10/24/08

Columbus Dispatch

Bill Bush

Columbus schools have applied for reimbursement of about $1.1 million from the federal government to cover losses suffered during the windstorm that tore through central Ohio on Sept. 14, a district official said yesterday.

That’s nearly $500,000 more than the school district initially said it would be requesting.

Columbus schools’ food-services division racked up the most losses, said district Chief Operating Officer Larry Hoskins. They included:

• Spoiled food and milk: $67,757
• Damaged nonfood items: $659
• Cleanup costs: $5,352
• Lost productivity from paying food workers for days schools were closed, as required by contract: $268,621
• Lost revenue from breakfast and lunch sales: $511,461.

The district also spent about $490,000 on other items because of the storm, mostly labor costs to cut up and remove downed trees, Hoskins said.

Most of the district’s schools were closed for four days after the storm, and some five days, he said.

It isn’t known when the Federal Emergency Management Agency will decide whether to reimburse any or all of the costs.

Earlier this month the district had said it had applied for $640,000 in federal reimbursements, but Hoskins couldn’t be reached later in the day to comment on the discrepancy.

The storm was the result of the tail end of Hurricane Ike, which devastated parts of Texas, as it passed over Ohio. It left hundreds of thousands without power and with damaged structures. Private insurance industry experts estimated that total claims in Ohio could reach $1 billion.