District Receives Superstorm Sandy Reimbursements
Superstorm Sandy was an expensive natural disaster. While the storm cost the Huntington School District over $375,000, insurance and federal reimbursements have softened the blow.
As of mid-March, Huntington has received $286,262 in reimbursements from the New York Schools Insurance Reciprocal and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The district is also pursuing an additional potential reimbursement of $45,290 from FEMA. If approved, the total reimbursement for storm damages would total $331,552 from NYSIR and FEMA.
NYSIR inspected the district's facilities and met with officials in November, producing an estimate of $313,785 in damages related to Sandy, including $18,172 in food losses due to spoilage after electricity was lost.
In January, NYSIR agreed to reimburse the district for its food losses and later offered a settlement of $261,940 for physical damage to school facilities. The district accepted the offer and has already received payment.
District officials met with a FEMA representative several times regarding expenses not covered by NYSIR. "FEMA will reimburse expenses related to payroll and benefits for staff working during the storm period, including preparation and cleanup, equipment rental, repairs and usage and other damages not covered through our NYSIR policy," said Sam Gergis, Huntington's assistant superintendent for business.
Mr. Gergis said Huntington's repair expenses not covered by insurance (after its deductible) amounted to $8,200. "FEMA's policy is to reimburse municipalities 75 percent of submitted costs upon approval," Mr. Gergis said. The district received $6,150 for these expenses.
"The district's final submission for related payroll and equipment rental, repair and usage expenses during the storm is $60,387," Mr. Gergis said. "Should FEMA approve this submitted amount, the district will receive $45,290 for qualified expenses."
"After all that we have gone through, we and all those affected on Long Island deserve the financial reprieve in response to unforeseen storm costs and damages," Huntington Superintendent James W. Polansky said. "My hope is that FEMA will see fit to reimburse us for the remaining qualified expenses in as timely a manner as possible. We will continue to follow up in this regard."
Huntington is still somewhat hopeful it will also receive all or part of the remaining 25 percent of submitted expenses not covered by FEMA. The New York State Office of Emergency Management indicated last November that such reimbursements were possible. "To date, we have received no guidance or update regarding this initiative," said Mr. Gergis, who added that he will be following up on the matter with OEM.