School board asked whether to continue FEMA appeals after roughly $4.2 million in denials

Shanna, a district staff member, told the school board that the district has received multiple denials from FEMA related to hurricane damage claims and asked the board for direction on whether to continue appeals or move funds to repair work. "We've currently been denied a total of ... $4,200,000," Shanna said, and asked the board whether to pay for additional appeals or use available money for repairs.

The question matters because the denials cover significant facilities and the district is carrying a FEMA-related loan. The board must decide whether to spend more on appeals that staff say may not succeed, or prioritize repairing buildings now and pursuing state grant funding instead.

Shanna summarized recent results and next steps: three additional FEMA determination memos denied claims for several school roofs, including an elementary-school roof she said was about $1,200,000 and was ruled ineligible because of "pre-disaster conditions" or "inadequately documented" evidence. The district appealed one high-school claim in March; the appeal was submitted to FEMA in May, and…