BATON ROUGE, La. — Four schools in East Baton Rouge and Ascension parishes have an additional $10 million to recover and rebuild following the August floods.
FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) program awarded more than $3.3 million to the East Baton Rouge School Board for remediation at Park Forest Middle School and Park Forest Elementary School. To assist with recovery efforts, the Ascension Parish School Board will receive $3.5 million for St. Amant High School. About $2.8 million will help the Central Community School System pay for permanent repairs to Tanglewood Elementary School.
FEMA has awarded nearly $77 million for schools for this disaster. The program recently awarded assistance for area schools in Tangipahoa, Ascension, East Feliciana and East Baton Rouge parishes. Funding covered emergency protective measures, building construction, remediation and utility assistance in these areas.
As of April 14, FEMA’s PA program has obligated almost $341 million to reimburse local and state governments as well as certain private nonprofits for the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities and infrastructure. The funds also cover debris removal and emergency response activities in designated parishes.
FEMA’s PA program helps to repair or replace critical infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, public buildings and schools. PA offers supplemental financial assistance on a cost-sharing basis. FEMA typically reimburses 75 percent of eligible PA expenses. However, FEMA will reimburse applicants 90 percent of eligible PA expenses given the magnitude of the August floods.
