The Department of Defense announced today two awards to Oak Harbor Public Schools from the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation. This includes a $66,345,276 grant as the Federal share of a larger $80,411,292 project for Hand in Hand Learning Center as well as a $70,631,558 Federal award to Crescent Harbor Elementary School as part of a larger $84,300,054 project that replaces these two schools at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington.
These projects will address facility capacity and condition deficiencies that placed Hand in Hand Learning Center as the 49th school and Crescent Harbor Elementary School as the 41st school on the 2019 Deputy Secretary of Defense "Public Schools on Military Installations Priority List" (Priority List). Upon completion, 514 Pre-kindergarten thru eighth grade students will be supported through the project at Hand in Hand and 500 kindergarten through fourth grade students at Crescent Harbor.
Funding for these grants 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, 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 Hand in Hand Learning Center and Crescent Harbor Elementary School, these grants keep faith with service members, improves the quality of education for defense-connected students, aids in the recruitment and retention of vital skills at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, and enhances partnerships between the communities and the installation.