Yuma Elementary School District 1 (YESD 1) is applying for a federal grant to help fund the replacement of James D. Price Elementary School which was built in 1953 at Yuma Proving Ground (YPG).

A group representing various agencies who made up a Federal Evaluation Team visited the elementary school on July 2, 2024, to assess the school and discuss the needs of the new school. Both YPG Garrison and Command leaderships attended.

During the visit, the team made up of representatives from the Department of the Army, YESD1, the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC) and the principal architect, saw the ceiling in various classrooms where leaks occurred and visited the temporary classrooms being used while the ceiling repairs are made. They toured classrooms making note of the single-pane windows and the loud buzzing a rooftop air conditioner makes in the classrooms. Finally, they viewed the location just north of Price where the new school will be built.

The team discussed the planned improvements for the school, such as a kitchen to prepare hot lunches (which the current school does not have) as well as a larger auditorium for indoor structured activities and dedicated art and music rooms. The school will also have a more modern layout, to improve security and the overall student experience.

Following this visit the school district will begin the grant application process.

Grant process:

• The grant approval process takes about three months and will be complete before Sept. 30, 2024, to compete with other projects for this cycle.

• If the grant is awarded, it will be announced by an Arizona congressmember or senator.

• If the grant is awarded, the OLDCC team will return to YPG to conduct a kickoff meeting and discuss details about the execution of the grant funds to YESD1 and the timeline for the design and construction of the new school.