On the last day of the Alabama legislative session, a bill was passed by the House of Representatives and signed by Gov. Robert Bentley that will issue $30 million of recovery funds to schools around the state.
The bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Napoleon Bracy, D-Ala., of Mobile, Ala., provides money for schools around the state that suffered damage from recent storms. Three schools in Tuscaloosa are among the damaged that will receive supplemental aid to rebuild.
Daniel Meissner, chairman of the Tuscaloosa City School Board, said schools in both the city and county school systems of Tuscaloosa will be given the funds to rebuild or repair.
“House Bill 517 provides for a bond issue totaling $30 million statewide to pay for capital improvements to repair storm damage for specified schools,” Meissner said. “There are two schools in the Tuscaloosa City School System that will receive a part of that money – University Place Elementary/Middle School which was heavily damaged and Alberta Elementary which was destroyed.”
Meissner said two schools in the city school system and one in the county system will be the recipients of the aid, and the money will be split among the schools based on damage.
“The bill provides $3 million for Alberta Elementary and $2.5 million for University Place Elementary,” Meissner said. “The money will be used to help defray some of the costs of the repair and rebuilding – an additional part of the bond issue is allocated to the Tuscaloosa County School System for repairs to one of its storm-damaged schools.”
With new facility openings and rebuilding efforts on the horizon, some projects have already gained traction.
“University Place is set to reopen in August, and we have recently broken ground on the new Alberta School of the Performing Arts, which is set to open in August of 2014,” Meissner said. “We greatly appreciate the legislature passing this bond issue to assist in the cost of these rebuilds and look forward to reopening of our schools.”
In the Tuscaloosa County School System, Holt Elementary, which has been completed, will receive funds after renovating and repairing storm damage.
Tina West, secretary to the superintendent of the Tuscaloosa County School System, said Holt Elementary would be awarded $2.5 million from the current bond issue.
“They will receive funds as a kind of reimbursement because the building has already been completed,” West said. “We had to move the students from one school site to another, but now the school is open and rebuilt.”
After storm damage temporarily changed the educational landscape of Tuscaloosa, the hope is that the students can get back into their normal routines in refurbished facilities.
“We are glad that Holt Elementary has already been rebuilt,” West said. “We just want the students to get back to where they were, in good facilities.”
The new improvements will only add to the continuing rebuilding effort all over the city of Tuscaloosa.
Deidre Stalnaker, communications director for the city of Tuscaloosa, is confident this funding via HB 517 will be a major step forward for rebuilding in the wake of one of the most devastating storm seasons in state history.
“The city is pleased to hear of Gov. Bentley’s new bond issues for schools in the area,” Stalnaker said. “This will help the city continue its goal of rebuilding in stronger, safer and smarter ways. We look forward to seeing the improvements that these measures will yield for the Tuscaloosa area.”
