CAMERON, La. –One
school in Cameron may be
small, but it did not go
unnoticed by the Federal
Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA).
Johnson
Bayou High School’s 143
students recently began
classes back in their
permanent facility,
nearly two years after
it was devastated by
Hurricane Rita. FEMA
paid to fund repairs to
the school, allowing it
to reopen for this
school year.
The school’s students,
who are in grades K-12,
had been forced into
temporary facilities
after the hurricane’s 10
foot storm surge caused
significant damages to
the building. The 1960’s
facility suffered severe
flood and wind damages.
While the school has not
reached its pre-Rita
enrollment of more than
190 students, Cameron
Parish Superintendent
Stephanie Rodrigue said
Johnson Bayou is
growing. The school
added 11 students this
year. She said FEMA was
“awesome” in its
dedicated effort to
assist in reopening the
school.
“We were able to start
the first day of school
in a wonderfully
restored building,”
Rodrigue added. “There’s
no way we could have
done that on our own.”
More
than
$3.7
million
has been obligated for
replacement and repairs
to the permanent
facility, while an
additional
$82,163
went toward temporary
facilities. When
projects are obligated
by FEMA through its
supplemental Public
Assistance grant, the
funds are transferred to
a Smartlink account.
This allows the
applicant, in this case
the Cameron Parish
School Board, to work
with the Governor’s
Office of Homeland
Security and Emergency
Preparedness as quickly
as possible to access
the reimbursement
monies. The state may
require additional
documentation from the
applicant before
disbursing the funds.
Obligated funds may
change over time as the
project worksheet is a
living grant that is
often adjusted as bids
come in and scope of
work is aligned.
The Public Assistance
program works with state
and local officials to
fund recovery measures
and the rebuilding of
government and certain
private nonprofit
organizations’
buildings, as well as
roads, bridges and water
and sewer plants. In
order for the process to
be successful, federal,
state and local partners
coordinate to draw up
project plans, fund
these projects and
oversee their
completion.
FEMA coordinates the
federal government’s
role in preparing for,
preventing, mitigating
the effects of,
responding to, and
recovering from all
domestic disasters,
whether natural or
man-made, including acts
of terror.
