Guilford school losses from tornado will be covered by insurance, official says

April 24--GREENSBORO -- Insurance is expected to cover Guilford County Schools' financial losses from last week's tornado, the district's chief financial officer said Monday.

At a special meeting of the Board of Education, district officials learned the coverage includes repairs or replacement of buildings and money to replace the personal items of students and staff that were damaged or destroyed in the affected schools.

On April 15, a tornado pummeled east Greensboro, causing significant damage to three Guilford County elementary schools: Hampton, Peeler and Erwin Montessori.

At Monday night's meeting, school board members asked about insurance coverage and salvaging items from the damaged schools as well as the superintendent's budget proposals.

"Your coverage is so much better than the last time you went through a tragedy like this," said the district's attorney, Jill Wilson, referring to a fire that destroyed Eastern Guilford High School in 2006.

Leaders said Henry and the school board were highly motivated to pursue more disaster coverage after that.

The tough thing for many in the district right now is that people who have salvageable items in the old schools will still need to wait to get them back. On Monday night, district officials said those items will be removed and cataloged as part of a wider process that involves inventorying everything, damaged or not, for insurance purposes. School staff will learn more from their principals, but district officials weren't able to give a timetable yet for people to get their stuff back.

District leaders agreed with board member Anita Sharpe when she pointed out the need for haste given the possibility of mold or mildew in the crippled buildings.

The board also passed a special resolution that would allow Superintendent Sharon Contreras authorization to "take any and all actions necessary to preserve and safeguard the health and safety of the people, their property and the interests of the school system."

Board member T. Dianne Bellamy-Small praised Contreras for her leadership in working with staff to respond to the crisis so far.

"Reopening three schools in three existing schools has been a Herculean effort, and we owe everyone involved a debt of gratitude," Contreras said.

Following the discussion of the tornado damage, board members asked questions and got answers from the superintendent and the staff about her budget proposal.

Board member Wes Cashwell expressed concern that the superintendent's proposed capital outlay request doesn't include enough for school maintenance.

The request includes about $5 million for school door security upgrades and $7.5 million for capital maintenance. Cashwell said the $7.5 million isn't enough given the likelihood of various maintenance problems that crop up over the course of year. He has brought up some similar thoughts in the past.

Contreras responded her decision to ask for $7.5 million, rather than the $10 million that was requested last year, was based on trying to be realistic about what they could get from commissioners.

Board members expect to vote on a budget plan to send to county commissioners at their May 8 meeting.

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Contact Jessie Pounds at 336-373-7002 and follow @JessiePounds on Twitter.

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