The Department of Defense announced today the award of a $96,000,000 grant from the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation to the Hawaii Department of Education to replace the current Mokapu Elementary School facility with a new school on Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
Upon completion, the new school will serve up to 975 students Pre-Kindergarten through sixth grade and address capacity and facility condition deficiencies that placed Mokapu Elementary School as the 33rd school on the 2019 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 representatives from the Assistant Secretaries of the Air Force, Army, and 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 Mokapu 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 Marine Corps Base Hawaii, and enhances partnerships between the communities and the installation.