Warner, Kaine, Moran Applaud $23 Million Defense Education Grant For Fort Belvoir In Fairfax County

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, along with U.S. Congressman Jim Moran, applauded Department of Defense approval of a $23,798,603 grant to Fairfax County Public Schools for the renovation, repair and construction of new classrooms at Fort Belvoir Elementary School. The renovation project will help address the school’s capacity and building condition deficiencies. Following completion, Fort Belvoir Elementary School will serve more than 1,590 military-connected students in kindergarten through sixth grade.

“When we send our men and women into harm’s way, our responsibility is to provide their dependents with a quality of life that reflects the high standards of the nation they defend,” said Warner, who previously pressed the Pentagon to make improvements to the DoD school infrastructure after reports of failing facilities shocked many in Virginia. “Especially during a time of record high deployments, we owe it to our military families to take care of their children.”

“The approval of this grant is terrific news for the families at Fort Belvoir,” said Kaine, who successfully fought to continue funding services for personnel and family members housed on military facilities during the National Defense Authorization Act mark up this Spring. “Facilities at Fort Belvoir Elementary School have been at 57% over capacity, and additional classrooms will help to alleviate this serious problem. I applaud the Department of Defense for its commitment to providing a quality educational setting to the children of our servicemembers, and I look forward to seeing the completed renovation.”

“This is great news for Fairfax County and the students of Ft. Belvoir,” said Moran. “The children of our service members deserve the best possible education and it is unfair to leave the surrounding community with the entirety of that commitment.  I’m glad the Department of Defense has stepped up to meet its responsibility to our service men and women and their children.”

###