Dr. Reginald Eggleston, Geary County Schools USD 475 Superintendent of Schools, has received notification that the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation has approved a USD 475 grant application. It will pay 80 percent of the cost of expanding Morris Hill Elementary on Fort Riley. The school district confirmed that the grant totals $8.6 million.
The brand-new Morris Hill Elementary opened in August of 2023. The USD 475 Board of Education committed to the expansion of the school, which enabled the closure of an aged, nearby elementary school. The expansion project will provide Morris Hill with a student capacity equivalent to two former schools
“We presented the concept of one larger school to the OLDCC and demonstrated that the cost of expansion was one-fourth the cost of building a new facility that would be necessary to replace the school closed at the end of the 2023 school year,” said Eggleston.
The announcement of the grant approval ensures that the expansion project will be completed in time for opening in August of 2024. The project includes a 200kw solar array that will supply 20 percent of the school electrical service requirements. The solar field, which was approved by Fort Riley, is to be constructed on-site right next to the facility.
Since 2014, USD 475’s and Fort Riley’s partnership with the OLDCC has produced two new grade schools and a new middle school.
By Matt Hoover
USD 475 Communications Coordinator