(Washington, D.C.) –Today, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Reps. Denny Heck (WA-10) and Adam Smith (WA-09) applauded an announcement from the Department of Defense that it has awarded a $40 million grant to Clover Park School District to rebuild Evergreen Elementary School. Last year, Sen. Murray, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, and Rep. Heck, whose district includes Joint Base Lewis-McChord, fought to secure federal funding for defense projects in Washington state, including the construction of new schools that serve military families.
“This investment is a significant step toward fulfilling our promise to support our local military communities and their families,” Senator Murray said. “These schools are not only a place for children to learn, but also serve as a support system for our military families. As the daughter of a World War II veteran and a former preschool teacher, I will always fight to make sure our schools are getting the investments they need, especially those serving families that sacrifice so much for their country.”
“Our community can’t wait for this critically important project to break ground,” Congressman Heck said. “Many children of servicemembers stationed at JBLM attend Evergreen and we want to make sure this school is well-equipped to handle each student’s education needs.”
“For years our community has worked together to secure funds to support our servicemembers and their families,” said Congressman Smith, Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee. “All children in the Puget Sound region must have access to a high quality education and I am pleased that these DoD funds will be used to ensure that our students needs are being met.”
“Clover Park School District is extremely excited to receive the news that funding to replace the sixth and final school on JBLM is approved,” said Debbie LeBeau, Superintendent of the Clover Park School District. “These school construction projects would not have been possible without the advocacy and determination of Senator Patty Murray, Congressman Denny Heck (and before him Congressman Dicks) and Congressman Adam Smith. They wanted to ensure that military dependents have state of the art learning environments to go along with the high quality instruction provided by our teachers. Evergreen is a very special school serving students with disabilities that requires specialized instructional spaces. Updated technology, classroom spaces and improved access for physically challenged students will greatly improve the quality of education for our students. Many thanks to Senator Murray, Congressmen Heck, Smith and former Congressmen Dicks. Families and students on JBLM appreciate their dedication to the military community!”
The grant comes through the DOD’s Office of Economic Adjustment Public School Recapitalization program, which has supported extensive school construction efforts at Joint Base Lewis McChord. Previous projects include Hillside Elementary School, Carter Lake Elementary School, Beachwood Elementary School, Meriwether Elementary School, and Rainier Elementary School.
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