The Department of War, Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation, today awarded Lompoc Unified School District a $45.4 million grant as the federal share of a larger $60.5 million project to renovate and construct a new Manzanita Public Charter School at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
This project will address facility capacity and condition deficiencies that placed Manzanita Public Charter School as #40 on the 2019 Deputy Secretary of Defense "Public Schools on Military Installations Priority List" (Priority List). Upon completion, 522 students in transitional kindergarten through sixth grade will be supported through this project.
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 facility capacity and condition deficiencies.
In correcting the identified facility condition and capacity issues at the Manzanita Public Charter 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 Vandenberg Space Force Base, and enhances partnerships between the community and the installation.
