BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. – School is back in session and Superintendent Kim Stasny is getting a workout on subtraction and negative integers.
The remedial math lesson comes courtesy of Hurricane Katrina, which left the Bay St. Louis-Waveland School District’s finances in a shambles.
“In terms of rebuilding and renovation, we’re in dire straits,” she says, sitting in a cubicle in the portable that serves as the district’s headquarters.
Superintendent Kim Stasny
Stasny’s situation is by no means unique, as the leaders of almost every other local government agency in Hancock County are grappling with similarly grim scenarios.
But the school district’s situation is illuminating as to just how bad the bottom line can be.
Not only must Stasny do her best to ensure that kids continue learning in less-than-ideal circumstances, she must simultaneously figure out how to replace district schools ruined by the storm, repair others that were damaged and maintain the temporary facilities that were quickly thrown together so the district could even operate.
Among her most immediate concerns as the new school year begins:
· The district already has borrowed almost $10 million and may need to borrow as much as $10 million more to replace a ruined school.
· Insurance costs have soared from $147,000 to $933,000 – “and that’s for wind, hail and property coverage only,” she says.
· FEMA payments are being held up as the state audits the district’s spending so far. “We’ve not gotten anything from FEMA since June,” Stasny says. “Right now we owe about $3 million in invoices that we aren’t able to pay.”
· The 77 portables in use across the district are requiring considerable maintenance. “We’re already having problems with them,” she says. “The sewage systems weren’t installed properly and we’re having to spend our money keeping the toilets running.”
Elementary school a problem
The district’s biggest single problem is the Second Street Elementary School, a 1926 building that has been closed since it took about 4 feet of water in the storm. Its 600 students are now being put through their educational paces across the street in a complex of 18 portable classrooms.
The problem, Stasny explains, is that the Federal Emergency Management Agency determined that the old building was 20 percent damaged and allocated $900,000 to repair it. But an architect hired by the district says it will cost $8 million to make the building habitable because of code issues, mold and other problems.
“That facility is really going to slow us down in the rebuilding process,” she says. “I’ve got 600 students that I’m not going to have a home for unless something budges.”
Read previous stories on the schools' plight:
Schools limp toward reopening
For teachers, heavy demands in hard times
Open schooling takes on new meaning
Replacing the elementary school with a new facility would cost approximately $10 million, but Stasny says there are no good mechanisms for raising that much money.
“I can’t float a bond because we already had debt – about $5 million – on the middle school. … And you can’t go to the citizens. I mean many of them are already paying taxes on a slab,” she says.
She is searching high and low for a grant that could be used to help replace the old school, but so far has had no luck.
The news on the district’s other wrecked schools is better.
FEMA has cleared the way for demolition of North Bay Elementary School and the central building and annex of Waveland Elementary and said it would provide approximately $10 million to replace them.
Meantime, the middle school is 100 percent back in use and only one wing of the high school is in portable classrooms, Stasny says.
Disaster loans a bright spot
The one bright spot in the district’s otherwise dismal financial picture is that community disaster loans have helped make up for a big shortfall in local funding to meet operating expenses, Stasny says. The district, which already has received $1.9 million through the program, recently qualified for a second round of funding and is eligible for up to $5 million in the coming year.
Searching for more good news at the outset of the first full year of instruction after Katrina required Stasny to turn from the district’s balance sheet:
· Enrollment figures compiled at the end of the first week of classes showed that the district now has 1,612 students attending classes – 67.5 percent of the pre-Katrina figure of 2,387 but 6 percent higher than at the end of the previous school year. Stasny says she hopes to reach the projected 80 percent of pre-Katrina levels by the second semester, as local casinos reopen and more housing becomes available.
· The district’s students met federal standards mandated by the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, according to preliminary ratings released earlier this month, she says.
· The Chevron Corp. donated $18 million to Louisiana and Mississippi school districts affected by Katrina, enabling the district to fund a new 5,000-square-foot daycare facility. “I’m not looking for new projects, but this is an opportunity we can’t afford to miss,” she says.
· Office Depot is donating playground equipment, which the nonprofit group Kaboom! is installing during the week of the Katrina anniversary at the temporary Second Street Elementary campus.
· Lowe’s is planning to donate laptop computers for teachers.
Stasny says she is particularly proud that the district’s academic achievement didn’t take a nosedive amid the uncertainty and upheaval that Katrina blew into the lives of students, teachers and administrators alike.
“I’m always walking around saying ‘Are the teachers really up to teaching? Are the students up to learning?” she says. “Well, it looks like they learned some stuff. We did what we could and did pretty well.”
See the progress for yourself
EMAIL THIS
TRACKBACKS
Trackbacks are links to weblogs that reference this post. Like comments, trackbacks do no appear until approved by us. The trackback URL for this post is: http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/454638/5793748
advertisement
We have grandchildren attending both Second Street Elementary and Waveland Elementary. I am in awe of the work being done by the teachers and staff at these schools. Not only are they living with their personal lives in shambles but are managing to provide an excellent education and psychological support to children whose lives have been torn apart.
When we speak of heroes we need to remember these quiet, courageous and dedicated people who live everyday making life better for the most vulnerable members of our society.
In addition to the personal help that we have been able to provide for our family after they returned to their Waveland home, my neighbors have been collecting Box Tops for Education and Labels for Education to benefit the schools.
If there are groups or individuals who would be interested in joining this FREE and EASY effort please send a note to helpmississippikids@yahoo.com.
Cathy Long, Mapleton UT (Sent Aug 28, 2006 4:36:26 AM)
I can see the delima. But as long as children are in any type of classroom everybody benefits. Thank all the educateors for the job they are doing and have done!
andy,ms (Sent Aug 28, 2006 7:21:45 AM)
For those of you still bitching about how your tax dollars are going toward subsidizing a bunch of deadbeats in South Mississippi, and "what have you done with all the money we already gave you", this story is for you. Please read it carefully. This story is about our CHILDREN and the problems being encountered with rebuilding and maintaining their schools, for Christ's sake!! And this is only one district and one school system- there are many others encountering the same problems down here. So if it helps you deal with it any better, just assume that YOUR taxes went to help build a new school for children who had their old school destroyed and are presently going to school in trailers, and that MY taxes are being wasted paying for the deadbeats, okay?
Mike Scheid, Long Beach, Miss. (Sent Aug 28, 2006 10:23:57 AM)
Thanks for the informative, eye-opening story about the money problems South Mississippi schools have been having--I'm embarrassed to admit that through my reading I've been familiar with problems regarding New Orleans' schools which are insufficient to serve even her diminished school-age population, but hadn't before this run across anything on Mississippi.
I'm with Mike in Long Beach--the schools (not only in Mississippi but throughout the storm zone) need all the assistance they can get--because it is about CHILDREN--our nation's future. (My insincerest apologies to anyone, as Mike puts it, "bitching about how your tax dollars are going towards subsidizing a bunch of deadbeats in South Mississippi. I'd much rather see tax dollars go to help schools--and children--in the storm zone, than a lot of the other things I see our tax dollars being used for.)
And here's another idea I have that won't make those Mike describes happy--I'm convinced that the Bush Administration needs a "Marshall Plan" for the storm zone. Only that would sufficiently be able to bring back schools and all other institutions and infrastructure knocked for a loop by Katrina back. For the communities in the region, including New Orleans, this is too big a job for them to handle by themselves.
Here's the latest outrage, that, I'm sure, if you don't like seeing your money going to "a bunch of deadbeats" in Mississippi, you're going to hate--I understand that as Bush travels to Mississippi and Louisiana, he won't be bringing any new promises of aid. While, last week, Bush announced he plans to send $230 million to Lebanon (part of which is going towards her schools so they'll be able to open in time for the school year).
So--those of you who don't like seeing "your tax dollars" going to "subsidize a bunch of deadbeats in Mississippi"--wouldn't you rather see that money used at home in Mississippi and Louisiana, than in Lebanon (or anyplace else overseas, for that matter?)
Olivia Elizabeth Burdon, Peoria, Ill. (Sent Aug 28, 2006 1:20:54 PM)
what about new orleans schools????????
lila heymann (Sent Aug 29, 2006 9:15:09 AM)
Here, here Olivia! It seems that depending on who you listen to or read, it's either New Orleans that is "getting all ofthe help" and nothing for anyony else, or the reverse. Storms don't care about politics, race, or anything else. Yes, I would much rather see the money spend at home for repair of our infrstructure than sent overseas. I also agree that a comprehensive plan for recovery is needed. Bandaids won't do when surgery is indicated. It is very inspiring to read about all of the hard work and dedication of many people, in New Orleans and elsewhere in the Gulf region. Our thoughts, prayers, and action are with you.
Brian Feely Washington, DC
Brian Feely (Sent Aug 29, 2006 10:00:42 AM)
We are weary of so much. One thing we're so tired of is having to say over and over again is that this web site is about the state of Mississippi's Gulf Coast. Bay St. Louis and Waveland are not parks in New Orleans or streets in New Orleans. I can see why so many people are so fixated on New Orleans - it is all you see on the news. It flooded. The Mississippi state Gulf Coast WAS DESTROYED BY THE HURRICANE. I've seen both the Coast of the state of Mississippi and the city of New Orleans. New Orleans is bad, but the Gulf Coast of Mississippi is worse by a thousand percent.
Jane, Southern Mississippi (Sent Aug 29, 2006 11:34:24 PM)
I would like to start another fund raiser not just from the school I work in but the whole district. I work in Middletown NJ and we have 17 schools. We can come together for a fund raiser and I would like to know who t contact. I would like to help the teachers with supplies and money. It may take a few months but we can start another drive here in NJ.
Janet Echandy, Middletown NJ (Sent Aug 30, 2006 10:30:58 AM)
I work for a University here in Atlanta (rasied in the Bay, Ballentine Street (2 blocks from the gulf) and 90% of my relatives (up to Katrina) lived there. We have tablet arm chairs 40-50 of them, desks and tables. The only catch is, whoever buys them, has to pick them up, load the and handle transportation of items.
Jace, Atl. (Sent Aug 30, 2006 12:28:54 PM)
Jane--Isn't it sad how geographically inept people seem to be nowadays? I'm not surprised some don't seem to know that Waveland and Bay St. Louis are on MISSISSIPPI'S Gulf Coast--not part of New Orleans...
Olivia Elizabeth Burdon, Peoria, Ill. (Sent Aug 30, 2006 5:21:58 PM)
Olivia in Peoria, you always express a positive and thoughtful attitude. Yes, you would think that for the greatest natural disaster our country has ever faced, in terms of property loss and displaced families, there would be a "Marshall Plan" for rebuilding. Or at least that the rebuilding of public infastructure would be moved along faster than it has. But to really focus and make the Gulf recovery a priority, there has to be real commitment. Passion and caring, like a few of those news anchors were able to show.
For those of you saying in various threads here that the people of Mississippi aren't trying hard enough to get back to work, blah, blah, blah, did you catch the NBC Nightly News today? In a segment on Biloxi, where some of the casinos have reopened, people are driving two hours from Baton Rouge (4 hours in a day) to work those casino jobs. They are commuting, of course, because there is so little available housing at any price in or near Biloxi.
Rosemary, Sacramento CA (Sent Sep 3, 2006 12:20:23 AM)
SEND A COMMENT
PLEASE READ: All comments must be approved before appearing in the thread; time and space constraints prevent all comments from appearing. We will only approve comments that are directly related to the blog, use appropriate language and are not attacking the comments of others.