Past due: Indian River County schools still awaiting reimbursements from past hurricanes

Sept. 29--INDIAN RIVER COUNTY -- Hurricane Irma spared the school district catastrophic damage, yet the costs of weathering the storm continue to mount.

But before the district tallies how much Irma, and operating evacuation shelters in schools, will run, School Board members are concerned about nearly $2 million the federal government still owes from previous storms.

"When people need to feel safe (during a storm), they get to come to us," said School Board member Tiffany Justice. "We're happy for the service. But we need some help to make sure we get reimbursed."

Irma caused a myriad of water leaks, destroyed fences and kicked up playground surfaces on campuses across the county, according to the district's damage assessment.

State law requires school boards to provide facilities, staffing and transportation during emergencies. As a result, the district had to front some of the money for helping run shelters.

School officials don't yet have an estimate of how much Irma is expected to cost, but on Tuesday, gave board members a glimpse of how the storm affected the district.

More than $70,000, for example, went towards food, school officials said Tuesday.

Serving food at the shelters during and after Irma cost almost $33,000, school officials said. Then, more than $38,000 worth of food spoiled when power was lost and had to be thrown out.

The food services department now is using its reserves to get through the school year in hopes of being paid back later, school officials said.

The district is attempting to get reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and from insurance, said Finance Director Carter Morrison.

"We are hopeful we can resolve the matter and be able to be reimbursed as fast as possible," Morrison said.

Even as the district is going after federal-government reimbursements for Irma, FEMA still owes the district about $2 million from storms such as hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, Morrison said.

For board member Laura Zorc, however, Tuesday was the first she had heard about the overdue repayment.

Zorc said she wants to know if the anticipated reimbursements are for damage or for operating shelters.

"If that's the cost of running shelters and staffing, it's a huge problem," Zorc said.

School districts need to be paid back in a timely manner after storms, Zorc said. Serving the community during hurricanes is a privilege, but lapses in funding end up hurting students, she said.

School Board members need to huddle with federal lawmakers to ensure this doesn't happen again, Zorc added.

"We have so many projects we need to complete in the district," she said.

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