FEMA reimburses T’bonne schools for Gustav

The Terrebonne Parish School District is receiving a $1 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse the district for relocation expenses incurred from Hurricane Gustav in 2008, said Schools Superintendent Philip Martin.

The money from FEMA will pay for the construction of modular buildings at Houma’s Grand Caillou Elementary School, which has 674 pre-K through sixth grade students, he said.

Because of damage to the school from Gustav, students at Grand Caillou Elementary-then located in Dulac-were temporarily moved to Acadian Elementary in Houma. “It wasn’t desirable, but we had no choice,” Martin said.

Grand Caillou elementary and middle schools switched locations following Gustav. The former middle school in Houma now houses the elementary school. The former elementary school in Dulac is the middle school, which has 146 seventh and eighth graders.

“If the school is not usable because of a catastrophe we can reassign kids… Now seventh and eighth graders can be relocated easily. We wanted a scenario that did not occasion a disruption for (elementary school) students,” Martin said.

Grand Caillou Middle School flooded frequently when it was the elementary school. The school district appreciates the federal assistance, Martin said.

“FEMA gets blasted but they have been helpful to Terrebonne Parish,” he said. “They provided assistance and guidance, but it was lengthy.”

Martin said he is expecting further assistance from FEMA.

“We’ve got a whole lot of damage,” he said. “Between FEMA and the insurance companies it’s a laborious process. It’s certainly not over.”

In addition, Grand Caillou Elementary has two buildings that are structurally unsound.