OAK HARBOR, Wash. — Crescent Harbor Elementary School has stood in Oak Harbor since 1961, largely serving the students of sailors from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.
The school is outdated and needs to be replaced, but voters in Oak Harbor, consisting primarily of retirees, have been reluctant.
As teacher Michelle Garcia prepares for the first day of the new school year at Crescent Harbor, she's thrilled to know this year will be one of her last.
"I was so excited," she said.
Garcia isn't excited because she's leaving the school. It's because the school is leaving her.
After 63 years, Crescent Harbor Elementary is too small for the number of students, and its technology and layout are out of date.
"As a community we know these are things we need to do for our children, and we know this is an investment that needs to be made," said Garcia.
Nearly two-thirds of the students at Crescent Harbor come from military families.
Military pay is lower than most, and school officials say most military families don't stay put long enough to plant roots and invest in their schools.
The district has gone to voters twice in recent years to approve money for upgrades, but both efforts were rejected.
"A majority of our military families don't establish permanent residency, as they're traveling every few years, so they're not voting. That's the local vote that we don't necessarily have," said Oak Harbor School Superintendent Michelle Kuss-Cybula.
Recognizing that, the U.S. Department of Defense is providing $136 million to rebuild Crescent Harbor and one other school on the NAS Whidbey base.
Another $26 million is being provided by the state.
That makes Oak Harbor the first school district in Washington to build two new schools, completely debt-free to the community.
Ground for the new Crescent Harbor is already broken, directly next door to the current school. It's leveling the playing field for military families and their community.
They are people like Michelle Garcia, who isn't just a teacher, she's also a veteran and mother to three boys.
"It just makes me so happy for our students, our families, and our staff," she said.
The news schools are expected open in the fall of 2026.