Raleigh) —Today The U.S. Department of Education notified NC Superintendent Mark Johnson that the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has been awarded $3,395,009 to assist local school districts with expenses incurred from Hurricane Dorian in September 2019. NCDPI applied for the grant in October.
“These funds will help the schools affected by Hurricane Dorian to make the repairs necessary to get back to normal operations,” said Johnson. “This is great news especially around the holiday season.”
Funds from the grant award can be used for activities such as mental health and safety programs for students and staff, replacing instructional materials lost during storms, additional transportation costs for students, faculty and staff salaries, and debris removal and mold mitigation from schools.
The two areas NCDPI will benefit from are:
• Immediate Aid to Restart School Operations grants are awarded to state education agencies to provide assistance or services related to the restart of operations in, the reopening of, and the re-enrollment of students in public and non-public elementary and secondary schools that serve an area affected by a covered disaster or emergency.
• Temporary Emergency Impact Aid for Displaced Students grants are awarded to state education agencies to disperse to help districts pay the extra costs of providing education to students displaced by natural disasters.
LEA’s in North Carolina that will be eligible to receive the funds are:
- Dare County Schools
- Edgecombe County Schools
- Hyde County Schools
- Lenoir County Schools
These school systems cited needs including instructional materials, technology equipment, furniture, cleaning services, mold mitigation and roof damage.
“NCDPI will be working to get these funds to the school districts as soon as possible,” said Johnson.
A copy of the letter to Superintendent Johnson from the U.S. Department of Education is available here.
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