Published: July 31, 2009 09:45 pm      

BCISD receives more funds for Ike damage

The Bridge City Independent School District is one step closer to beginning construction on a new elementary school after receiving another bit of good news on Thursday.

In order to help the Bridge City Independent School District recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Ike last September, the Federal Emergency Management Association will present the district with a grant worth approximately $4.2 million to replace Hatton Elementary.

Because costs to repair the school would have been more than 50 percent of the replacement value, the school qualified for replacement funding from FEMA. This FEMA grant will pay 90 percent of the uninsured portion of the building’s replacement costs.

In early July, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) announced the district would receive $3.6 million from FEMA for flood damage repairs for the district’s other elementary school, Sims Elementary.

Sims Elementary had more than four-feet of water standing in its halls, while Hatton Elementary had more than two-feet of water. Since the damage to both campuses was so extensive, the district obtained temporary facilities for its students so the school year could continue.

Sims Elementary students completed the 2008-2009 school year in the parking lot adjacent to the Bridge City High School football field and baseball field. Hatton Elementary students remained located on the Hatton property.

Dr. Jamey Harrison, Bridge City ISD superintendent, said the district has opted to build a new single elementary school with the FEMA provided funds instead of using the funds to repair both heavily damaged schools.

“We’re going to use these funds and build a brand new school for the students of our district,” Harrison said. “We have submitted a plan for the new elementary school and are waiting to hear back once it is approved, which we hope will be any day now.”

Harrison said once the plan is approved, the district will immediately begin demolishing the Hatton Elementary campus and begin constructing the new elementary school at the same site.

Once FEMA reimburses the state of Texas it is the state’s responsibility to manage the funds, which includes making disbursements to local jurisdictions and organizations that incurred costs. The obligated funds are a portion of nearly $1.3 billion in total Public Assistance disaster funds sent to the state since September 2008. In all, federal assistance to Texas for the Hurricane Ike recovery effort tops $2.4 billion.