US Defense Bill Authorizes $65Mln for Renovation of Guantanamo Bay School

The United States will allocate some $65 million to renovate its public school in Cuba under the recent defense bill, the Miami Herald reported Tuesday.

MOSCOW, December 30 (Sputnik) – According to the newspaper, the W.T. Sampson School, the only US school on communist soil, is expected to cost $267,500 for each of its 243 students because, despite the recent warming in relations between the two sides, the United States does not conduct business with Cuba.

Guantanamo's costs are high, "because all materials must be barged to the island, and the construction contractor's crews must live on site for the duration of construction," the Miami Herald quoted a Department of Defense school unit spokesperson as saying.

Earlier in December, the US Congress passed the 2015 $585-billion defense bill, funding national security, overseas contingency and an anti-Islamic State (IS) campaign. Additionally, the bill bans the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detention camp prisoners, despite US President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign promise and subsequent order to shut down the facility.

The W.T. Sampson High School, established in 1931, is expected to replace its 29-year-old campus by April 2018. The defense bill earmarks funds to replace or renovate six other Defense Department schools in Belgium, Japan and North Carolina at an average cost of $55 million.