JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Members of the Duval County School Board plan to ask state legislators for additional funding for district schools that serve as hurricane shelters.
This comes two weeks after Hurricane Irma impacted Northeast Florida when 11 Duval County schools served as shelters to nearly 2,500 people who had to evacuate their homes.
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At a board meeting after Hurricane Irma, Superintendent Paula Wright and Assistant Superintendent of Operations Don Nelson demonstrated the district’s Hurricane Irma efforts, which included 107 employees involved in setting up and shuttering shelters and checking generators, 11 employees who delivered more than 2,500 cots, 315 animal cages, 800 mats and 1,400 blankets.
VIEW: DCPS Power Point presentation |
READ: Duval County Public Schools legislative platform
Thirty custodians were assigned to clean up when the shelter was broken down, and spent four hours sanitizing each facility to prepare it for reopening as a school.
Board Member Becki Couch, a strong supporter of requesting additional funding for the schools that serve as shelters, said much of the public may not realize how much money and time it takes to prepare, run and take down those shelters.
Couch said the district is still waiting for more than $300,000 reimbursement from FEMA for sheltering people during Hurricane Matthew. The district expects Hurricane Irma cost the district even more.
That money comes from capitol funding, which Couch said takes away from projects needed to sustain facilities like fixing a damaged roof, replacing tiles, mowing grass, etc. Eight school resource officers and 42 maintenance staff conducted damage assessments in the days after Irma passed.
Aside from the costs of repairing any damage that is done to schools after a hurricane, district also believe the school district should get reimbursed for the emergency pay for employees working the shelters. Many employees worked 12-hour shifts and were away from their families during the hurricane.
Couch noted that even if school is out because of a hurricane, many district employees still work what could amount to long hours in stressful situations.
Couch said the issue is tied into House Bill 7069, a law passed by the Florida Legislature and signed by Gov. Rick Scott, which allows charter schools to take funding from low-performing schools and potentially take over schools that don't improve performance.
“District managed schools are required to meet building codes outlined in SREF (State Requirements for Educational Facilities) that charter schools do not,” Couch said. “Therefore, we provide the space for the majority of the emergency shelters in Duval County. With the new law that requires us to share capital funds with charter schools and the role we play during weather-related emergencies, we incur a significant loss in our capital budget. Our legislative agenda will request additional funding for schools that serve as shelters so that we can meet the needs of our community during a time of crisis.”
Couch said the district could lose around $16 million over the next five years because of House Bill 7069.
The School Board released numbers showing resources used by the district during Hurricane Irma.