The Department of Defense announced today the award of a $24,387,200 grant from the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation to the Geary County Unified School District 475 to replace the current school facility with a new Jefferson Elementary School on Fort Riley, Kansas.
Upon completion, the school will serve up to 390 students Pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade and address capacity and facility condition deficiencies that placed Jefferson Elementary School as the 38th school on the 2011 Deputy Secretary of Defense "Public Schools on Military Installations Priority List" (Priority List).
Funding for this grant is provided under the Department's Public Schools on Military Installations Program.
In making these funds available, the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation must give priority consideration to military installations that have schools with the most serious capacity and facility condition deficiencies, as determined by the Priority List.
A multi-disciplined Federal Evaluation Team, with membership from the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, and the Department of Education, reviewed the school project to ensure the award appropriately addresses the noted capacity and facility condition deficiencies.
In correcting the identified facility condition and capacity issues at Jefferson Elementary School, this grant keeps faith with service members, improves the quality of education for defense-connected students, aids in the recruitment and retention of vital skills at Fort Riley, and enhances partnerships between the communities and the installation.
