facility condition deficiencies that placed the school on the Priority List at #26. The school will serve over 1,590 military connected students in kindergarten through sixth grade.
The Fallbrook Union Elementary School District will manage two projects totaling $5,837,340, consisting of $4,669,872 in grant funds and $1,167,469 in non-federal matching funds for the design of new replacement schools for Mary Fay Pendleton and San Onofre Elementary/Middle Schools to address the capacity and facility condition deficiencies that placed these schools on the Priority List at #21 and #22, respectively at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. Together, the two schools will serve over 1,850 military connected students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
Funding for these grants is provided under the department’s Public Schools on Military Installations Program. OEA, in making these funds available, must give priority consideration to those military installations with schools having the most serious capacity or facility condition deficiencies, as determined by the priority list. Previously, OEA awarded school construction grants to 16 of the top 20 schools on the priority list. A multi-disciplined federal evaluation team, with membership from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, the military services, U.S. Department of Education, and OEA reviewed the school projects to ensure the awards appropriately address the noted capacity and facility condition deficiencies.
The remaining unobligated funds appropriated for this program to assist other local education agencies in addressing the most serious capacity or facility condition deficiencies at public schools located on military installations may be subject to future sequestration reductions.
Further information about similar grants awarded under this program may be found on OEA’s web site at www.oea.gov, search school construction.