‘Long haul.’ Leaders in Ky. districts hit by tornadoes ask for years of extra state money

Superintendents of Kentucky school districts hit by December tornadoes told lawmakers last week they were going to need at least five more years of extra financial help to stay viable.

“It’s going to be a lengthy recovery for us in Dawson Springs, just like it will be in Mayfield and the other areas impacted,” Dawson Springs Independent Superintendent Leonard Whalen told members of the Senate Education Committee last week. “This is not going to be a one or two year deal. We’re going to need some financial help for a while.”

“The amount of help we’ve received has been immeasurable. But we’re going to need more,” said Whalen.

Whalen and two other superintendents, Joe Henderson of Mayfield Independent, and Matthew Madding of Graves County, told lawmakers they were moving forward but were faced with big funding gaps. They can’t even say yet exactly how much money they are behind as a result of the Dec. 10 storms that killed dozens and destroyed large numbers of homes.

“Our town will not be back to where it was before the tornado in five years,” Henderson said.

“This recovery process is years long,” said Madding.

Whalen said 20 percent of his staff lost their homes, their vehicles and their belongings. However, he said the district only missed 14 school days and “we are back at it.”

Within 20 minutes of the tornado hitting, school gyms and libraries were transformed into medical triage centers then evolved into relief centers filled with semi truckloads of donated items. The supply centers for tornado victims were manned by school staff, volunteers and even students, the school district leaders said.

Henderson said his district reopened for school as soon as possible, with Mayfield returning after missing 10 school days. Normalcy at school is helping students, he said.

When the students are at school, he said, they are warm, safe, are provided meals and are around people who can take care of their needs.

Kids riding on buses through the devastation on the way to school are still being affected by the sights.

“It’s taking a mental toll on a lot of our families, a lot of our kids,” Henderson said.

Mayfield Independent’s district lost its transportation and maintenance departments, including buses. Even with insurance, Henderson said he will need about $85,000 to replace each bus. His district needs $500,000 immediately for buses.

Ninety-five students had to move out of Mayfield Independent when they were displaced but other school districts are helping to bus them in so they can stay in the same school.

“It’s going to be a long haul for us,” said Henderson. The families that were most in need before the tornado, “now have nothing.”

The tornado destroyed much of Mayfield’s low-income housing, he said.

“We are putting one foot in front of the other and going day by day and trying to figure out” how to get families back into the community, said Henderson.

Whalen said his district is also battling COVID-19 and closed Jan. 27 and Jan. 28 because they didn’t have enough staff who were well enough to work.

The superintendents have received donations and the financial assistance in Senate Bill 5 and House Bill 5 which provides disaster recovery and relief funding for western Kentucky, according to a news release from the Kentucky Department of Education about the superintendents conversations with lawmakers.

The superintendents said they lost average daily attendance funds from the state -- about $4,000 per student – because some displaced students have had to go to other schools. The districts lost millions in taxes on real property and motor vehicles, the release said.

Henderson told lawmakers that Mayfield Independent already has lost 29 students to other districts, a cost of about $150,000 in state funding, and the district will lose more kids because their families won’t replace their homes in Mayfield.

Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, a member of the Senate Education Committee, said the districts losing the funding will continue to have operational expenses and other recurring costs.

House Bill 5, signed into law by Gov. Andy Beshear, is a $200 million tornado relief bill that provides $155 million in general funds for fiscal year 2021-2022 to the West Kentucky State Aid Funding for Emergencies Fund. It provides $30 million to the Kentucky Department of Education for school districts and $15 million to Kentucky Emergency Management to purchase temporary FEMA-eligible housing, the Kentucky Department of Education release said.

That legislation will help, but the superintendents said that measure alone won’t fill gaps, including, in some cases, an estimated extra $750,000 in salaries needed to pay staff who came into work to help the community after the disaster but before schools opened again. Lawmakers are being asked to grant districts “disaster days” that will provide financial relief.

State Rep. Myron Dossett, R-Pembroke filed HB 397, a bill waiving up to 15 attendance days for school districts impacted by the December 10, 2021, western Kentucky tornado. The relief measure would mean that students and teachers will not stay in school all summer.

The bill, HB 397, ensures that teachers and school personnel will not have to work additional days during the summer to fulfill their contract. Staff will be paid for these relief days.

Several lawmakers told the superintendents they wanted to help.

“We stand ready to provide all the funds we can,” State Sen. David Givens, R-Greensburg, said.