TAMPA, Fla. – The Department of Defense (DoD) this week announced an award to Hillsborough County Public Schools from the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation. The grant, totaling $86,374,326, will fund the replacement of Tinker Elementary/Middle School at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.
The project is part of the DoD’s Public Schools on Military Installations Program, which aims to address capacity and facility condition deficiencies in schools located on military installations. Tinker Elementary/Middle School was ranked 60th on the 2019 Deputy Secretary of Defense Priority List, highlighting the need for improvements.
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The new school will accommodate 927 pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade students and will feature modern classrooms, state-of-the-art technology, and improved safety features. The project is expected to enhance the quality of education for defense-connected students and support the recruitment and retention of military personnel at MacDill Air Force Base.
The grant was awarded after a multi-disciplinary federal evaluation team, consisting of representatives from the Air Force, Army, Navy, and the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation, reviewed the project and confirmed that it adequately addresses the identified deficiencies.
The Public Schools on Military Installations Program provides funding for construction, renovation, repair, or expansion of public schools on military installations.
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