Hurricanes have financial impacts on school districts in Manatee County

As Hurricane Milton barreled toward Manatee County, the School District of Manatee County in partnership with the county’s Emergency Operations Center, opened 16 schools to serve as shelters.

In order to open the first round of shelters, district staff shifted into high gear Oct. 7 as preparations to welcome evacuees began at 8 a.m. 

Every hour a school is used as a shelter contributes to the cost to the School District of Manatee County. 

Knowing this year’s hurricane season was projected to be riddled with storms, the school district budgeted $1.5 million in the 2024-2025 fiscal year to cover the cost of schools serving as shelters, along with potential damages to district facilities. 

There are 27 schools within the district that can serve as shelters during hurricanes, and the district works closely with Manatee County’s Emergency Operations Center to determine how many shelters should open and which schools will be turned into shelters. The Emergency Operations Center ultimately decides what, how many and when shelters open. 

It involves hours of preparation for every storm to ensure there is a safe and hospitable environment for people to go to during a storm. 

Carol Ricks, the principal at Myakka City Elementary School, sat in a folding chair at the entrance to the school’s cafeteria and watched news reports of Hurricane Milton making its way across the Gulf of Mexico on Oct. 8. Next to her was Daniel Bradshaw, the principal at Parrish Community High School.

The principals were among 21 School District of Manatee County employees working at Myakka City Elementary as the school had opened as a shelter during Hurricane Milton. 

As Hurricane Milton progressed, 16 more shelters opened. 

Photo by Liz Ramos

Rachel Sellers, the deputy superintendent of business services for the district, said the cost to the district is dependent on various factors including how many shelters open, how many people evacuate to those shelters, and how many staff members are needed at the shelters. 

If a lockdown is called, meaning no one can leave the shelter, Sellers said it increases the cost because often it means people are in the shelters longer. 

For example, during Hurricane Ian, 17 shelters were opened, and it cost the district $1.38 million. In comparison, the Emergency Operations Center opened two shelters during Hurricane Debby, which cost the district $109,000. 

Sellers said the Federal Emergency Management Agency does not reimburse all costs associated with a hurricane. She expects at least $17,000 of the $109,000 in expenses from Hurricane Debby will not be reimbursed. 

School district employees staff the shelters, which is a part of the cost to the district, but it’s not just when the employees are in the shelters that count toward the cost.

For example, FEMA only reimburses 5% of the cost to pay employees during the hours spent coordinating with the Emergency Operations Center and for district administrators coordinating logistics. 

When Hurricane Helene devastated Anna Maria Island, every hour administrators and staff worked during the weekend of Sept. 28-29 to determine a plan to send Anna Maria Elementary School students to Stewart Elementary School contributed to the cost. 

Other costs include when maintenance teams have to go to each school after a hurricane to prepare for the students' return, to survey for any damages, and to check for the loss of food at schools that lose power. 

Other costs not reimbursable by FEMA are the hours staff members work to conduct district business that needs to occur regardless of a hurricane, such as payroll being due. It’s not directly related to a storm, but it must occur to ensure employees are paid. 

FEMA also caps the amount it will cover in damages to facilities, and the cap changes per storm and is determined by FEMA.

Other costs to the district include feeding evacuees. The district serves three hot meals per day in the shelters. The district spent $2,200 on meals during Hurricane Idalia when four shelters were opened. 

Photo by Liz Ramos

The district also has to pay for cleaning supplies, first aid, flashlights, radios and other supplies associated with opening the shelters. Cathy Miley, the district’s finance director, said school employees take inventory of the supplies already in the schools before it opens to become a shelter and again after the shelter closes to determine the cost. 

Sellers said it takes several weeks to determine the cost of a hurricane to the district as people need to turn in timesheets, damages need to be assessed, and more. 

FEMA sends an award letter that the district fills out and submits. As of Oct. 4, the district had yet to receive an award letter from FEMA for Hurricane Debby, which took place Aug. 4-5, despite the district already having determined costs. 

Sellers said the district finally is closing out the financial impacts and work with FEMA for Hurricane Idalia, which was in August 2023. That hurricane cost the district $150,500. 

Besides the financial costs, shelters being open mean less time for students are in the classroom.

The district’s 1-mill property tax referendum covers the cost of an additional 30 minutes to every school day, which gives the district a buffer when it needs to close due to a hurricane. For example, the district closed school for five days during Hurricane Ian, but students did not need to make up any of that time because of the additional 30 minutes. 

The district still schedules hurricane make-up days in case academic time needs to be recovered as the time needs to be made up in the same semester as the hurricane.