District says Kay Heights flood will exceed $500,000 insurance cap; emergency declaration to be sought

Facilities staff told the Ithaca City School District Facilities & Finance Committee on April 9 that they are assessing flood damage to Kay (Ker) Heights and will pursue an emergency resolution so the district can use funds and receive state disaster response.

The presenter said the district is working with consultants Serpro and Tetrate Tech to determine mitigation needs and a full scope of work. "Our first order of business is the resolution to declare it an emergency so that we can use funding to serve that purpose and also to receive state data and response once we do," the facilities speaker said.

Staff said the district's insurance will cover "up to about $500,000 of total damage" but that anticipated total costs likely will exceed that cap and remain under analysis. Committee members pressed for an early order-of-magnitude estimate; staff said they hope to have cost projections soon but had not finalized a deductible or a total damage figure during the meeting.

Board members acknowledged the emergency repairs allowed a school to reopen quickly after spring break and praised school staff for their response. One committee member recounted a site visit and praised Principal Eileen Ranger and her staff for rapidly preparing the building for students following the flood.

Staff framed the work as short-, medium- and long-term: immediate mitigation to make spaces usable, a staged assessment of whether storm-water correction is feasible to prevent recurrence, and a longer-term review of building modernization needs. No emergency-resolution vote was recorded during the meeting; staff said a resolution would be brought forward for action once cost and scope details are available.

Requested follow-ups included a written estimate of expected costs and a set of photographs and documentation from the consultants for public record.