Air Force and district officials highlight Twining Elementary project and impact‑aid limits

Colonel Bishani Whitmore, deputy wing commander for the 319th Reconnaissance Wing, told the joint Grand Forks Public Schools and Grand Forks Air Force Base School Board meeting that the Twining Elementary School project is a strategic investment in military families and mission readiness. He framed the project as a retention tool and emphasized the Air Force's attention to the quality of local public education when assigning families to bases.

District staff summarized the federal Impact Aid program, noting it was established in 1950 to offset the loss of local property tax revenue on federal lands and that Congress appropriates funds annually. Staff said parts of the program, particularly construction and facilities funding, have been stagnant and that Grand Forks receives modest facility support (district staff estimated roughly $85,000 every other year to support facilities) and that a recent state law change reduced a prior deduction from federal payments in the state aid formula.

Administrators also reported Twining enrollment figures (K–5: 202 students; grades 6–8: 71 students; total 273) and noted the new Twining facility is being built for an enrollment of about 500. The district said it will need impact‑aid and other resources to support principal/interest payments for a new facility moving forward. Colonel Whitmore thanked the district for partnership and described Twining as "a statement that our community values military families," saying projects like the school support retention and readiness.