Gaston sends hurricane relief funds to 4 NC school districts

Feb. 14--The Gaston County public schools community has donated almost $18,000 to help fellow students and their families in four North Carolina counties devastated by Hurricane Florence.

The public schools districts in Craven, Jones, Onslow and Pender counties have been mailed checks worth $4,437 apiece. The four coastal school districts are expected to receive the checks this week.

Each of the counties was ravaged when Hurricane Florence made landfall in September. Flooding and other damage from the storm caused more than 50 fatalities across North Carolina and South Carolina, including the death of an infant when a tree fell on his home here in Gaston County. The storm wiped away or severely damaged many homes, businesses, infrastructure, and also caused widespread, long-term power outages in both states.

The storm caused some $17 billion in damages in North Carolina, and more than $600 million in South Carolina, according to estimates provided to The Associated Press.

So Gaston County Schools, as it has for weather crises in other communities in years past, came to their aid.

In November, Gaston County Schools held a districtwide Nickels 4 Neighbors fundraising campaign to help the communities hit hardest by the hurricane. Students, parents and staff raised the equivalent of 354,992 nickels--almost $17,750.

The campaign was a joint-effort between Gaston's public schools, the Principal's Leadership Team, communications department and central office.

This is the third straight year that Gaston's public school system hosted a Nickels 4 Neighbors campaign to assist victims of natural disasters in the Carolinas.

In 2015, schools raised more than $25,000 for flood victims in Williamsburg and Clarendon counties in South Carolina.

The following year, Gaston's public schools raised about $22,000 for victims of Hurricane Matthew in eastern North Carolina. The relief donations went to the public schools systems in Robeson, Wayne, Lenoir and Edgecombe counties.

In total, the three campaigns have raised almost $65,000 for relief efforts.

The Gaston Gazette asked representatives from each of the school districts receiving Nickels 4 Neighbors relief funding, and inquired how the money will be spent:

Craven County Schools

Challenges: About 1,000 students, and 100 or so teachers, administrators and other staff either lost their homes or were displaced because of flooding. Many are still waiting to have their homes fixed. Two elementary schools and their surrounding communities were significantly inundated with floodwater. Some elementary-aged children had to attend a high school campus for almost two weeks, where the high school students "had a pep rally for them and they supported them and became their little buddies," said Superintendent of Schools Meghan Doyle. She said that the housing issue is exacerbated because enough contractors aren't available, and that many contractors are still fixing homes damaged by Hurricane Michael in Florida.

How relief funds will be used: Donations have been and will continue to be used in numerous ways to help pay people's deposits on rentals until they can get their homes back, replacing washers, driers and HVAC systems, making utility and rent payments, and replacing clothes, furniture and other necessities, Doyle said.

Jones County Public Schools

Challenges: The school district lost two schools due to the hurricane: Trenton Elementary and Jones Middle. Each school had 3 to 4 feet of floodwater inside, forcing students to be reassigned to other schools in the district. The schools lost everything, including all teaching materials, equipment, and books in the media centers. About 40 students lost their homes or were displaced. However, those two schools were already scheduled to close at the end of this school year as a brand new K-12 school readies to open in the county. That school was not damaged in the hurricane.

How relief funds will be used: To purchase new teacher supplies, instructional materials, and books and equipment to replace what was lost in the two school media centers.

Onslow County Schools

Challenges: As a result of Hurricane Florence, the school system had varying degrees of damage to all of the facilities in the district. District leadership has been working closely with insurance adjustors, FEMA representatives and others to secure funding for repairs to the facilities. The district has had 1,146 additional students identified as homeless under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act, as opposed to a total 62 before the storm.

How relief funds will be used: Help provide for students who have been displaced as a result of the storm. School administrators and social workers will work to identify needs at each of its school sites, and determine how these funds can best be utilized to aid students. Brent Anderson, a spokesman for the school system, said "We have received a huge outpouring of support in terms of items donated. This monetary donation will allow us the flexibility to be able to provide for these students in a way donated items cannot."

Pender County Schools

Challenges: Over 800 students homeless or displaced from Hurricane Florence, which also caused long-term damage to structures. The school system is in the process of obtaining additional funding to repair schools and bring them back to their previous condition.

How relief funds will be used: Assist displaced students and schools with supplies and essentials.

You can reach Eric Wildstein at 704-869-1828 or Twitter.com/TheGazetteEric.

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