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As lawmakers discuss Helene relief, here’s what the state funded after the last major hurricane

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On Sept. 27, Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina as a Tropical Storm — leaving many areas in western North Carolina with historic levels of flooding and infrastructure damage.

On Oct. 9, the General Assembly unanimously passed its first Helene relief bill, including, among other things, $250 million to the state’s Department of Public Safety and Division of Emergency Management, $16 million to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to replace lost compensation of school nutrition employees, and school calendar flexibility and compensation for public school districts and employees impacted by Helene closures.

Lawmakers and elected officials referred to the bill as the first step in what will be a multiple-year process of recovery for western North Carolina.

“Recovery for western North Carolina will require unprecedented help from state and federal sources and this legislation is a strong first step,” Gov. Roy Cooper said after signing the bill into law. “Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic damage but also showed the resiliency of North Carolina’s people and its communities and we must continue the bipartisan work to help them build back strong.”

Six years ago, on Sept. 14, 2018, another storm — Hurricane Florence — hit North Carolina as a Category 1 hurricane. Florence hit the other side of the state, leaving central and southeastern North Carolina with significant property and infrastructure damage.

Before Hurricane Helene, Florence was the last major hurricane to hit North Carolina. However, some state leaders have said the scope of destruction following Helene can more accurately be likened to the damage Hurricane Katrina had on Louisiana in 2005.

“This is unlike anything that we’ve seen in this state,” Republican U.S. Senator Thom Tillis recently told CBS News. “We need increased attention. We need to continue to increase the surge of federal resources.”

As North Carolina continues rescue efforts and surveying damage from Helene, Hurricane Florence can still offer some insight when it comes to recovering from widespread destruction after a storm.

In both cases, these storms also caused disruption to education in the impacted counties, leading to building damage, extended school closures, and trauma for students, staff, and their families. But public schools also play a critical role in the recovery — providing crucial communication, shelters, transportation, and connection for students.

“The school serves,” West Craven High School Principal Tabari Wallace told EdNC after Florence. “The school is usually a hub where everything comes together. That’s what makes schools so important. It’s really a hub of humanity.”

Following Hurricane Florence, state lawmakers passed more than half a dozen bills aimed at aiding recovery in central and southeastern North Carolina — allocating a total of $942.4 million in assistance, according to a 2023 audit of the Florence relief legislation.

Several of those relief bills, listed below, included various relief funding and provisions related to public education.

The General Assembly is set to meet next on Oct. 24 and is likely to further discuss Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.

With those legislative efforts in mind, here’s a look at the education-related aid and provisions the General Assembly passed in 2018 and 2019 following Hurricane Florence.

Screenshot from 2023 state audit on Hurricane Florence relief allocations.

K-12 relief

In total, the General Assembly allocated $91.5 million to DPI to aid Florence recovery, according to the state’s 2023 audit.

Here is a look at the funding DPI received:

  • $60 million for disaster relief (SL 2018-136)
  • $23.5 million to be used to repair and renovate facilities of local school administrative units, laboratory schools, and innovative schools damaged by Hurricane Florence (SL 2018-138).
  • $6.5 million to supplement or replace the lost compensation of school nutrition employees (SL 2018-135).
  • $1.5 million to repair or replace food, food nutrition equipment, and food nutrition supplies damaged by Hurricane Florence in local school administrative units, laboratory schools, charter schools, and innovative schools participating in the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program (SL 2018-138).

The Florence relief legislation also included several education-related provisions.

One of the first bills, SL 2018-135, included several provisions already passed in the first Hurricane Helene relief bill — school calendar flexibility, continued pay for school employees in impacted counties, and the waiving of the clinical internship requirement for students in Educator Preparation Programs (EPP) impacted by Florence.

As was the case in the first Hurricane Helene relief bill, impacted charter schools were not required to provide pay to school employees for instructional time missed due to Florence.

Finally, the law required DPI to complete two reports to turn into the General Assembly by March, 15, 2019: one report regarding missed instructional time and makeup days, and another on impacted EPP students.

SL 2018-136 laid out a process for determining Average Daily Membership (ADM) in school districts impacted by Florence. As a reminder, ADM largely contributes to a public school’s state funding.

For impacted counties, the bill said that allotment adjustments in the 2018-19 fiscal year for ADM decreases in impacted counties would be based on the highest of the first four months’ ADM.

Screenshot of SL 2018-136.


Another bill, SL 2018-138, established a hold harmless policy for principal pay, essentially preventing principals in impacted schools from seeing pay decreases based on ADM losses in their schools after Florence.

In North Carolina, school principals are paid a base salary, with increases based on the ADM and growth of their school.

Principals in impacted counties were eligible if the schools was closed for at least 15 school days from September to November 2018 due to Hurricane Florence.

For these principals, the ADM of the school for the purpose of principal pay in 2018-19: “the greater of the average daily membership for the school for (i) the 2017-2018 school year or (ii) the 2018-2019 school year shall be used between January 1, 2019, and June 30, 2019.”

As part of SL 2019-250, DPI also received $1.7 million as a directed grant to Hyde County for repairs to the Ocracoke School necessitated by Hurricane Dorian, which hit North Carolina as a Category 1 storm on Sept. 5, 2019.

What is DPI asking for now?

DPI’s initial Hurricane Helene relief request asked for ongoing pay for school employees, school calendar flexibility, and $150 million to address building, equipment, and technology loss.

DPI also asked for $16 million to provide pay for school nutrition staff, remote instruction flexibility, and clinical internship waivers for EPP students in impacted counties.

All of the requests — excluding the $150 million for building and technology loss — were included in the General Assembly’s initial relief bill.

“I know the NCGA will appropriate additional funding in terms of building and equipment damage in due time,” state Superintendent Catherine Truitt said in a statement. “This is a great first step to helping out schools, staff and students recover.”

Relief for community colleges

The N.C. Community College System (NCCCS) was allocated $23.4 million in Hurricane Florence relief, including:

  • $18.5 million for disaster relief (SL 2018-136).
  • $6.4 million to “offset the full-time equivalent (FTE) losses at affected community colleges due to enrollment declines caused by Hurricane Florence. When calculating the enrollment growth budget request for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, the North Carolina Community College System Office shall adjust the FTE to reflect the FTE lost due to Hurricane Florence” (SL 2019-244).
    • $1.5 million of this funding was transferred from funds allocated for repair and renovation of local community college facilities damaged by Hurricane Florence.

As part of SL 2018-136, the General Assembly also established emergency scholarship grants for postsecondary students enrolled in the NCCCS and UNC System. These grants provided up to $1,250 to “eligible postsecondary students who have suffered financial hardship due to the damage and destruction from Hurricane Florence.”

Of the $18.5 million allocated to the NCCCS for disaster relief, $5 million was required to go toward those emergency grants.

Screenshot of SL 2018-136.

The following year, SL 2019-250 also allowed for relief funds allocated to the system office to used to offset a receipt shortfall due to enrollment declines caused by Hurricane Florence.

The NCCCS has not yet requested relief funding for Hurricane Helene from the General Assembly, but it has publicized a donation fund set up by the system’s foundation for the 14 impacted community colleges.

Florence relief legislation also included $43.2 million to the UNC System, which included $8 million for repairs to UNC-Wilmington and $2 million to study flooding and resiliency against future storms in eastern North Carolina (SL 2019-244).

Finally, SL 2019-250 also allocated $5.2 million to Elizabeth City State University for repairs to academic and residential buildings impacted by Hurricane Dorian.

Child care

Hurricane Florence relief legislation allocated $17 million to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), but none of the legislation directed that funding to child care relief.

Only one relief bill, SL 2018-136, provided any provision for child care facilities impacted by Hurricane Florence. That provision extended the 90-day transition period for child care subsidy recipients to 120 days for eligible recipients in impacted counties.

Screenshot from SL 2018-136.

The General Assembly’s initial Hurricane Helene relief package also did not include funding for impacted child care programs, despite requests from early childhood leaders.

The package did give DHHS the authority to waive or modify child care licensing requirements in affected counties, but did not specify what all of those flexibilities will look like.

“The child care industry is already fragile and Hurricane Helene has had a devastating impact on many centers,” a DHHS spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We are currently assessing the needs and will work with the General Assembly on what is needed to recover. Funding for child care is something that has repeatedly been included in the Governor’s budget.”

Other highlights from Florence relief

One of the initial relief bills for Florence, SL 2018-134, created the Hurricane Florence Disaster Recovery Fund, and included various elections relief measures for impacted counties, along with the waiving of certain DMV fees.

In 2019, the General Assembly transferred $5 million from the Hurricane Florence recovery fund to the state’s disaster relief fund for future emergencies.

The last Florence relief bill, SL 2019-250, gave state agencies flexibility to “reallocate unexpended and unobligated program funds to the same programs or purposes for damage caused by Hurricane Matthew, Florence, Michael, Dorian, or future storms.”

By June 30, 2023, $870.5 million of state Florence relief funds had successfully been dispersed, according to the November 2023 state audit.

“As of June 30, 2023, DPS (Department of Public Safety) has allocated a total of $942.4 million in Hurricane Florence Disaster Recovery Funds and disbursed $870.5 million (92.4%) to recipients,” the audit said.

In all, seven Florence relief bills were passed by the General Assembly over the course of 13 months.

Earlier this month, General Assembly leaders suggested Hurricane Helene recovery and relief will follow a similar pattern.

“The General Assembly is fully activated in its efforts to provide relief to western North Carolina,” Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, R-Rockingham said in a press release. “This package is just the first round, and more funding will be on the way as we categorize and evaluate the extent of the damage. In the coming months, we will do everything we can to rebuild the region and provide relief to those who so desperately need it.”

Hannah Vinueza McClellan

Hannah Vinueza McClellan is EducationNC’s senior reporter and covers education news and policy, and faith.