Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Hurricane Recovery topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Superintendent updates board on Hurricane Helene recovery, FEMA meetings and grants
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Grit briefed the board on Hurricane Helene recovery work, facility repairs at Old Fort, delays to Pleasant Gardens mobile units, new buses, FEMA coordination, and several grants including roughly $74,000 for child nutrition and $113,000 for mental-health disaster relief.
Superintendent Dr. Grit told the McDowell County Schools Board on Dec. 2 that recovery work following Hurricane Helene is progressing, with engineers clearing a key wastewater concern at the Old Fort building and moisture testing underway in the gym.
“An engineer on-site in Old Fort reported to the county that they can handle our wastewater,” Dr. Grit said, and he noted that the company contracted to assess hardwood flooring took moisture samples the same day. HVAC contractors are reinstalling insulation, and heat tape was added to exposed pipes to prevent freezing.
Dr. Grit said the district is coordinating with FEMA and its insurance carrier. He reported FEMA will pick up the deductible; the state also has a $50,000,000 assistance pool for districts, though Dr. Grit said the district may not need that funding if insurance and FEMA cover the losses.
On transportation, Dr. Grit reported five new buses have arrived at the garage and three more are expected this year, bringing the incoming total to eight new buses; three buses at Old Fort were total losses in the storm and were included in replacement orders.
Finance staff reported several disaster-related grants: a child nutrition grant ‘‘a little over $74,000’’ to offset staff-paid periods when meals were not served, a mental-health disaster grant ‘‘a little over $113,000’’ for post-disaster mental-health services, and a $25,000 disaster-relief allocation.
The superintendent also walked the board through a financial-transparency resource on the district website, explaining where to find monthly financial reports, audit reports, and DPI expenditure data. He said the district’s approximate non-hurricane annual budget is about $65,000,000 and offered an off-the-cuff funding mix of roughly 76% state, 10% federal and 11% local revenue.
Board members asked follow-up questions about potential reimbursements to staff or cadets who paid expenses out of pocket for the NJROTC trip; the superintendent said the district would check whether reimbursement is possible.
