Restoring Galveston’s public school district after Hurricane Ike is an enormous and expensive task, but Cleveland knows that functioning schools are key to bringing the island back to life. Families won’t move back if their children can’t go to class.
Most of the district’s 11 schools held up surprisingly well, but carpets were drenched; air-conditioning units needed repairs; and computers, library books and school buses were ruined.
Estimates put the cost of damage between $25 million and $45 million, Cleveland said, and the district’s flood insurance will cover only a sliver of that — about $11 million, or $1 million per campus.
Galveston ISD expects some reimbursement from the federal government, and Cleveland has assured employees they will get paid through the school year.
But tough decisions could come in the spring when administrators project how many teachers will be needed next year based on the number of students who have returned.
“We’ll see what our enrollment is, and then we’ll start that process if we have to to downsize,” Cleveland said. “For this year, everybody knows they have their job. They’ll have their benefits for the remainder of this school year.”
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