BATON ROUGE, La. — Two Central schools have received federal disaster assistance to return students to classrooms after the August flood damaged their campuses.
About $4.2 million in FEMA assistance has reimbursed schools in Central:
Central Private School has been awarded more than $3.7 million to place temporary facilities on its campus that students may attend during repairs to the permanent facility. The funds also lessen stresses on two campuses that have hosted Central Private School’s students since the flood.Tanglewood Elementary School has been awarded more than $500,000 for temporary facilities and supplies needed to accommodate its students at three Central Community School System campuses. Tanglewood Elementary students are attending the schools during repairs to their campus.A total of more than $57 million in FEMA grants has gone to Louisiana schools damaged during the August flood. The state and FEMA continue to review ways to help these and other flood-affected schools.
The funds were made available through FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) program. The program reimburses eligible local and state government and certain private nonprofit entities in 26 designated parishes for the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities and infrastructure. It also provides expenses for debris removal and emergency response activities.
The parishes eligible for PA funding are Acadia, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Cameron, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Livingston, Point Coupee, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Vermilion, Washington, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana.
FEMA typically reimburses 75 percent of eligible PA expenses. However, applicants will be reimbursed 90 percent of eligible PA expenses given the magnitude of the August floods. The federal portion is paid directly to the state, which then disburses the funds to the applicants.
