Jeff Davis schools took heavy hit from storms
Published 3:54 pm Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Doris Maricle
JENNINGS — Jeff Davis Parish schools sustained $3.5 million in water and wind damages from Hurricane Laura with an additional $1.3 million in damages expected from Hurricane Delta.
“We were fortunate that we do no have the catastrophic damage at our schools compared to some of the other (school) districts, but it does add up and it is very expensive,” Superintendent Kirk Credeur said.
Assessments are still underway for Hurricane Delta but the combined damages could reach $5 million, he said.
Schools will reopen Monday after nearly a week of clean up and repairs were completed.
“Physically our structures are okay,” Credeur said. “We had a lot of water intrusion from the (wind) driven rain. We had a lot of peeled back roofs and water was coming in through the windows and some windows were broken due to flying debris, but we have been able to clean up and repair most of the damage.”
Many schools had water intrusion caused by damaged roofs and broken windows. At least eight windows were broken out at Jennings Elementary School and several roofs were “peeled off” of temporary buildings.
Several schools also had damage to gym floors, ceiling tiles, walls, awnings and air conditioning units.
Some walls will have to be removed; others just need to be cleaned, he said.
Damage was also reported to outside structures including tractor sheds, agriculture buildings and batting cages.
“Rarely have we had a hurricane do this kind of damage, but we got hit by two hurricanes six weeks apart,” he said.
Laccassine High School received the most damage from Hurricane Laura, including damage to the gym floors.
Lake Arthur schools took the hardest hit during Hurricane Delta, including roof damage.
Schools were also without electricity for several days, but power was restored to all facilities this week.
“We are working now to make sure that our schools are in pre-hurricane condition,” Credeur said.
Most storm-related damage to include cleanup and repairs will be covered by insurance. Anything not covered may be reimbursed by FEMA.
Special to the American Press
