Sandy Costs Jefferson Schools $50K in Damage

Superstorm Sandy caused an estimated $50,000 of damage to Jefferson schools last month, according to Superintendent Joseph Kraemer.

He said the schools faired pretty well, considering there was no structural damage to any of the buildings or any flooding.

The largest cost, he said, was from the food spoilage.

"The bulk of our losses were in food, which was basically emptying, cleaning and restoring," he said.

An estimated $23,000 of the damage was from the high school, which included the food and the boiler pump that needed to be replaced.

The middle school had about $15,000 worth of damage, and the elementary schools each had about $3,000, Kraemer said.

Kraemer said the middle school had its roof damaged, but it was replaced within a week of the storm.

He said the district server was down after the storm, but the police came over with a genrator which allowed officials to get the district web page and email back up and running to communicate with residents.

"There was some rewiring and trying to get as many as means of communication as open as possible during that time," he said.

All the repairs have been complete, and the district will be completely reimbursed through insurance from FEMA, Kraemer said. 

"We really lucked out, he said. "There was no major crisis. We're thrilled."