Federal government grants Harvey-affected Texas schools $89.4 million

By Julie Chang

The U.S. Department of Education will give Texas school districts and private schools ravaged by Hurricane Harvey $89.4 million.

The Texas Education Agency will disburse the money to help schools recover from the storm’s damage. The money comes from Congress’ $2.5 billion appropriation to help students affected by various natural disasters last year including the California wildfires and Hurricane Irma.

“As communities get back on their feet in disaster affected regions, we continue to support them in every way we can,” Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in a news release. “This additional funding will ensure students, teachers and staff have ongoing access to the services they need to fully recover and rebuild.”

California’s eduation department has been awarded $14.4 million and Puerto Rico’s agency has been given $589.2 million.

About 1.9 million Texas students attend public school within the 60 counties affected by Harvey — 155 school districts have reported $907 million in damages to the TEA. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will cover up to 90 percent of costs that are not covered by school districts’ insurance.

Loss in property tax revenue and students, which are the basis of how schools are funded, are additional costs that affected school districts will face.