School Board Requests Town Aid for October Snowstorm-Related Costs

The Avon school district incurred in unanticipated costs as a result of the October 2011 storm, and the school board has turned to the town for help providing a funding source.

Town Manager Brandon Robertson received notice Thursday that the board requested a supplemental appropriation for that amount.

The storm-related costs, as listed in the table provided and attached report from Superintendent of Schools Gary Mala, included overtime for custodial services ($19,685), cafeteria operation ($9,808), maintenance to clean up storm debris ($6,329) and nursing staff ($1,929), as well as food and supplies ($8,034.81), food lost due to the power outage ($6,543.05), replacement of damaged fences ($4,183), remote thermal unit repair and installation at Avon High School ($722), temporary phone costs ($180), 2,116.50 gallons of diesel fuel ($8,149), utility expenses ($2,500) and bus stop and bus route safety checks ($1,812).

Most of those expenses were for operation of the emergency shelter at Avon High School.

“In our opinion, these are town costs, not school costs," School Board Chairwoman Peggy Roell said at the board's meeting on Tuesday.

were closed from Halloween to Nov. 9, 2011, after the Oct. 29 snowstorm that knocked down trees and power lines and power outages lasting up to 12 days for some residents.

William Stokesbury, school board vice chairman, said the town designated the high school as the shelter and that the decision was not under the school board's purview. If the , for instance, had been used as a shelter instead, Roell said, the district wouldn't have had as many storm-related expenses.

"Many of these costs arise out of town election to use this facility as an emergency shelter," Stokesbury said.

It is possible the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) could reimburse up to 75 percent of the school district's storm-related costs, Robertson said Thursday night, which Mala said would be ideal. However, the town is still in the process of filing its storm-related expenses with FEMA.

"It's not clear whether we're going to receive any part of the reimbursement," Mala said.

At present, there is no designated funding source in the school board budget to absorb the cost, Mala said, but if necessary, he will examine all parts of the budget to find funding. Robertson said that school-related expenses were a small portion of the overall storm-related costs in town.

If the item makes it onto a Town Council agenda, which Robertson suspects it will, the council would need to vote on recommending it to the Board of Finance. If the finance board approves the request, funding will most like come from undesignated fund balance, which rolls over annually like a savings account, Robertson said.

"There's no other source of funding available," Robertson said.

If FEMA does reimburse the school board for its storm-related costs, Robertson pointed out that it only would account for 75 percent, leaving 25 percent that needs a funding source. Whether the town or school district would pay that balance if that were the case remains to be seen.

“I’m not confident we’ll get any of our cost recovered," Mala told the board.

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