East Grand Forks district trustees weigh property-insurance shortfall and premium trade-offs

Superintendent Kevin Grover told the East Grand Forks Public School District Board of Education on a June meeting night that the district currently carries approximately $116,000,000 in property insurance coverage and that, depending on valuation assumptions, the district could be between about $20,000,000 and about $60,000,000 short of full replacement value.

Grover said raising coverage by $20,000,000 would cost roughly $18,000 a year in additional premium and that raising it by $60,000,000 would cost about $54,000 a year. He told the board the quoted figures covered the building (property) piece only and did not reflect contents or cybersecurity coverages. "To go up 20,000,000 additional coverage would be about 18,000 a year right now," Grover said. "To go up to 60,000,000, it'd be about 54,000 just for the insurance."

The superintendent framed the question as a risk judgment for the board: the current coverage is adequate to replace fewer than all district buildings; a catastrophic loss of all four buildings could leave a large gap. Grover said district staff discussed whether to raise coverage gradually and that the district had renewed its policy recently. "We have about 116,000,000 in coverage," he said. "It's on the low end. If everything was completely destroyed ... it could be in the ballpark of on the high end, about 60,000,000 short, on the low end, about 20,000,000 short."

Board members pressed practical considerations, including the likelihood of an event that would destroy all buildings and the availability of federal or state assistance after a catastrophe. One board member said the risk of losing all four buildings was low and that paying an extra premium each year may not be worth it; another noted the district could bond to replace buildings if necessary.

Grover noted the district could increase coverage at any time and recommended the board discuss whether to raise limits gradually. He also said the district received an evaluation and a recommendation from ASEC (an insurance evaluator) outlining the district's insured values and possible coverage options.

The discussion did not result in a formal vote; board members asked staff to continue evaluating options and to put an item on a future agenda if they wished to pursue higher limits.

The exchange came during the administration and department head reports portion of the meeting and was framed as a policy-level budgeting decision for the board.

Ending: The board did not adopt a change to property insurance during the meeting. Staff will continue to provide information; trustees indicated they might consider incremental increases or a formal agenda item at a future meeting if concern persists.