Lawrence School District receives federal money

Four years after Hurricane Sandy ravaged communities along the South Shore, U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, along with U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice, announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency would provide $4.6 million in federal recovery funding to the city of Long Beach and Island Park and Lawrence school districts.

“This federal investment will help educate our students in a safe and learning-friendly environment and that’s why I’m pleased to announce FEMA funding to help pay for Sandy-related repairs at Island Park’s Francis X. Hegarty Elementary School and Lawrence High School,” Schumer said in a statement. “Moreover, federal funding to help pay for repairs to the city of Long Beach’s municipal garage will help make sure local taxpayers are not left on the hook for these much-needed expenses.”

Repairs to Francis X. Hegarty Elementary School, which sustained nearly four feet of flooding during Sandy, and Lawrence High School, which closed after the storm due to extensive flood damage and corroded electrical wiring, cost the Island Park and Lawrence districts nearly $1.5 million each. Damages to Long Beach’s municipal parking garage, meanwhile, totaled more than $1.6 million. The elementary school houses kindergarten through fourth grade, and Island Park Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Rosmarie Bovino said the money would go toward infrastructure improvements.

Lawrence School Board President Murray Forman said the district has now received a total of $5 million in reimbursements after Sandy and continues to refurbish the schools. “…These funds are critical to the district’s ongoing effort to restore Lawrence High School to its pre-Sandy condition,” Forman said. “We look forward to our legislators’ continued support as we complete the restoration of Lawrence High School for the benefit of the children of our community.”

As of February, FEMA’s Sandy Recovery Office reported that $14.2 billion was given to state, local and tribal governments, while $1.4 million was provided for disaster survivors in New York and New Jersey. The funding to Long Island is the most recent example of the ongoing reimbursement four years later.

“This funding represents the continued commitment from our federal government to support our recovery efforts and ensure that taxpayers, local governments and school districts aren’t forced to bear the costs of badly needed repairs,” said Rice.