When a natural disaster strikes, district leaders are immediately saddled with a long list of new tasks, the first of which is ensuring staff and students are safe.
But the responsibilities don’t end there.
Once the immediate needs and concerns are resolved, schools must turn to recovery, and, if a federal emergency is declared, applying for funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist in those efforts.
It can be overwhelming, especially for district leaders who haven’t had to navigate the process before, leaders of three districts who have done it said during a Dec. 9 webinar hosted by AASA, The School Superintendents Association.
Districts can take steps now to prepare for and ease the strain of future disasters, from setting policies and procedures to continue paying employees in the event of prolonged school closures to establishing a “disaster team” that meets annually to review FEMA guidelines and requirements and the district’s preparedness.
As climate change increasingly causes natural disasters and emergencies like large wildfires, extreme heat and cold, and intense storms, more districts may need to seek FEMA funding to aid recovery efforts in years to come.
Preparation for those possibilities may seem like something a school district can push to the backburner, but districts should prioritize it and revisit their protocols routinely, said Mary Sakuma, county superintendent of schools in Oroville, Calif. Her district worked with FEMA to address severe winter storms with flooding and landslides in 2017, and, most notably, the Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif. in 2018, the deadliest wildfire in state history that burned more than 150,000 acres and killed 85 people.
“The preparation for the disaster, in some ways it sounds strange, like, how do you know you’ll encounter this?” Sakuma said. “Unfortunately, for a lot of us it’s not just one time, it’s multiple times we’ll end up dealing with this, so it’s best to be prepared.”
Sakuma and leaders from two Texas districts shared their top tips for district leaders to consider addressing prior to a natural disaster.
Assign duties to key people ahead of time and hold regular training
Karen Smith, the chief financial officer of the Cypress-Fairbanks district in Texas, said districts should consider establishing a team designated to deal with different aspects of the emergency response and FEMA-related responsibilities well in advance of a natural disaster. The team should include representatives who specialize in facilities and maintenance, emergency management, finance, and procurement. Each staff member should have a clear understanding of their responsibilities in case of a natural disaster, she said.
Each person on the team should stay informed about FEMA guidelines for schools, which change often, Smith said. The agency routinely offers free webinars to keep people up-to-date, she said.
The designated emergency-response team can also hold annual meetings and trainings to “make sure everyone’s on the same page” and ensure anyone new to the district understands their responsibilities.
The Cypress-Fairbanks district holds its annual meeting in the spring, before hurricane season starts.
Advance planning and hazard mitigation can make districts eligible for additional federal funding in the event of an emergency, Sakuma said.
Track costs based on FEMA requirements and establish emergency procurement processes
FEMA has specific guidelines and funding codes that may differ from those that school districts use in their budgets. Districts should consider adopting funding codes aligned with FEMA’s for easier and more efficient tracking, said Kayla Smith, executive director of finance for the Katy school district in Texas.
The district should also establish—or review—an emergency- procurement policy that authorizes specific people on staff to make purchases up to a specified dollar amount without school board approval in the event of an emergency. This helps streamline recovery efforts, she said, as it can be extremely difficult—and slow—to gather the school board to authorize purchases.
Karen Smith, in the Cypress-Fairbanks district, said districts can also establish contracts for certain services from particular vendors in advance, even if it’s not clear whether they will be needed. Her district, for example, went through a traditional bid process for storm debris removal and mold remediation, so the district has a service provider it can call on should it be needed due to a storm or hurricane. That’s important especially for work that costs enough to trigger competitive bidding requirements.
That can speed up the process to get debris cleaned up and get kids back in school, she said. That was the case for her district after Hurricane Harvey in 2017, which caused historic flooding and forced more than 200 Texas districts to close.
If those services are secured without a bid process, FEMA may not reimburse the district for those expenses, Smith said.
“Look at what potential things may happen in your area, and you can do those things ahead of time,” she said.
Have a plan to continue paying employees even if schools are closed
One of the most important steps districts should take prior to a disaster is establishing a policy and procedure for paying employees, even if schools are closed for an extended period after an emergency, said Chris Smith, chief financial officer of the Katy school district.
Those policies will vary depending on the district, but district leaders should designate a place where generators are available so staff can gather and process the payroll, he said.
The payment policy should be “applied consistently, whether an emergency event qualifies for FEMA funding or not,” he said.
