The Department of Defense announced today the award of a $8,600,800 grant, as the Federal share of a larger $10,751,000 project, from the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation to Geary County Unified School District to replace the current Morris Hill Elementary School on Fort Riley.
The project will address capacity and facility condition deficiencies that placed Morris Hill Elementary School as the 53rd school on the 2019 Deputy Secretary of Defense "Public Schools on Military Installations Priority List" (Priority List). Upon completion, the combined Morris Hill Elementary School and Jefferson Elementary School, a prior project awarded in 2021, will serve up to 580 students in Pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade.
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 facility capacity and condition deficiencies, as determined by the Priority List.
A multi-disciplined Federal Evaluation Team, with representatives from the Assistant Secretaries of the Air Force, Army, Navy, and the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation 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 Morris Hill 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.
