Despite Insurance Settlement, Kansas School Still Short for Repairs

Despite receiving millions in insurance, government help and donations, Chapman school officials say they will need a bond issue to repair school buildings damaged by a June 11 tornado.

The tornado destroyed or damaged the district’s elementary and middle schools, the district office, art building and three-fourths of its high school.

The district always expected to ask voters to approve a bond issue to cover remaining costs, said Tony Frieze, Chapman superintendent.

“I think, realistically, to get all new facilities, you can’t expect everything to be paid for,” Frieze said.

The district won’t know exactly how much of a bond it will need until January or February, but Frieze estimated it will be $10 million or less when it goes up for a vote in April.

“For that, we’re getting all new facilities. In this day and age, you’re not going to be getting that for $10 million or less,” Frieze said. “I anticipate the community being very supportive.”

The district has received a $21 million insurance settlement and $500,000 in donations. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will fund 75 percent of the project costs above that money, the Kansas Division of Emergency Management will pay 10 percent, and the district will need 15 percent, Frieze said.

School officials hope to have this year’s sophomores at Chapman High School begin their senior year in a new, energy efficient building. Currently, about 961 students in kindergarten through 12th grade are attending part of their school days in 24 modular classrooms.

If the bond issue fails, Frieze said, “Our kids are going to be in modular classrooms. I know that FEMA is only there so long and when they close out a project, it’s a done deal. I look for them to say, ‘Here it is,’ and if you vote it down, you’re voting down help from FEMA.”

But Josh DeBerge, a FEMA spokesman in Kansas City, said if voters reject the bond, FEMA would help the district find alternative funds.

“We want them to get their money, and we’ll work with them on finding other ways, if that’s a necessity,” DeBerge said.

The district currently is being reimbursed every six months for the cost of the temporary classrooms, said Sharon Watson, spokeswoman for the Kansas Division of Emergency Management.

To continue receiving those funds, the district is required to break ground on the new facility by July 9, 2009, she said.

When construction starts, the contractor bills the state for every 30 days of work. Kansas Emergency Management would pay its 10 percent and administer federal money to cover FEMA’s 75 percent. The rest would be paid by the school district.

“When they get to the end of the contract, if (Chapman schools) doesn’t have (funding) from the local government, that’s where they run into issues,” Watson said. “It’s best if they have that money secured.”

The district currently has zero bond debt and $110,000 left from its last bond issue, said Mary Root, district treasurer.

Information from: The Salina Journal, http://www.saljournal.com