(a) The Secretary of the Navy may contribute, out of funds specifically appropriated for the purpose, to the support of schools in any locality where a naval activity is located if he finds that the schools available in the locality are inadequate for the welfare of the dependents of—

(1) members of the naval service;

(2) civilian officers and employees of the Department of the Navy;

(3) members of the Coast Guard when it is operating as a service in the Navy; and

(4) members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration serving with the Navy;

who are stationed at the activity.

(b) The Secretary, to the extent he considers proper, may delegate the authority conferred by this section to any person in the Department of the Navy, with or without the authority to make successive redelegations.